Sensibility and the Holidays*

Sensibility is the ability developed through learning by the senses. Dr. Karen Hagberg translated the book  Sensibility and Education by Dr. Haruko Kataoka from Japanese to English. She explains the term sensibility this way:

"To Dr. Kataoka "Kansei" (translated as sensibility) is the sum of the five senses, plus the intangible heart and soul, through which children absorb their environment."(1)

When we remember holidays past as adults, it may be the aroma of certain foods or the scent of the Christmas tree that remind us of our feeling/experiences as children. It could be the Christmas lights or the sound of carols, or that certain kind of hug from someone we love. Ultimately it is the "intangible heart and soul" that remembers the "feelings" of the holidays.

Babies and children learn through absorption of the total environment, rather than part by part. In holistic learning, the child has a grasp of a concept without necessarily knowing the details or even being able to produce anything. It is this type of learning that enables a person to perceive what is going on without necessarily being able to actually say in words what is happening. In learning language, babies are holistically absorbing the environment, and understand long before they are able to articulate. Children in general know feelings even when they do not know exactly what is being said.


In a practical situation a holistic learner using their sensibility would be able to cope with problem solving issues, while another student going by the textbook answers may be unable to solve. This is how a person can be in a completely foreign country where they do not speak the language, yet be able to communicate and act appropriately without ever learning the customs or being told the protocol. Contrast this with how a person can grow up to be completely unaware of how other people are thinking, feeling or perceiving, or unable to make good judgments even though they have gone to the best schools and have a lot of "education". We see this in real life and wonder how to educate children to make wise judgments in the complexities of day to day reality.


How can we preserve and nurture sensibility? Essentially, by having awareness of the child's senses and giving credence to them. Dr. Suzuki said:

"Skillfulness in rearing a child comes from knowing and feeling as he (the child) does in his heart."(2)

So this means taking the time and the presence to experience life directly with our children. This includes listening and not thinking of other things when your child is talking and giving the space for the child to enjoy the moment without rushing to the next thing, In this way the child has the time to discover without extra instruction or thinking. Find the place of a calm peaceful happy heart inside yourself and notice how your child responds to you. As Dr. Suzuki said:

"The mother's smile is the child's smile."(3)

In music study, the child who learns holistically can play freely without the burden of too much thinking or worrying in the way. Music then becomes a form of direct communication. There are two important things you can do over the holidays to nurture your child's music study:


1. Continue to play the Suzuki recordings. Providing music in the environment is enabling holistic learning. In this way even if the child practices less, they will not forget their pieces, and will be internally memorizing the new pieces to be learned in the coming months. Additionally this provides a consistent environment and motivates them to go to the piano and play their review pieces. 


2. Let your child share their music with friends and family. When children can give their music as a gift to others in family and friend gatherings, they will develop a wonderful feeling and "memory" about sharing their piano playing.   Also, you can use the video recordings as gifts to send to relatives and friends far away with a personal holiday message. This kind of sharing is a wonderful example of a holistic learning experience as it integrates feelings, senses, and ability.


Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Holiday season. It's wonderful to begin the season with the feelings of gratefulness and abundance.
Happy Holidays!

Leah Brammer

Bibliography
1. Sensibility and Education, Dr. Haruko Kataoka, p. xii
2. Ability Development from Age Zero, Dr. Suzuki, p. 23
3. Words for the Day, #2-A collection of 31 sayings by Dr. Suzuki written on shikishi. (See right side of the blog for picture)


 *Edited and reposted from 12_20_2010

On the Rhythm – Part 1: Feel it

Children can clap the beat to music when they can feel the pulse. This is an important part of being able to play with good rhythm. Clapping and dancing to the Suzuki music are natural ways for children to connect with the beat in the music they are learning to play. The twinkle variations are a wonderful way to learn to feel beat/rhythm with a good tone on just one note.  This is a good example of an integral learning experience where the student can feel the rhythm/beat, hear the tone, and connect this with the tactile sense in the finger. 

When we clap the beat to music we are feeling music that is already on the rhythm, already made.  This is much easier than creating the correct steady tempo oneself.   The ready position is the best way to enable the student to play with good beat.  This is because in ready position the body is balanced and still.  When a conductor is going to start an orchestra they first raise their hands in gesture to have everyone’s attention and stillness on the ready.  Next the conductor gives an indication of the rhythm with just one beat, such as an up feeling for example, and then the first sound is the down. Everyone can play together on the rhythm this way.  This is the “go” part of practicing with students.  Please observe in the lessons how to say go effectively so that the child can play with good rhythm.  The “go” needs to be in tempo of the piece.  This one signal teaches the child to play with rhythm.

When children first learn to play the right hand melodies in Book 1, they find the pitch (notes) first. They may be finding the correct notes totally by ear, or with the help of a parent singing the pitch. Part of this learning of the notes is getting the correct fingerings. Next, they can develop the ability to play the notes with the feeling of the rhythm.

