Studio of Leah Brammer

Teaching in the Present

2012-06-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Teaching in the Present

Ever imagined having a whole new studio created out of what you have learned? The key is connecting your previous studio to your present work, and with the help of technology it is possible to span space and time.

I left Atlanta to move to Silicon Valley in 2006. I packed up all of my musical belongings including 2 grand pianos, a huge file of music scores, books, a 600+ CD collection, stereo system, computer with all the files from my studio and the Atlanta Area Suzuki Piano Association newsletter/website, and boxes upon boxes of video and 8mm tapes. So, I had to ask, Does what I do only exist in one location and how can I evolve my teaching? It was logical being in the Silicon Valley environment to look around and see social networking was going to take off, and with it the possibility of some way to communicate and learn that previously did not exist. After many years of teaching I was not feeling like the new kid on the block, but rather hoping to see things in a time-less fashion. Thus began my quest to mash up that which I had captured on my video camera with some new way of learning that was non-local, and non-time dependent.

I began doing lessons online by exchanging You-tube videos that were uploaded as “private” between myself and the student(s). This helped me continue to mentor previous students and teachers. At that time it was only possible to upload about 3 minutes at a time. This turned out to be useful to me as I had to stick to the point in my teaching. I figured out it was important to practice exactly what I was going to say/play before the video went on in order to get the most on the tape. I would then upload several three minute segments for each lesson referring to the tape they had sent me and giving examples of how/what to practice. Organizing the lesson ahead and practicing it helped me understand how to teach and say less. This learning was very useful.

I also traveled back to Atlanta to teach my former students and others as well. The teachers in Atlanta have been so gracious in having me in their homes, as it would not have been financially doable otherwise. I attempted to get good videos of these lessons, but still was not proficient enough to really pull it all together. The idea was there though and I decided to upgrade my equipment, learn how to use it better, and keep trying.

Meanwhile I had taken a few students at my new home through referrals from other Suzuki teachers. It still wasn’t a “studio” though.

My next big step was to do a website. I took all of my previous writings in newsletters and studio notes and uploaded them onto a blog. I made a video blog and began the arduous process of getting recordings off VHS and getting them onto the blog. This was somewhat random as I did not save the recital programs that went along with the videos so was going on my memory of who played in what recital when. It was however a very interesting process to look back at performances I remembered and to experience them fresh.

My web designer– a former Suzuki piano student – ask me for the current photos for the homepage. This was a new idea to choose photos and make decisions about what I wanted to personally communicate in an online format. I thought that parents might not want their children’s pictures on the homepage, but no one objected. In fact as it turns out they liked it, and love having the performances uploaded so they can share them with family and friends.

I began posting blogs for my parents as a way of doing parent education, and provided links to the Piano Basics Site and other useful resources as well. I put a Google calendar on the website which I can easily update with the schedule, and this also enabled me to let out of town people see when I was available.

The website helped me to enroll a class of Twinkle students ages 3-6. I was thinking about Dr. Suzuki using recordings and decided to see what he had said about recording lessons. “Developing Children’s Ability Using the Suzuki Teaching Method-How we are doing now “ is an article taken from 1977 International Suzuki Conference talk given by Dr. Suzuki on the “latest report on the teaching methods in Japan since the last meeting “

In that article Dr. Suzuki said:

“I consider the invention of the cassette tape recorder as a revolutionary tool for music education and Japanese members are making the most use of them… Our children are supposed to attend their lesson with their own tape recorders so that they can tape the lesson and take the tape home for their practice. Thus I can say that the utilization of cassette tapes in the way stated above has proved to be very effective.”

I decided to upload the lessons to a private blog site. I decided to put them online rather than sending them home with the students for several reasons. First of all putting the videos on the blog made watching them appealing and fairly easy. Next, the parents could gain insight from watching other students’ lessons. Also, I wanted to track progress over time so that it would be possible to see lessons from the beginning of the year to the end. Last, I had the idea that these lessons would be useful for teacher training and teacher research.

At this point technology had changed so that I could upload somewhere around 10 minutes for each clip. So, I still had to cut lessons into parts before I could directly post. I finished the year with all of the lessons, assignments and recitals posted on a private access site. The parents benefitted from the video blog, but to my surprise didn’t really see this as something radical or new.

This year I have a new class of Twinklers and another Twinkle class blog. The video makes the lessons feel important. The students accept the video as a normal part of the studio. The parents use it as a resource- of course some more than others. I found a video upload site (vimeo.com) that enables me to upload videos of any length, so that I can upload the lessons without cutting them into parts.

