Rethinking Genius

Harvesting A harvest always comes after a lot of work. It comes after seasons of sowing and tending. Sometimes these seasons are intensely long and tiring. Acquiring musical skill and ability has continued to defy our love for the fast, easy, and convenient. One of the wonderful things about skill development is that it gets easier. I think the sowing and reaping process builds on itself. As Dr. Suzuki aptly stated, “Ability builds on ability.” As a student develops ability, it gets easier to develop more. The harvest compounds. And, if you have a vision of what the future could hold, it can give you motivation for the present. Let’s examine some of the things that you and your child could harvest in the future. Love Imagine your child as an adult and possessing a love of music and deep enjoyment in playing music. Think of them having a love of learning because they had a positive and engaging learning experience in Suzuki lessons. Think of your child fondly treasurin...

Principles of Tending As a Suzuki parent, maybe you can relate more with a time of tending. You are further along in the Suzuki journey and you have seedlings or young plants that are growing. This may primarily be a season of watering, fertilizing, pruning, and nurturing your budding young musician. Water Often Facilitating and fueling your child’s continued growth and motivation is an important parental job at this stage. One way to encourage your child’s motivation is to attend concerts. As a child, I loved watching other children play and especially enjoyed going to concerts. I would always be inspired to practice after these events. Sometimes recitals and concerts were a special date with my Mom or Dad. I will never forget the first time my Dad took me to see Yo-Yo Ma perform. The evening fueled my relationship with my cello, but also created a wonderful memory with my dad. There is a payoff for the time and motivation instilled from an evening at the symphony or a...