Feeling deep and light sounds is important for the natural flow in the music in the same way that inflection is important in speech. The best way to help with this is to sing the pieces with a natural emphasis on the metrical placement (first beat in each measure) as well as the rising and falling of the melodic phrase.  A good way to practice is to sing along with the disc using the solfege, humming, or singing “la la la”.  So, the singing is not just for learning the pitch/notes, but also will help the child feel the rhythm, and connect with the broader feeling of the meter and phrases in the notes they are learning to play.

The phrases are the equivalent of sentences.

In this regard, words to the songs are ok to sing too, especially for fun while not at the piano.  It is best for children to understand the language of music without actual words.  So after the notes can be played with some fluency, singing along by humming/solfege/la-la as your child plays will help your child play in a good tempo which is not too fast or too slow, and has natural emphasis on the deep and light sounds, and breadth on the phrases.

When the teacher plays with the student at the lesson it also helps them to play with the steady rhythm.  This may be more difficult for them than playing by themselves because they have to keep the tempo on the “hard part”.  This process helps the parent and child understand where to focus more time and energy in the home learning. So, in the learning at home, please practice extra on the parts where the beat/rhythm is not felt.

Most importantly continued listening to a piece after the notes are learned is the most important tool for helping the child progress from just the notes to playing and feeling the rhythm. Lastly, it is important that the teacher and parent do not give the child too many instructions that may take away from their natural ability to feel the beat because they are thinking too much as they are playing. This way they can play by heart.

Previous blog on the same subject with more explanation of meter and research on babies and rhythm:

Twinkle Lessons: On the Rhythm

The Talent Education Code- part 4 – Feel to learn it

This is the forth in a series of blogs which are an in depth analysis of Daniel Coyle’s book The Talent Code as it relates to the "Talent Education method" developed by Dr. Suzuki.

 In the section on "Learn to Feel It" as a part of "deep practice", Daniel Coyle tells about how he observed students at the Meadowmount music camp in a class entitled “How to Practice”.  They are asked to listen to a violin that is out of tune and connect with how that feels:  “If you hear a string out of tune, it should bother you, Skye told them, ‘it should bother you a lot. That’s what you need to feel. What you’re really practicing is concentration.  It’s a feeling. “(1)

“Feeling it” is the way children learn naturally. The baby learns to walk by learning to feel its balance. Feeling is a term which includes the input from the senses such as hearing an out of tune violin, taste, tactile, physical feelings and visual input, It is the awareness directly from the environment without explanation.   In the book Sensibility and Education  Dr. Kataoka says:

“Children live in the world of feelings, and they feel things directly with their intuition…(Let us) try to understand the world of children’s sensibility and make an effort not to destroy it…(2)

Connecting feelings with learning engages the student. This does not mean we spoon feed feelings, but rather that we enable children to connect their feelings with their learning. By focusing the students awareness on the quality of the sound we enable them to “feel” the music through their senses, aural, tactile, and even the aural connection to the visual.  By properly sequencing skills with just the right amount of challenge to feel accomplishment and develop skill, the child can associate the learning with a deep concentration and sense of success. Focusing on tone while developing skill will enable the child to produce the highest quality tone as pure communication This will motivate, involve, and inspire the student in deep practice.

When listening to a great pianist, one of the most striking and distinctive elements in their playing is their ability to directly communicate through the sound.

Their learning has involved putting their own sensibility/feeling into the music. There is  a physical sense of touch connected with the quality of the sound, an aural understanding of the patterns of the music into patterns, phrases, and sections, and an ability to communicate deeply, individually, and directly through the language of music.

When practicing with your child, keep listening for good tone, and bring awareness of the feeling of the good tone into the practice.  Allow this to be the focus and it will take the student into a state of deep practice/concentration that connects the tone with the broader patterns of the sound as well as the physical motions,  In this same way they will be able to understand the visual picture of the music: the score; as it relates directly to the sound without any extra explanation. Thus we are enabling optimum learning by keeping the child connected with their sensibility.  Dr. Kataoka says:

“People who reach adulthood with their sensibility intact can make correct judgements about everything; this is because their natural sensibility has not been destroyed. It is because they can listen to the voice of God."(3)

1. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, p. 90-91

2. Sensibility and Education, Dr. Haruko Kataoka, p. 14

3. Sensibility and Education, Dr. Haruko Kataoka, p. 17

A previous blog from January 2009 which is also about feeling music:

"The Integral Learning Perspective- Learning to Play by Heart"

Other Blogs in this Series:

The Talent Education Code Part 1

The Talent Education Code Part 2

The Talent Education Code -Part 3

 

