Flute

Answer：David Gerry

  • Head of the Flute Section of the International Suzuki Association Musical Instrument Committee, SAA USA
  • Suzuki Association of America SAA Flute Section Teacher Training Instructor
  • Teacher training consultant, Suzuki Musical Talent Education Association of the Republic of China
    IVY HUANG
  • Flute Instructor, Suzuki Musical Talent Education Association, Taiwan

There are 11 volumes of Suzuki flute textbooks. The minimum learning age is approximately 4 to 5 years old.

When instructing young children, they will use games and toys to help them learn how to control the direction of the air and the speed of the air when playing the instrument.
Before building a child’s self-confidence, one must first establish a child’s sense of security and understand that they care about the reaction of their parents and their favorite people to their performance. Every child wants to perform well in front of their parents, and therefore has a sense of gain and loss.
In a psychological state full of security, children will naturally give their best. Even if they make mistakes, they will not completely deny themselves because of their mistakes. They will know how to learn from them and make persistent efforts. They also understand that the speed of learning will not reduce the parents’ love for them. As long as they are better than themselves yesterday, they are worthy of joy. This kind of environment has invisibly built self-confidence for children.

The most common areas of bad posture when playing the flute are the back or elbows. When the posture is bad, puppets or stuffed toys will be used to assist in correction, so that the child can feel impressed and correct the posture.
For example, if the elbow cannot be stretched naturally, the plush doll will be placed between the child’s front elbow and the chest to maintain a fixed distance. Please do not drop the toy under any circumstances to add the fun of “correcting the posture.”

Use animals or fairy tale characters to tell stories or describe scenes from children’s daily lives. The simpler the emotional narration is, the better.
Taking “The Last Rose of Summer” in the second volume of the flute as an example, students are told to experience this piece of music as if “summer vacation is about to end and school is about to start”, allowing children to naturally present the music with feelings close to their own hearts.

Flute

Answer：David Gerry

Answer：谷奧浩(Hiroshi Tanioku)

  • Former Flute Course Instructor of TERI, Japan Talent Education Research Association, and Flute Course Lecturer of TSA

The recommended age is five years old. Children of this age can bear the weight of the instrument and can learn to play the instrument using abdominal breathing.

There is no designated brand of instrument for Japanese Suzuki flute teachers.

In Japan, there are 4 individual classes per month, and each class lasts 30 minutes.

Practice for at least 30 minutes every day.

The primary significance of practice is to train students’ concentration. The improvement of concentration and persistence will increase the practice time.

TSA Four Subjects Executive Committee

Answer：寺田義彥(Yoshihiko　Terada)

  • Director of NPO International Cello Ensemble Association
  • Cello instructor of Japan Talent Education Research Association TERI
  • Advisor to the Taiwan Suzuki Musical Association

〔Cello teacher〕
A. The Japan Suzuki Talent Education Research Institute was founded in 1946, and has expanded from Japan to the whole world. Many teachers from the United States and all over the world went to Matsumoto to study directly with Mr. Suzuki, received his guidance, and obtained Suzuki teacher qualifications. After that, they returned to their country to serve as the main person in charge of the local Suzuki Association. Between 1950 and 1960, after violin textbooks appeared one after another, the American String Music Association began to notice the successful development of the Suzuki Talent Education Research Institute in Japan, launched many video recordings and visited Mr. Suzuki, and reported on this teaching method in the United States, making the Suzuki teaching method known to the international public. At that time, wind instruments were the mainstream in American society, and parents generally believed that learning string instruments was difficult. However, through many reports, they were surprised to find that under the cultivation of the Japanese Suzuki teaching method, violin concertos could be popularized and everyone from three years old to adults could learn it. Therefore, more teachers and parents began to pay attention to the Japanese Suzuki teaching method, and each year they invite many Japanese Suzuki teachers and students to the United States to teach and perform.

Some teachers outside the school who use Suzuki teaching materials mainly use personal teaching methods and only use Suzuki teaching materials for certain needs. The teachers in Suzuki Associations around the world have obtained the qualifications after undergoing Suzuki teacher training and various Suzuki teaching trainings before they can serve as Suzuki instructors.

In the early days, Mr. Suzuki did not have the assistance of financial experts around him, and was unable to publish his works and teaching materials on his own. He also did not expect that the Suzuki teaching method would one day become so popular around the world, so he authorized the music scores to the Japanese Music Publishing House. Because the Japanese music publishing house once had financial difficulties, it sold the copyright to a foreign publisher. After this process, there are now two versions on the market: the Japanese version and the international version.
Thanks to the efforts of many Suzuki cello teachers, it took twenty years to integrate the Suzuki cello music scores, and the latest unified version has recently been published simultaneously.

