How I came to the Suzuki Bass Program

This article is a personal statement written by bassist, music teacher, and blogger Stan Haskins as part of an informational series about the Suzuki Bass Program.

I had no consistent "early" musical training, such as what is offered through programs like Suzuki or a well-run school music program. Throughout my childhood, I learned to play several instruments (clarinet, guitar, bass guitar) in fits and starts with different teachers over the years - sometimes being involved in school music programs, sometimes with private teachers, often on my own or with friends. As a professional music teacher, and "serious" amateur/semi-professional bassist, I am keenly aware of the shortcomings and inconsistencies in my own early training. I've spent plenty of time over the years "relearning" how to play my bass, control the bow, and develop repertoire, and anticipate continuing to do this for a long time to come.

Over the last few years, I have met a few beginning adult players who studied with a Suzuki teacher - an idea I had never considered before. The Suzuki method is primarily a method for teaching young children, before they are old enough to read music proficiently. I noticed that the posture and presentation of these adult beginners was worlds better than other adult beginners I had met or taught in the past. This drew my attention to Suzuki, and I looked into getting my own daughter (who was three years old at the time) involved with a Suzuki piano program. I was immediately impressed, and convinced I had to learn more. After reading Shinichi Suzuki's Nurtured by Love, I found myself in complete agreement with his views on how children are shaped by their environment, and how learning to play an instrument is analogous to acquiring one’s own native language (which all children do to varying degrees, without struggle). I was also very impressed with the sense of mission that Suzuki seems to have brought to his teaching, and moved by several of the individual stories he portrayed. IN other words, I was sold.

During the course of my earlier research and teacher training, I was exposed to several "schools" and "programs" of music education. All of them are good, and all of them have something to offer. Programs like Orff and Kodaly, for example, are particularly useful for the general music classroom, and also offer a comprehensive and sequential course of study that could prove invaluable to any musician or music teacher. Programs like these (and Suzuki) are especially attractive to me because they dovetail nicely with real research about "how people learn". They also offer a methodology designed to avoid leaving “holes” in a student’s education, and that can be applied effectively in "difficult" settings with students who may not be as prepared or motivated as a teacher would like them to be. Traditional studio/conservatory music teaching, on the other hand, often seems to be based on the premise that "if you aren't progressing as a student, you don't have the resources or background necessary, or you're not a quick learner who is likely to win competitions and auditions, you're out." Personally, as a parent, teacher, and human being, I find this attitude repulsive and feel that it has no place in the modern public school classroom. In the schools in which I've taught, it's also not an option, as most students simply do not arrive to school with the background, resources, support, or exposure necessary to being a self-motivated and dedicated student of a musical instrument without lots of patient guidance over an extended period of time. So, how could I best learn how to provide that patient guidance?

As a dedicated professional who knows he has a lot to learn, I am always trying to find some professional development that can help me to be more effective in my field (public school string teaching), and might also help me to fill in some of the "gaps" I've always been aware of in my own playing and practicing. That led me to Virginia Dixon and the Suzuki Bass Program.

I am very glad that my previous training as an educator has given me some background in educational theory and philosophy, aside from music. I find much of the "scholarly" work on education to be especially interesting. Readings from Rousseau and Dewey to Vigotsky and Gardner have all forced me to reconsider what is really taking place when people learn and teach. My experiences in the classroom, working with large numbers of young children of varying "abilities" and backgrounds, and as a parent of three young girls, have also made me carefully consider how to go about training and teaching young people, as well.

Of all the programs I have been exposed to as a music teacher, Suzuki always had a special attraction for me. When I took a graduate class years ago on teaching methods for string ensembles and classes, the instructor (a violinist) mentioned how Suzuki students would spend lots of time playing games with their bow, and would learn how to hold and use their instrument over a long period of time, mostly through playing structured games. That sounded about right to me (I love games!) and I found the Suzuki-style exercises he gave us to be very helpful. At about the same time, I was studying the "Theory of Multiple Intelligences" as presented by Howard Gardner. Apparently, part of the genesis of this theory was inspired by Dr. Gardner's experiences as a Suzuki parent, watching his own children learn to play. This stuck with me: Doctor Gardner's theories have proven to be good, workable, effective, and educationally sound.

I honestly feel very lucky to have found my way to the Suzuki program. Though the program is very much instrument-specific, I can say without hesitation that it has helped me become a more effective teacher of all stringed instruments: I am not a "pure" Suzuki teacher, but I have found that many of the methods I picked up can be easily modified for in-school instruction. While I'm not sure I will be running a Suzuki bass studio in the future, I do know I will be continuing the training to see where it leads me. My exposure to this methodology has changed how I practice and play double bass, as well, and I believe that my chances of continuing to enjoy playing bass into my old age have increased tremendously due to my exposure to the program and to Ms. Dixon's teaching.

In short, I would recommend any bass players who are interested in improving their teaching, learning, and performing to find out more about the Suzuki Bass program.



For more about the Suzuki Bass Program and Virginia Dixon, follow these links:

About Virginia Dixon
Interview with Virginia Dixon
Resources for Suzuki Bass Teachers and Students
How to Become a Suzuki Bass Instructor
Materials for Beginning Suzuki Bass Students and Teachers