Concert Recommendations

There are so many wonderful concerts in the SF Bay Area to go see this year!  Following is a list of recommended solo piano concerts and one SF Symphony recommendation with piano concerto. They are listed by performer in chronological order with links to the sites to buy tickets. Enjoy!  Leah Brammer

Yefim Bronfman

Tuesday October 11 8:00 PM

Zellerbach Hall - Berkeley

 http://www.calperformances.org

***Marc-Andre Hamelin- Get tickets asap

Wednesday Nov. 2  8:00PM –Herbst Theatre SF

SFperformances.org

SF Symphony-Garrick Olson

Performs Mozart Concerto #9

Performances Thursday Feb. 2-Saturday Feb. 4

http://www.SFSymphony.org

Good for younger students

Leif Ove Andsnes

Thursday February 9 8:00 PM 

Herbst Theatre SF

SFperformances.org

Andras Schiff

Wednesday Feb. 28 8:00 PM

Zellerbach Hall – Berkeley

 http://www.calperformances.org

Murray Perahia

Sunday March 11 – 3:00PM

Zellerbach Hall - Berkeley

http://www.calperformances.org

Stephen Hough

Monday, March 19  7:30

Oshman Jewish center in Palo Alto

http://www.chambermusicSF.org

***Jonothan Biss –Get tickets asap

Sunday April 1 -3PM

Hertz Hall – Berkeley

http://www.calperformances.org

Olga Kern

Monday, April 16 – 7:30 PM

Oshman Jewish center in Palo Alto

http://www.chambermusicSF.org

*SF Symphony- Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Performs Saint-Saens Piano Concerto #5

Performances Thursday April 19-Sunday April 22

http://www.SFSymphony.org

The four Principles of the Suzuki method

1. Mother-tongue - The basic philosophy upholds the understanding that music be learned as a language, by listening and communicating by sound first, with the written symbol as representative of the sound, and taught after the child has learned to speak/play. The term "mother-tongue" also emphasizes the parents involvement in providing the language in the environment for the child.
Thus, children who hear the music they are learning to play for many hours a day will progress much much faster than those who only listen to the disc once or twice a day.  
2. Talent Education - The name of Dr. Suzuki's school in Matsumoto, and a term which juxtaposes two terms which may at first seem contradictory.  Dr. Suzuki chose this name for his method to emphasize his realization that all children develop the "talent" of playing music if educated in the same way children learn to speak their native language. Again, the parents involvement in the education of the child is paramount over any particular "genes" the child may or may not have for music.
3. Ability Development:  This term is used to define the process  by which talent is developed - through repetition ;

"Knowledge plus 10.000 times equals ability".  Dr. Suzuki

This is the "how" of Talent Education.
4.  Natural Learning:  Natural learning is simply that which is learned directly from the environment without extra explanation, instructions, or mental thinking.  Providing the right environment is a core component of the Suzuki method.  Children who are listening, have quality instruments and parents to help them find body balance and connect their physical motions with the sound they have internalized through listening will be able to achieve a high ability to play piano as a result of a natural learning from the environment.

The Importance of the Beginning

The beginning of the school year is a very special time for children.  There is a sense of excitement and readiness for learning in the air.  So, it is the parents and teachers responsibility to provide the best possible environment that preserves this readiness, nurtures awareness and supports optimum learning.

When we give children our full attention, they feel acknowledged, empowered, important, and nurtured. Attention is totally different from judgment. With total attention we bring awareness to the child. Ultimately this awareness that develops through our attention enables the child to change and grow.
As Dr. Kataoka said:

"We must, with effort and perseverance, patiently nurture the ability to concentrate, listen and differentiate."(1)

In the lesson and at practice the parents main job is to put total attention on the child. For example, if a parent is texting, e-mailing or other forms of non-attention to the lesson, the child has less awareness for learning. Part of the room is focused on something else. When it is the parent or the teacher that is thinking about other things, it becomes especially difficult for the child to remain focused. If another child is playing with a toy during the lessons it is distracting.   However, if the adults are focused on the lesson, the child can still concentrate. If another child is reading a book, they are engaging in a similar kind of focus, so it is much easier for the child having the lesson. Ideally, when everyone is watching the student have a lesson, the child can really concentrate well. The child loves this experience and learns to communicate to the other people in the room through the sound of the piano.

The same kind of attention is valuable at home. In the book Journey Down the Kreisler Highway (2) violinist and Suzuki teacher Craig Timmerman writes:

"Your children will always carry the memory of your working with them each day of their childhood. Can you imagine the warm memory that will be theirs to carry around in later years when they leave home? That memory and knowledge will provide a security and appreciation that will be deeply rooted...It seems that there is always a special bond within families who give this kind of gift to their children. Undoubtedly it will take years for your children to fully appreciate the gift you have given them, but when that realization does come, what strength it will have."

