What You Practice Today is Not Important

The Suzuki Method is amazing . . . I could fill a whole book with stories about students, teachers and families who can attest to the fact that their lives have been changed for the better because of how this method has impacted them in musical and non musical ways alike.

Professional orchestra players and a number of well-known soloists got their start through the Suzuki Method – so there’s proof that it works for raising professional musicians and great adults who pursue other careers alike.

Suzuki parents: all the effort and hard work you put into this is worth it. There are a lot of must dos in order to parent a Suzuki student : practice everyday, attend lessons and group classes, listen to recordings daily, and attend recitals and performances. Teachers constantly ask you ” Did you listen this week?” “How many days did you practice?” “Are you able to come to X,Y, Z event/class/workshop?”

So much to do in an already busy life . . .

But it’s not really about all that – it’s not about what your child does today that is most important.

10 years from now the fact that your child practiced on a random Monday in July is not a life changing event.

It’s about who we are raising children to be.

10 years from now the fact that your child has both the self-discipline  to get what they need to done but the grace for themselves to know not everyday is going to be exactly ideal . . . now that is life changing.

10 years from now when your child encounters a big obstacle or goal in life and knows they can succeed if they just break it down in little pieces and work on one at a time – that is a skill that sets them apart.

When asked what they learned from studying the Suzuki Method – adult Suzuki students don’t usually answer with the names of pieces or by listing instrumental techniques . . . instead they list character traits: discipline, love for music, ability to break big problems into small pieces and keep going, persistence . . .  

This is the life changing stuff we’re really doing when we practice bow holds, attend institutes and practice those review songs yet again.

As parents & teachers lets focus more on what’s important:

Practicing daily:  Yes – because of who we become when we do it (not because everything was done perfectly everyday)

Listening to our music: Yes – because we learn that when we need to learn something we can immerse ourselves in the knowledge of those who have already learned it & get a clear picture of where we will go.  (and we will gain an appreciation for beautiful music)

Attending Group events like group classes/workshops/institutes/camps

Yes – not because it’s required by the teacher or it’s the thing to do but because we learn about community, cooperation, and to go be with inspiring people and learn from them in every part of our lives