Overall recording the lessons has been an important part of making the lessons present and focused. Why would this be? The video is like an outside awareness watching and makes everyone just a little more “self-aware.” It is possible that this recording of the event could make people “self-conscious”, but I have not found this to occur. It is a good point to continue to research the effects of recording going forward.

Meanwhile I have continued with online lessons. It is now possible to upload any length lesson on www.vimeo.com and keep the videos private.

I have been able to do Graduation Evaluations this way as well. This has been useful for training students and teachers. I am amazed at the impact the online environment has had on the studio environment. In reading back over Dr. Suzuki’s writing about the use of cassettes in order to find the quotes for this article I noticed that Dr. Suzuki also discusses his “Practice with me” tapes he recorded for students to listen to spots and play with him at home. I am thinking there is a way to use this idea with the online lessons.

Perhaps one of the most important parts of playing music is that it only happens in the present moment. We can practice and prepare, and we can remember. But the experience itself happens in real time. The present moment experience of music making combined with the time-less perspective of playing masterpieces of Bach and Mozart teaches us about time-fullness.

The online access provides a means of experiencing the teaching-learning–performing cycle in a condensed aural/visual format that can span lengths of time and provides a time-fullness experience. The online lessons and performances are now a vital part of the music environment for the students as well as providing a means for reflection and perspective as a teacher. When I watch myself teach I can evaluate its effectiveness by the result of how the child responded. This is so useful as a present moment reflection, and provides a history, a connection to the work that goes on over many years of learning and teaching and learning. The significance of this change in the way teachers and students learn will be evident over time. First, we have to experience it,

Craig Timmerman writes this about Dr. Suzuki in his book Journey Down the Kreisler Highway:

“The answer to ‘When is Suzuki’ is, of course, “Now’ Suzuki is always now. That is why he is always here. I think that this may be one of the reasons that it is so very special to be in the presence of Suzuki. When he gives you his attention he gives 100%, and the results are incredible.”

I have been able to make lots of changes in my new studio that were difficult to enact in my previous studio. For example students come in groups for their individual lessons so that observation is a natural part of each weeks time in the studio. I have developed the habit of performing for my students because without advanced students to model it was necessary. I have learned how natural and invaluable my performing is to the students and parents. So, all of these little changes are part of the bonus one gets from making a big change. Craig Timmerman writes about his move to another town and how it affected him:

“It is such a wonderful aid in looking at things with fresh interest, It helps keep me in awe and wonder; discovering new things every day. Looking at normal and mundane things with fresh eyes makes life itself inspiring. Whether in the land of blue earth or blue grass, a tree never stops changing; it is always growing.

“The only constant is change”, and yet the only change is the deeper awareness of the constant, the basics.

Nurturing the Whole Child through piano study

2012-06-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

When parents think about how their child can learn to play the piano, the first questions that usually come to mind are things like ‘how to learn and memorize the notes?’ and then a little later: 'how do I get my child to practice?'...

Learning how to play piano involves many different abilities - specific mental skills, the ability to physically coordinate one’s use of the body, the integration of emotional feelings and the senses, and a strong motivation as the fuel. Integral learning is a holistic approach to education which creates ability by giving attention to all of these aspects of the child's development. By using this holistic approach we can focus on the aspects in each individual child which need nurturing, and thereby enable the growth of the whole child.
Below, the Integral Learning diagram divides the process of learning into four quadrants - mental, physical, senses, and inspiration. Naturally, the quadrants overlap, but this conceptualization of learning can be very useful in assessing children's development.

Integral Learning Diagram

The Mental Quadrant of integral learning is what we may traditionally think of as learning -- or the process of acquiring knowledge about specific things. By listening repeatedly to a music recording, the child comes to "know" how the music sounds. This enables the child to play (or, ‘speak’) the pieces naturally the way babies extract the sounds of their native language and become able to speak. (1) This process of pattern recognition (also know as statistical learning) is an implicit process (e.g., not necessarily effortful) that is important for acquiring different kinds skills. As infants become toddlers, many scholars believe that they use ‘pattern recognition’ to learn how words piece together to form grammar; this involves knowing which parts in the phrases are the same, and which parts are different. Similarly, the recognition of patterns in musical sound is actually an important part of both teaching and learning music. Learning to read music can be thought of as the next step in pattern recognition which involves pairing melodies and rhythms with visual symbols.