This "special bond" is nurtured by the attention and focus of the parents without judgment on both their child's home practice and lesson times. It is important to distinguish between attention that develops awareness, which fosters intrinsic motivation; and attention that accompanies judgment (be it positive or negative) which is a type of extrinsic motivation. In one of my earlier posts, "Affirm, Motivate, and Inspire" (4) I discuss how extrinsic rewards diminish motivation:

"I believe this is partially because the child looses their sense of autonomy and feels controlled rather than nurtured and supported. The question then is not whether to use a "carrot or a stick" to influence a child's behavior, but how can we preserve and nurture intrinsic motivation?

At the beginning of the school year, children are ready and eager to learn. We nurture that motivation by having the highest quality music and music experiences in the daily environment. This includes observing other students lessons, group classes, individual lessons, home listening/watching videos, practice, and attending concerts, 

We maintain this desire to make music by listening and noticing as the child is learning.  Then, as we give the child an affirmation or acknowledgment of what we are observing it increases their ability to learn and improve without the emotional roller coaster of good and bad.  The acknowledgment of what they are doing correctly provides them with the valuable feedback that enables deep concentration and learning. This is Positive Affirmation. We will be discussing how to use language in a way that supports this way of working with your child at the parents meeting.
 
The intention for the New Year is the development of awareness through optimum learning.
The resolution for the New Year is to provide an environment which preserves and develops intrinsic motivation. 

"It is the readiness of the mind that is wisdom." 

Shinryu Suzuki (6)

Bibliography/links
1. From Piano Basics Newsletter Volume 2.6 November/December 1997
in the article "Prince Shotoku and Pianists"
 
2. "Journey Down the Kreisler Highway-Reflections on the teachings of Shinichi Suzuki" by Craig Timmerman published 1987.

3. From this blog "Core Suzuki Piano", the article "Affirm, Motivate, and Inspire" published January 2010

4. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunnru Suzuki, page 113

The Talent Education Code - Part 3-

This is the third in a series of blogs which are an in depth analysis of Daniel Coyle’s book The Talent Code as it relates to the "Talent Education method" developed by Dr. Suzuki.

The Three Rules of Deep Practice:
Chunking, Repetition, and Integral learning

Myelin is what physically increases in the brain when ability is developed, and "deep practice" is how to optimize this process.  Part 1 of this blog-series discussed how myelin wraps around the neural circuits in the process of developing accuracy and speed in neural pathways.

In part 2 "deep practice" was discussed as the most efficient and effective way to build the myelin around the neural pathways for developing talent. Deep/deliberate practice involves full concentration on accomplishing a defined goal that is within reach, and getting constant feedback through the process.   In deep practice on the piano using Suzuki principles of learning, the student will practice a small spot(s) that contain the core feeling/technique of a piece many times.  There is a clear goal which has been practiced and learned at the lesson, and at practice the student gets feedback in the form of the quality of the sound produced as well as the outside perspective from a coach/parent. 
By practicing these small parts, the student is learning to "chunk" together patterns and understand their relationships to each other.  This is pattern recognition, a critical component of Ability Development. (1) Daniel Coyle defines this as the first of three rules on deep practice:  "Chunk It Up"   (2)

The second rule for deep practice is repetition.  Daniel Coyle differenciates deep practice from mere repetition because it involves the learner in the "Sweet spot edge of your capabilities, attentively building and honing circuits."  (3)  Rote repetition without engagement is not beneficial and potentially harmful. It is repetition done with the engagement of the learner in the process to fine tune each repetition, and to provide self-correction each time so that the thoughts/ movements become increasingly precise.The repetitions need to  keep the interest of the students and yet not be too hard to make them tired quickly.  Here is where a master teacher comes in to understand the sequencing of learning in relationship to building foundation skills and directs the learning in a way that challenges the student and also enables them to succeed. It is then the parents job to understand the subtleties and priorities of an assignment, and follow through.

Deep practice then means doing targeted specific repetitions that engage the learner in an integral learning experience  The important point is to let the student experience what they are trying to learn rather than tell them about it or about how to do it.  In music study, this will allow them to hear the sound as it's own language without words in the way.  This is possible because the sound has already been internalized through listening.  Next, help them be able to make that sound by using their body in the most natural way through demonstrations by the teacher, and key words that are associated with the movement at home. Connect the sound quality with the specific movements you observe and help the child to develop this awareness. This ability to play with a beautiful sound using a natural balanced position will be reinforcing to the child.  Dr. Kataoka says:

"If a child starts piano lesson at age 3 or 4, he or she should always learn what a good sound is, along with how to enjoy it. The teacher's primary task is to instruct how to make good sound because music starts with sound, and sound exists in the world of sensibility." (4)

Honor the child's feelings about the number of repetitions, and affirm the process rather than the result. In this way the goal is the practice experience itself.  Allow the mental/reading concepts to come at the child's own pace, preferably later. 