As a Suzuki member, you must use the genuine Suzuki teaching materials. Moreover, the genuine Suzuki teaching materials contain high-quality CDs and the latest and correct music scores and piano accompaniment scores.

The United States is a very open and free country, with many universities freely setting up extracurricular lectures (including introductory courses on various music teaching methods, etc.) to provide students with a wide range of subject choices to obtain credits. However, I have never heard of any university emphasizing that the university is the only window for various teaching methods and is fighting for the rights of each teaching method while holding lectures.
If some students want to become formal Suzuki teachers after graduation and returning to Taiwan, they can submit their past learning records and letters of recommendation from foreign Suzuki organizations as required by foreign Suzuki associations, and then join the Republic of China Suzuki Talent Education Association (TSA) to continue teacher training.

Suzuki Piano Tutorial

Answer：平田　美知(Michi Hirata North)

  • Dr. Suzuki appointed international Suzuki piano teacher training instructor
  • Piano teacher training instructor of the Suzuki Association of America (SAA)
  • Advisor to the Taiwan Suzuki Musical Association

After Mr. Shinichi Suzuki returned from Germany, he came up with the idea of ​​establishing the Suzuki teaching method, and discussed it with my father, a pianist who studied in Germany and the first person to introduce Beyerdynamics to Japan. My father very much agreed with Mr. Suzuki’s ideas and provided our residence as the venue for Mr. Suzuki’s classes. Since I was young, I have accompanied my younger brother to Mr. Suzuki’s violin lessons and practiced the violin on behalf of my mother, so I can be said to be the youngest Suzuki mother in the world. Not only did I observe how Mr. Suzuki taught his children to play the violin, but I also often played the piano accompaniment in Mr. Suzuki’s class. I decided to devote myself to Suzuki piano teaching under such influence. The first Suzuki violin record I made was when I was a child, I recorded it with Mr. Koji Toyota (former president of the International Suzuki Association/former president of the Japan Talent Education Research Association). At the 1992 Suzuki World Conference, after listening to my students’ performances at the Gala Concert, Mr. Suzuki said to me, “The sound you pursue is exactly the beautiful sound I have been looking for day and night. Only your voice is the same as my beautiful sound. From now on, I appoint you as the International Suzuki Piano Teacher Training Instructor.”

In order to implement the Suzuki teaching method, Mr. Suzuki founded the “Talent Education Research Association” in Japan with the aim of developing children’s potential. In the early days, there was only violin and no piano or other instruments were developed. If you want to understand Suzuki piano, you must first understand Suzuki violin. Mr. Suzuki placed great emphasis on the training of beautiful sounds. The beautiful sound training of the open strings of the violin and natural relaxation are extremely important for young children who are just starting to learn. The initial learning of Suzuki piano is just like that of Suzuki violin. Some people often misunderstand that the Suzuki teaching method is just a philosophy and method. Teachers do not need to have playing ability and parents only need to play CDs for their children. Some people even think that the Suzuki teaching method does not attach importance to the teaching of music score reading. All of these are caused by serious misconceptions.

In fact, the role of Suzuki teachers is extremely important. Teachers of all subjects must possess beautiful music playing skills in order to understand through personal experience how to build a good foundation and beautiful voice for children. When participating in the Suzuki teacher training course, it is not the case that you can start teaching right away by just listening to lectures, taking notes and submitting reports. Teachers must have the ability to play from memory, and their playing skills must be constantly improved. Only by learning Mr. Suzuki’s beautiful voice can they cultivate students who can perform at a high level.

I have visited many places to assist Suzuki associations in various countries in training teachers, and have also taught students from many different countries. What makes me happy every year when I go to Taiwan is to see the hard work of teachers and parents for their children and the large number of new students joining the Chinese Suzuki Association. This makes me believe that the TSA Chinese Suzuki Association is one of the countries that has successfully promoted Suzuki teaching.