The Physical Quadrant of integral learning includes the process that the child goes through to develop a sense of their body through through attention to their own posture and the coordination of their physical movements. Understanding exactly how their physical movements produce certain sounds is a critical link. Through repetition of specific spots the physical ability to play patterns is linked with the sound. These patterns are then the building blocks that are used in all of the pieces they are playing.
As Dr. Suzuki says:
"Knowledge plus 10,000 times equals ability."

The Inspiration Quadrant: Inspiration literally means "to breath in", or to fill someone with the desire to do something. First, we nurture children's motivation and provide true inspiration for them by holding the vision of them playing piano beautifully. We also foster motivation by creating an environment where the child can hear and see wonderful performances, observe other children playing and learning piano, and perform regularly in recitals so they experience the inspiration and excitement of sharing their music.

The Senses Quadrant involves direct learning through the senses. Researchers define various types of senses. Even rhythm can be considered a sensibility. (2) In the Integral learning concept, senses can be defined as including both ‘physical’ senses (tactile (e.g., touch), auditory, visual) as well as emotional sensations.

The auditory sense is primary in music learning as it is in speech. By immersing the young child in music during their sensitive period of language acquisition, they are able to learn music as a language directly through the auditory sense. The tactile or touch sense is important in learning to use the hands to receive information and develop sensitivity. For more information on the tactile sense read the previous blog "The Touch Sense") The visual sense is then useful to link the music with the visual symbols (written score).

Emotional development is also in the senses quadrant as it involves an inner response/sensation to the stimulus of the environment that does not necessarily involve thinking. It includes feelings such as respect, appreciation, a sense of well-being, belonging, confidence, perseverance. By focusing attention on these positive feelings as soon as they are observed in the child, parents and teachers can greatly influence the development and deepening of these attributes. Dr. Suzuki says:
"Character first, then Ability."
(For more reading on this subject read the blog "Affirm, Motivate, and Inspire")

So this quadrant is broad in scope and critical in children's learning. Dr. Kataoka writes about the relationship of the senses with piano study and the development of the child in her book Sensibility and Education.(3)

As parents and teachers we can use the integral learning concept to analyze how to help each child by focusing our effort on the quadrant which needs most attention. For example, a student may be able to understand what to play (mental quadrant)but not be able to physically do it. By focusing specifically on physical skill this student can progress. Another child that may be able to play easily with physical coordination, but may need help with understanding patterns in music and how to learn new pieces by understanding patterns. Emotional and motivational needs can be addressed through a similar type of focus and often involve giving appropriate feedback to the child and adjusting the environment to support learning.

At different ages and stages these needs change, and we can adjust the focus to optimize learning by creating balance in the quadrants.

In the center of the four quadrants of the Integral
learning diagram; inspiration, feeling, thought, and doing come together. This is a state of integration, total concentration and ability. I like to call this "playing by heart" because the child can play piano freely with "heart tone". Another way of saying this is to be in the state of "flow".(4)

Playing piano is an ideal learning medium to nurture the whole child.

1 Hay, J.F., Pelucchi, B., Graf Estes, K., & Saffran, J.R. (2011). Linking sounds to meaning: Infant statistical learning in a natural language. Cognitive Psychology, 63, 93-106.
2) Wikipedia link about various senses
3) Sensibility and Education by Dr. Haruko Kataoka
(Highly recommended- available on Amazon through the link) 5) Dr. Suzuki's term for beautiful tone
4) TED Talk on the "Flow" State

The Touch Sense

2012-05-29T10:29:00.001-07:00

Sensory education is a wonderful research topic for Suzuki Piano teachers. I would like to focus on the importance of the touch sense in teaching long sounds and it’s application to teaching Twinkle B where a long sound is first introduced.

When you touch something, it activates the neural receptors in the fingerpads. These neural receptors provide detailed information to the brain about the environment they are touching. Educational thought leader Dr Maria Montessori said:

“The hands are the instrument of human intelligence.”

The Montessori educational materials are manipulative and many involve the sense of touch such as the sandpaper alphabet letters that the children trace with their fingers.

In learning to play the piano it is useful to use this same kind of tactile learning to feel the length of the sounds and connect this with the aural sense.

Doris Koppelman talked about the correlation of physical movement and feeling the long sounds in her book Introducing Suzuki Piano.

She said:

“Since pianist need do nothing active to make a tone continue after first making it sound they frequently have an inferior sense of the duration of notes as compared with string players, who must measure in advance and plan for the amount of bow needed, or wind and brass players and singers, who must do the same for the amount of breadth needed. “

The connection of the long sound with the touch sense allows pianists to have the same kind of experience as other musicians. You could call this ear-hand coordination.