Deep practice is the center point of integral learning where the mental(aural), physical, emotional, and inspired aspects are in harmony, and the myelin wraps around the circuits to provide a clear path for the message connections between the mind and body, and a good feeling becomes associated with this as well.  When we can find this center point of learning, ability develops deeply, and at a much more rapid pace.
These concepts of core education and Integral learning will take us in the next blog to Daniel Coyle's third rule of deep practice: "Learn to Feel It"

1. Blog on pattern recognition written in April 2010:
   Ability Development and pattern recognition
2.  The Talent Code by Daniele Coyle, p.79
3. The Talent Code by Daniele Coyle, p. 88
4.  Sensibility and Education by Dr. Kataoka, p.54

Blog on Integral Learning written November 2008:
Spot Practice to Enable Integral Learning 

Other Blogs in this series: 

The Talent Education Code Part 1
The Talent Education Code Part 2
The Talent Education Code Part 4

The Talent Education Code -Deep Practice -Part 2

This is the second in a series of blogs which are an in depth analysis of Daniel Coyle’s book The Talent Code as it relates to the "Talent Education method" developed by Dr. Suzuki.

 Myelin wrapping around the neural circuitry is the "what" of developing skill/talent.  Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code,  uses the analogy of a broadband internet connection versus a dial-up modem to compare heavily myelinated neural connections versus neural connections with little myelin.  So, the myelinated connections allow much more information at a much higher rate to be transmitted. Deep/deliberate Practice is the "how" to develop skill and myelinate the neural circuits.

Daniel Coyle traveled around the world to study "hotbeds' or places where many people develop a high ability in the same location.    In an article from the New York Times published in 2007, (The Talent Code was published in 2009),  Daniel Coyle talks about his visit to the Spartak Center for tennis in Moscow where a large number of super "talents" have come out of Russia.  Coyle says: 
"To put Spartak's success in talent-map terms: this club, which has one indoor court, has achieved eight year-end top-20 women's rankings over the last three years. During that same period, the entire United States has achieved seven."(1)

The Suzuki movement was ignited in the United States when Dr. Suzuki* held the American tours and brought his young students to America to perform.  A poster from a concert held in downtown Atlanta in 1988 is on the side of this blog.  Dr. Suzuki created a "hotbed" for developing talent in the small town of Matsumoto, in Japan.   About environment Dr. Suzuki said:
"What does not exist in the environment will not develop in the child. By no means only words or music, but everything, good or bad, is absorbed by the child." (2)

What Daniel Coyle observed in the environment at the Spartak Center in Moscow and other sports and music talent hotbeds he traveled to is what he defines as "deep practice".

According to K. Anders Ericsson, the author of The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, every talent is the result of a single process: deliberate practice. He defines this as individuals engaged in a practice activity with full concentration on some point to improve their skill. Thus, deliberate practice means working on technique using constant critical feedback from observations as well as those of a coach/teacher. K. Anders Eriksson  defined this kind of deliberate/deep practice as distinctly different and more effective than simple repetition or spending time doing an activity.
"Deliberate practice differs from the mere experience of doing the task in many different ways. Perhaps the most striking way concerns the mental attitude of the individual. During deliberate practice the individual has the goal of improving some measurable aspect of their performance. For example, a recreational golfer aims their putt toward the hole on the green and either misses or drops the ball in the hole. Every time the golfer putts the ball, it is a different situation and the golfer would not know whether the mistake was caused by their putting technique, the slope of the green, the resistance of the grass, or whatever. During deliberate practice on a practice green, the golfer has the opportunity to make the same putt many times (Ericsson 2001)."*(3)

This idea of practicing the same putt many times is part of what Daniel Coyle defines as the first component of "deep practice"  and calls it  "chunking it up".  Basically this means that the practice is one definable part of the whole process of playing golf and that this allows the golfer to focus and build the myelin around the cirucits in that particular movement. He includes in this idea absorbing the whole concept/piece/"chunk" and then dividing it into it's  smallest possible parts.  "People in hotbeds deep-practice the same way a good movie director approaches a scene -one instant panning back to show the landscape, the next zooming in to examine a bug crawling on a leaf in slo-mo." (4)

In the Talent Education method, students listen to performances of the music they are studying as well as to performances by the best artists and the highest level compositions, such as Mozart concertos.  A unique benefit music has for developing this "sense of the whole" is that the music can be going on continuously and absorbed subconsciously without any effort or time consumption. Coyle cites examples of various successful sports players and teams that watch videos of the best teams and players. K. Anders Ericsson says:
"When you put yourself in the same situation as an outstanding person and attack a task that they took on, it has a big effect on your skill."  (5)

As an example of breaking skills into "chunks",  Daniel Coyle discusses the students at the Meadowmount School of Music playing sections of their piece in rhythms or with stops on certain notes on the beat, and how this practice distinctively develops the myelination of those notes together as a smaller chunk. This is an important way of practicing scale type passages. It is important for students to practice with stops on the beat, in phrases, in sections, hands separate, etc.  This breaking down is the crucial balancing component to absorbing the whole. Suzuki students practice spots that are patterns such as the alberti pattern.  ( Left hand: Do-So -Mi-So). Also, the "Twinkles"*** are themselves a whole study in the"chunking"  of rhythmic and melodic patterns for the child to absorb.