The Suzuki teaching method does not mean that you can claim to be a Suzuki teacher just by using a textbook or listening to a CD. Some people have the wrong idea that they no longer need to study after attending one or two Suzuki training sessions. What you need to understand is that obtaining a certificate only represents the results of past learning, but it cannot guarantee successful learning in the future. It is like getting a driver’s license is only the beginning of driving on the road. After that, each driver’s driving skills will improve and whether he or she will become a model driver depends entirely on his or her own sense of morality and subsequent hard work. Most people have misunderstandings about Suzuki piano. They mistakenly think that by taking notes diligently they have learned the Suzuki teaching method, and then they start recruiting students to teach Suzuki piano. This is a serious mistake. The Suzuki spirit and philosophy must be integrated with actual performance and the fulfillment of teacher obligations in order to cultivate outstanding students.

First of all, I would like to congratulate Taiwan for hosting the Asian Suzuki Conference in August 2004. I have great confidence in the Chinese Suzuki Association because it is a four-subject, complete, high-quality, and high-standard Suzuki teaching system. I believe that not only me, but Suzuki teachers from all countries will give the Chinese Suzuki Association the highest praise.

TSA Consultant Meeting/Suzuki Lecture Course

Answer：中村安樹〔Yasuki Nakamura〕

  • President of the Australian Suzuki Association
  1. ASA was originally established in Tokyo, Japan on April 6, 2002 through authorization and certification, and was registered in South Korea at the end of 2002.
  2. The ASA Constitution stipulates that the term of office of the ASA President is two years. In order to prevent arbitrariness and based on democratic fairness, the ASA President may not be re-elected by the same country representative.
  3. The first president of ASA was Mr. Hwang Kyung-ik from South Korea, who served until 2004. The second president will be the head of a Suzuki association outside of Korea in 2004.
  4. ASA是由以下組織共同成立。
    (1)韓國
    (2)社團法人中華民國鈴木音樂才能教育協會（理事長：柯雅雯）
    (3)新加坡CRESTAR公司
    (4)菲律賓
  5. I recommend Mr. Yoshihiko Terada from Japan and Ms. Julia Breen from Australia to be the teacher training leaders for the cello and flute courses at the 2004 Asian Suzuki ASA Conference (Taiwan).
  6. 韓國黃京益先生及鄭哲雄先生於2002年8月招開ASA臨時會議, 在本人到達會場前韓國,菲律賓出席者已投票解除鈴木裕子老師ASA顧問一 職及將ASA法人組織設立臨時動議更改至韓國
  7. In the future, I will fully participate in the supervision as an advisor to the ASA Preparatory Committee. I hope that everyone in TSA can trust ASA again and join as a member to assist in the promotion of ASA.

Suzuki teacher training is held all over the world, some are short courses of a few days, and some are long-term training courses. If you take a short-term training course, you will be issued a certificate of study attendance after the course, but that is not a Suzuki teacher certificate. In the past, some people participated in short-term courses of several days and obtained a certificate of study attendance. After returning to their country, they labeled it as a Suzuki teacher certificate or license. This is wrong. Some people (including local university teachers in Australia) even went to Matsumoto, Japan to attend a 4-day summer school, shook hands with Dr. Suzuki, took photos and signed autographs, and after returning to their country emphasized that they were Dr. Suzuki’s teachers.
In fact, foreign students at Matsumoto Suzuki Music Academy have to study for at least several years before they can graduate and obtain the Suzuki teacher certificate awarded by Mr. Suzuki himself. Therefore, the Republic of China Suzuki Music Talent Education Association (TSA) must confirm what qualifications the applicants for teacher training have obtained in the past, and whether they have obtained certificates and letters of recommendation from the local Suzuki Association, and complete the missing teacher training courses under the organization of TSA, abide by the teacher training system of TSA, and complete various trainings.

Piano

Inquiries about the Suzuki Method

Answer：高橋 利夫〔Takahashi Toshio〕

  • Former ISA Chairman
  • Former flute instructor of Japan Talent Education Research Association

First of all, I would like to solemnly state that the “Suzuki teaching method” does not mean that one can call himself a Suzuki teacher just by using Suzuki teaching materials (music scores and CDs).
Suzuki teachers must undergo rigorous training. It is definitely not possible to become a Suzuki teacher by simply attending a short-term training course of a few days. To be a Suzuki teacher, one must have a lifelong learning attitude, receive long-term Suzuki teacher training courses sponsored by the local National Suzuki Association, obtain Suzuki teacher certification, and cultivate outstanding students in order to meet the standards to become a Suzuki teacher. The Suzuki Associations in each country around the world have different systems and methods for training Suzuki teachers:

In Japan, Suzuki instructors must receive rigorous training, graduate from the “International Suzuki Music Academy” (formerly the Japan Suzuki Talent Education Music School: founder Dr. Shinichi Suzuki), and become a teacher member of the Suzuki Association. At the same time, all students must be members of the Suzuki Association and must maintain continuous training every year to continue their membership status as a Suzuki instructor.
In the United States, teacher trainers organize teacher training seminars for interns who wish to teach in the United States, and students earn credits by studying in separate volumes.
The systems in Australia and Europe emphasize that one cannot use the Suzuki teaching method and become a Suzuki teacher by simply attending short-term workshops or winter or summer camps. Instead, one must first submit personal performance tapes and pass the review before participating in Suzuki teacher training. One must then start studying from the first volume of the Suzuki teaching material and strive to obtain teacher qualifications at all levels.
Before officially obtaining the Suzuki teacher certificate, teachers can study for the certificate qualification to guide students from Suzuki Volume 1 to the early elementary course and elementary course. The instructor must work hard according to the students’ certification system scores and the level and hours of the instructor’s own study in order to obtain the junior, intermediate, and senior teacher certificates respectively.

The Republic of China Suzuki Music Talent Education Association (TSA) in Taiwan (abbreviated as; Chinese Suzuki Association; Chairman Ke Yawen) is the only national legal Suzuki corporate organization authorized by the International Suzuki Association (ISA). At the same time, the organization is the only legal Suzuki corporate organization registered with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of China Government.
The teacher training system of the Chinese Suzuki Association (TSA) was jointly developed by international Suzuki teacher trainers and domestic Suzuki teacher trainers in November 1999, under the witness of Dr. Hermann, Director of Affairs of the International Suzuki Association. The teacher training system of the Chinese Suzuki Association is as rigorous as that of Australia and Europe, and is recognized by the International Suzuki Association.
Every teacher in the Suzuki teaching system must start from the most basic level, and the number of hours and requirements for teacher training will not be affected by the individual’s other academic background. The International Suzuki Association authorizes the Chinese Suzuki Association, which has the right and responsibility to invite outstanding foreign teachers of various subjects to come to Taiwan to train Suzuki teachers.

Suzuki teacher training organized by any individual or music classroom other than the Chinese Suzuki Association (TSA) in Taiwan is a private act and has nothing to do with the Chinese Suzuki Association and the International Suzuki Association. For example, the certificate issued by the American Suzuki Association after a short-term training is a “training completion certificate”, which means proof of participation in the training session, and does not represent a “Suzuki teacher certificate” or “Suzuki teacher license” or “qualified Suzuki teacher qualification”.。

This summer school course is a children’s summer camp and is neither a Japanese Suzuki teacher training camp nor affiliated with the Matsumoto International Suzuki Music Academy in Japan. A Taiwanese violin teacher named Liu claimed on his private classroom website that he was a trainee at Japan’s Suzuki Matsumoto Talent Education Institute. However, I have taught at the Matsumoto Suzuki Music Institute for decades and have never seen or heard of this teacher.

Dr. Suzuki’s hope is to enhance children’s desire to learn and to strive to achieve each goal. “Assessment” is not a competition between teachers or a comparison between parents. It is even more inappropriate to use scores to evaluate children’s skills and the value of their lives. The Suzuki certification method is very humane. The review committee evaluates the performance results in an encouraging manner and provides suggestions to teachers and parents on how to improve their piano practice methods.

The International Suzuki Association (ISA) authorizes the Republic of China Suzuki Music Talent Education Association (TSA) (Chairman Ke Yawen). Only Suzuki teachers and students under the TSA organization can engage in legal Suzuki-related activities. When Mr. Shinichi Suzuki founded the International Suzuki Association in Japan, he hoped that every teacher and family in the world would pay an international membership fee equivalent to a cup of coffee and provide more children around the world with a high-quality learning environment.

In Japan, at least 25 years of Suzuki teaching experience is required.
The requirements outside of Japan are:
1. Teachers need to have studied from Book 1 to the highest level and have excellent performance ability.
2. Cultivate outstanding students from the first to the highest level.
3. Provide graduation tape test scores for each level of students, and pass the preliminary elementary course test to the highest level of graduate school.
4. Participate in discussions on topics related to the Suzuki Method in front of the examiner.
5. Demonstrate teaching in front of the examiner [instruct other teachers’ students].
6. The most important thing is that teachers have good personality and moral character, and have superb guidance and leadership abilities.
7. Recommendation from 2 senior Suzuki teacher trainers from abroad and 1 Suzuki teacher trainer from China.
8. More than 10 years of Suzuki teaching experience.