The Role of the Suzuki Teacher

While the parent may be the expert when it comes to her child, the teacher is the expert when it comes to the instrument being learned. If the Suzuki triangle is going to function, both of these experts must come to middle ground in order to allow the student to progress.

The the teacher is there to serve as a mentor and guide. While the student has just started his musical journey, the teacher has been on the journey for some time. Think of it like traveling to a new city vs. having visited a place many times.

The main job of the teacher is to make the lesson approachable. Learning an instrument is difficult. Therefore a teacher must take her collective knowledge to break down a complex task into manageable steps. This requires experience and it requires communication.

The teacher's role is also to provide a model for how the at-home lesson should unfold. In most cases, the parent as well as the child lack musical experience. It is the teacher's job to give them structure so that effective learning may take place at home.

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Like Brushing Your Teeth

One of my teacher trainers told me that practicing should be like brushing your teeth. There is never a day when your tooth brushing is affected by other events in your day. The process is completely emotionally detached. I mulled over her words of wisdom for quite some time after she said them to me. What struck me the most was the suggestion of emotionally detaching myself. All my life I have been told that music is supposed to express emotion. So it was almost like it would be wrong to try and strip that away. For me, the teeth brushing example was a very interesting concept. I realized that the level of habitual repetition of that daily routine is rarely achieved in any other life areas. Dishes get put off, vacuuming, shopping for groceries.... but I always make the time to brush my teeth. Always making the time for practice? A lofty ideal indeed.

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