 About the Spartak tennis team Coyle says:
 "At Spartak it's called imitatsiya-rallying in slow motion with an imaginary ball.  All Spartak's players do it, from the five-year-olds to the pros."(6) 
Slowing down enables students to increase precision and develop a perception of the interlocking skill circuits. Dr. Kataoka called this "slow-motion" practice.  So, from the beginners to the advanced pros, everyone is practicing and observing others practicing  (no private lessons at Spartak) the simple movements very precisely over and over again. In studying Piano Basics with Dr. Kataoka**, teachers would play the Twinkles for their lessons as other teachers observed, and worked on the most basic skills of posture, ready and tone. Teachers in Piano Basics still study in this same way.
In describing chunking Daniel Coyle says:

"The goal is always the same:  to break a skill into its component pieces (circuits), memorize those pieces individually, then link them together in progressively larger groupings (new, interconnected circuits)"(7)

Dr. Kataoka  when instructing students and parents on how to practice used the term "part by part".  It makes sense in terms of building myelin for students to build these parts as overarching waves or "nesting" with the bigger ones encompassing the smaller ones starting from a single tone, down-up feeling, or slur and adding the bigger wave to a measure or pattern, to a phrase, section,  whole movement,   to the whole piece. Each part is in turn practiced to build the correct technique to produce the best sound.

In short, technique is established through deep practice, and this is what Dr. Suzuki meant by "Ability Development", what Dr. Kataoka instructed teachers and parents how to do at every lesson, and a critical component of core education.

Daniel Coyle relays his encounter with  77 year old coach Larisa Preobrazhenskaya of the Spartak team: 
"Technique is everything,"  she told me later, smacking a table with Khrushchev-like emphasis, causing me to jump and reconsider my twinkly-grandma impression of her. "If you begin playing without technique, it is big mistake. Big, big mistake!"(8)

References:
1. "How to grow a Super Athlete" by Daniel Coyles, New York Times Magazine, March 4, 2007
2.  Nurtured by Love, Dr. Suzuki, 1983; Page 12
3."Discovering deliberate practice activities that overcome plateaus and limits on improvement of performance" - K. Anders Ericsson-from International Symposium on Performance Science 2009- Keynote Paper
4 The Talent Code by Daniel Coyles, 2009; Page 80.
5. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyles, 2009; Page 80
6. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyles, 2009 ; Page 82
7. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyles, 2009;  Page 84
8. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyles, 2009;  Page 83

 *         For information on the Suzuki method Click here
**    For information on Dr. Kataoka and Piano Basics Click here
*** The "Twinkles" are the beginning pieces for all instruments in the Suzuki method.  They involve the twinkle melody with rhythms on each note.  They are used to teach how to produce tone with good technique on each note/finger.

Interesting Links:
"The Brains Behind Talent"  -a short New York Times Video on Doug Fields head neuro-scientist at the The National Institute of Health explaining myelination with an example of himself and his daughters.
"How the Brain Works": Great Video series from UCLA Neurobiology department

"White Matter Helps Brains Learn, Erik Vance- Interesting article in The Scientist on research done on myelin.

Other Blogs in this Series:
The Talent Education Code Part 1
The Talent Education Code Part 3
The Talent Education Code Part 4

The Talent Education Code-Part 1-Myelin

This is the first in a series of blogs which will be an in depth analysis of Daniel Coyle’s book The Talent Code as it relates to the "Talent Education method" developed by Dr. Suzuki.

When Dr. Suzuki named his school the "Talent Education Institute" in 1946, using the words "talent" and "education"  together was basically considered a contradiction of terms. Talent was considered inborn and you either had it or you didn't.  Education was for learning - reading, math and other subjects. Even as late as the early 1990's when I was traveling to Japan I read in a guidebook about the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto as "education for the talented". Dr. Suzuki  used the term "ability development" to help with this misunderstanding.  When he was asked in an interview with Isako Itano in the book Where Love is Deep about the word talent he says:

"I used the word in the sense that talent is something to be nurtured, but since it's inconvenient if we are misunderstood, in the future I would like to eliminate the word talent and simply call it education, when common sense changes enough to allow me to do so." (1)

