Articles 1989

Editorial v11n2

“Two hours practice each day” is what Dr. Suzuki said during his recent visit to New Zealand. (See March ’89 Editorial). I remembered him saying, “You must practice every day you eat.” Was he suggesting two hours of practice a day as a recommendation?

Carroll Morris, in her hilarious yet sensitive book How I Survived My First 10,000 Twinkles (see Book Review later in this newsletter), provides the answer. Dr. Suzuki recognizes a difference between American and Japanese children. He says that everyone ought to practice two hours a day, “but Americans get a 50% discount!” Carroll puts in a postscript: “What would he think of an additional discount we gave?”

Carroll finds herself drawn into discouraging comparisons between her child Carrie (the only one with her scroll pointing at her toe during group lessons) and “the cute round-faced Oriental child playing a concerto at age six.”

Carroll concludes her book with a consideration of Eastern versus Western philosophies. She says:

“I think I have a clue as to why the Japanese do so well with the Suzuki Method. It lies in the Eastern philosophy that does not divide being from doing, or product from process. We Western minds split everything, with the result that we want the product but hate the process … The Suzuki process, in Eastern terms, has less to do with music than personal development. It involves changing the person, helping him to be better, more self-controlled, patient, sensitive, able to concentrate, etc. One could pick Zen archery or Yoga as well to reach the same goal.

In this context, learning to play the violin becomes a matter of desire, quite unrelated to ego. The length of time involved in the process does not even arise as a question. And the songs we sing and play are only tools through which developing beauty of character is revealed.”

So by focusing on the learning process, rather than the product or end result, we can change our daily practice sessions into motivating, joyful occasions which our child looks forward to and can look back on with pleasant memories. Indeed, by focusing on the daily process, rather than the product, our whole lives could change.

Happy Practicing!

Sophie Hartigan
Newsletter Editor

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