Recent research about learning continues to support Dr. Suzuki's belief in "ability development" through the right environment.  In particular Daniel Coyle's book The Talent Code:  Greatness isn't born. It's grown. Here's how.  details how the brain develops, and how to maximize the learning process.  The book is based on neurological research about how myelin forms in the brain, and what it's function is to learning.  "Revolutionary", Dr. George Bartoklis, professor of neurology at UCLA  told Daniel Coyle: "Myelin is 'the key to talking, reading, learn skills, being human."(2)
About that Daniel Coyle says:

"The revolution is built on three simple facts.  (1) Every human movement, thought, or feeling is a precisely timed electric signal traveling through a chain of neurons - a circuit of nerve fibers.  (2) Myelin is the insulation that wraps these nerve fibers and increases signal strength, speed, and accuracy.  (3) The more we fire a particular circuit, the more myelin optimizes that circuit, and the stronger, faster, and more fluent our movements and thoughts become."(3)

Dr. Suzuki says:  "Ability equals knowledge plus 10,000 times." (4)  Knowledge is the mental aspect of acquiring talent.  Talent is the ability to do  in the present moment that which one knows. Through "10,000 times",  the myelin wraps around the neural circuits and creates ability. Again Daniel Coyle says:

"Skill is myelin insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows according to certain signals."(5)

When myelin wraps around the neurons with each repetition to develop pathways, or skills is exactly what Dr. Suzuki parallels in his statement: "Ability develops ability"(6)  and gives the example of lanquage aquisition in babies. Once the pathway is developed, through intended repetition the skills become easy and fast.

Actions are electrical impulses sent along chains of nerve fibers  that are connected together by synapsis. When you intend a movement the brain sends a signal through the chains of nerve fibers to your muscles.  Different skills have specific pathways -"sort of like a string of Christmas lights".(7)

The next important concept about skills is that the more we develop a skill circuit, the more "automatic" or without conscious thought it becomes. The more we can process in our subconscious minds automatically the more complex skills we can do.

Myelin or "white matter" is the phospolipid membrane or dense fat that wraps around the nerve fibers preventing the electriacal impulses from leaking out.  Since around the year 2000 many studies have come out with research regarding the role of myelin in the brain, and the increases in myelin linked with increases in various skills.

"Myelin quietly transforms narrow alleys into broad lightning-fast super-highways...Tennis players, singers, and painters don't seem to have much in common but they all get better by gradually improving timing and speed and accuracy, by honing neural circuitry, by obeying the rules of the talent code- in short by growing more myelin."(8)

Myelin grows.  It can be nurtured and directed to develop talent. This is Dr. Suzuki's "law of ability".
Next, is to figure out how to optimize this process.

1. Where Love is Deep-The writings of Shin'ichi Suzuki, p. 111
2. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle p.32
3. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle p. 32
4. Every Child Can produced by the Suzuki Association of the Americas, p. 9
5. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle p. 33
6.  Ability Development from Age Zero by Shinichi Suzuki p.6
7.  The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle p. 36
8. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle p. 41...p.7

Other Blogs in this series:

The Talent Education Code Part 2
The Talent Education Code Part 3
The Talent Education Code Part 4

Masterclass Workshop with Cathy Hargrave

Date:  April 9 and 10
Location:  Core Suzuki Studio

I am very pleased to announce that Cathy Hargrave will teach master class lessons for the studio and also for students from around the Bay Area in the Core Suzuki Piano Studio on April 9 and 10.  
Parents can sign-up in the studio for their time.  Teachers who are interested in observing and/or having students for lessons can contact Leah Brammer.
  
About Cathy Hargrave:
Cathy Hargrave is one of 24 pianists world-wide who was granted a teaching certificate by Dr. Shinichi and Dr. Haruko Kataoka, the co-founder of the Suzuki Piano Method. She lived in Matsumoto, Japan four years for the purpose of studying the pedagogy of Suzuki Piano first-hand with Dr. Suzuki and Dr. Haruko Kataoka. For over 30 years, Cathy has taught Suzuki Piano to children and teachers. She has been a frequent guest lecturer/clinician/SAA teacher trainer at workshops, national, and international conferences throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, Japan, and Russia. She is author of the book
Reading Music by Ear.   She maintains a private studio in Rowlett, Texas.

Every Child Can

Suzuki Philosophy is based on this important fact: Virtually all children learn to speak their native language.

It is by being immersed with language that children begin to imitate sounds, repeat sounds, understand sounds, and begin to communicate. Children can learn the language of music the same way that they learn to speak, which is first and foremost through listening.

Dr. Suzuki called this method the “mother-tongue approach”. He named his school “Talent Education” because of his realization that all children with the right environment can learn music and develop “talent”, or ability.

“Every Child can be educated, but children are not born with education. Knowing this fact will become the basis for insights regarding the nature of mankind.” (1)

There are enabling factors that must be considered when researching how every child can be successful in achieving high ability. There is a sensitive period for language acquisition. It is also true that infants are absorbing musical sound from birth, and even before birth. Beginning early is one of the principals Dr. Suzuki purports in all of his writings:

“The earlier talent development is begun, the better” (2)

Therefore creating an environment of listening to music is important from the very beginning of life in the same way that it is important for babies to hear language. After the child has internalized the sounds of the pieces they are ready to begin to speak music. When the young child learns to play their instrument, it becomes a natural integral part of their learning, their life, and their abilities. Dr. Suzuki said:

“If a three year old child starts practicing the violin, his little finger will be as strong and agile as his other fingers. He will be able to do splendid fourth finger trills. Such a small child may only need to train a thousand times while an adult will not be able to achieve such a skill after training even one hundred fifty thousand times. “(3)

Older beginning students greatly benefit from studying through the Suzuki Method as they have the freedom to focus on the aural/physical connection in playing their instrument. However, the visual connection may be at an earlier stage with older students. The Suzuki method is a flexible natural learning method that can be uniquely suited so that every child can be successful.

Children learn naturally from everything in their environment without any specific instruction. Absorption of the pieces the child is learning to play is a daily diet of listening. In the same way that children internalize the accent and tone of their parent’s voice, they will absorb the sound on the recording. The listening environment is the most fundamental concept derived from the mother tongue approach and a critical factor in success for the student.

All of the factors that affect the child’s learning and development physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually are important to consider when providing an optimum environment. Thus the parent’s involvement is integral to enabling the child to be successful.

“The destiny of the child lies in the hands of his parents.”(4)

Dr. Suzuki often talks about the importance of the parent’s role in the child’s emotional development:

“As the saying goes: ’The knack of fostering is the parents skill. ‘ In fact, ‘the parents smile is the child’s smile.’ Education while scolding and clashing is the least skillful way. I would like you to think as a parent about ‘how one can be skillful or clumsy at inspiring the desire to learn.”(5)

It is the responsibility of the teacher to nurture and educate the parents to understand the philosophy of “Every Child Can”, and help them develop the skills to work with their child.

An important aspect of success in language acquisition is repetition. Consider the amount of time a baby hears familiar words like “mama” before speaking, and how many times the child repeats that word after learning it to develop ability. Therefore in the mother-tongue approach, the child continues to play pieces after they are learned, while refining skills.

“Raise your ability on a piece you can play”(6)

Recognition of what is correct guides the repetition/practice to develop ability. This feedback to the student comes first through internalized sound so that the child is seeking to reproduce. Next,the teacher’s affirmations connect the physical aspect of what the child is doing with the aural sound that is produced, as well as with the feeling the sound makes: “When you move your fingers that way the sound is a beautiful legato.” The parent continues nurturing the child in the same way with the repetitions at home. The child is encouraged by the affirmations and the parent is empowered to help with the knowledge that this practice will lead to improvement and the development of ability.

“I hope that you can now understand that great talent and a deep, beautiful feeling in the heart are closely tied together. “ (7)

The Suzuki repertoire is the language spoken by the students in the Suzuki piano studio. Discs, observation, recitals, and groups create motivation to play those pieces. The teacher also creates an individual studio repertoire in addition to the core curriculum that may include Christmas pieces, improvisation ideas, and post book 7 repertoire. Overall, the core curriculum along with the evolving repertoire creates the aural environment, which enables students to learn pieces naturally.

Children who begin lessons early have the language of musical sound as part of their primary language. After children can play songs with fluency the “picture” of that sound is introduced. This is developmentally appropriate reading. The musical score represents a picture of the sound the child has already internalized. Group classes focus on the application of concepts so that the aural, visual, and kinesthetic concepts are directly linked.

Advancing students become aural readers. This ability to read can be developed by linking the sounds with visual symbols in the same way students learn to read words. The visual picture of the sound enables the student to retain detailed information about making changes to what they are playing. Ultimately students memorize the aural sound/visual picture as a whole. This way they can play by heart.

All of the enabling factors for learning the language of music are derived from the mother-tongue philosophy. Every child can benefit from the abilities that are developed through learning the language of music. Learning how to communicate through music with beautiful tone is a wonderful life ability. It is a way that we can feel that which is beyond words. By researching how children learn naturally we can learn now to provide the best environment for optimum learning. We are empowered with the responsibility of enabling every child to be successful.

Bibliography

1. Ability Development from Age Zero, Page 6

2. Ability Development from Age Zero, page 55

3. Ability Development from Age Zero, page 55

4. Nurtured by Love, page 12

5. Where Love is Deep, page. 44

6. Where Love is Deep, page 51

7. Ability Development from Age Zero, page 61