There are three points I would like to discuss about teaching this connection between aural and tactile in playing long sounds:

The first is developing the aural awareness of the length of the sound

One way to do this is to play a sound and ask the child to listen and raise their hand when the sound stops. You can let the sound completely dye out. The children enjoy this and it develops concentration on the sound.

The second teaching point is to develop the awareness of touch sensitivity in the ready position. This includes a tactile awareness of the keyboard with the black and white note positions, and feeling the smoothness of the key. Also the touch awareness includes recognizing finger numbers by touch (not only sight). This way the student can feel the ready position, and not need to see the finger on the note in order to feel secure. The most sensitive part of the finger is on the pad, not at the tip, so that the hand is in a relaxed and balanced position in ready.

The third step is then to associate the touch sense with the sound. The way that I teach is to integrate the sound and touch senses so that the movement of the fingers corresponds directly to the length of the note. So, as the notes become faster, the movement becomes smaller. Doris Koppelman demonstrated this concept of progressively smaller movements in her video by clapping quarter notes, then eighth notes, and then sixteenths. Naturally the size of the movements for the clapping become smaller as the notes become faster. This is same with finger movement. At this point we are working on one note and one pattern at a time. As the groupings and phrases become larger, we are involving the whole arm and use of the whole body which is not in the focus of this presentation.

Here is a recording of 2 students working on Twinkle B.
For both students I am directing their attention to feeling the long note.
For the first student I also play an accompaniment to Twinkle B and direct his attention to hearing the long note even after the accompaniment chord. This is a good way to further develop keeping attention on the long sound:

The touch sensitivity enables students to directly feel the sound, and essentially feel the music they are playing.

“Learn to feel it” is one of the three rules for Deep practice that Daniel Coyle defines in his book The Talent Code. He correlates “feeling it” with concentration.

He tells about how he observed students in a class called “How to Practice” at the well known Meadowmount music camp. They are asked to listen to a violin playing first in tune, and then out of tune and connect with how it feels. He quotes the teacher saying:

“If you hear a string out of tune, it should bother you, 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)

In playing piano we want students to connect this feeling of

Concentration with producing long sounds, and ultimately also in producing different attributes of tone such ringing tone, clear sound, what Dr. Suzuki calls heart tone.

By bringing the awareness of touch into learning from the very beginning, we engage the student, enable them to focus, and to express music with feeling.

Dr. Suzuki said:

“The ability to feel music means understanding the human heart.”

Effective and Efficient Lessons

2012-02-26T15:02:00.007-08:00

Dear Parents,
Following are suggestions to optimize learning in the lessons:
1. Set-Up
Please make a habit to set up your child promptly with their bench/footstool and books, and put the assignment sheet on my piano. Even older children need some help to make this step go quickly. This is best to do as soon as the previous student is finished. Next, you can organize you notes and score, and work the video. This will be a non-verbal signal to your child about the importance of the lesson time. Therefore in this time it is best if the adults do not talk too much.
It is better to talk casually after the lesson.
2. Assignment Sheet
Please provide an assignment sheet that is filled out with the main point of the lesson, and the main points on each piece that were covered at the last lesson.
It is also important to have the review pieces listed. This is also a signal to your child about the importance of the assignment and your role in helping them. Also, with a clear assignment sheet I can follow through with the assignment and provide continuity.
3. Distractions
Please turn off all electronic devices so that the children are the total focus of attention. Electronic games can be engaging. When siblings are playing with very interesting toys like this it makes the concentration at the piano a little harder. Texting by the parent can be especially distracting, and can make a child feel that they are actually being neglected by their parent, even though the parent is "present". Many teachers and researchers are coming to this same conclusion. Dr. Karen Hagberg wrote about this in her recent article in Piano Basics. She references Dr. Sherry Turkel, the Director of Technology and Self at MIT, author of the book "Alone Together:Why we Expect More from Technology and Less from each other. Dr. Turkel says that "mobile connectivity allows us to bail out of the physical realm at any time." You can watch her TED talk video which is very interesting:
Sherry Turkle - TED Talk
When the adults are totally focused on the lesson the children will best be able to concentrate.
4. Observe without interference
Please observe the lessons without instructing your child to pay attention, or giving other directions. It is the teachers responsibility during the lesson to nurture the child's attention and behavior. You can observe the process of learning this way. It may be that I allow the child more time to get ready, or learn through doing without giving the answer. I may be allowing the child to learn through experience that if too much time goes by without focused attention there is not enough time for the new piece, or the make-up song, etc. In the long run this will develop concentration and motivation much more than verbal directions about concentrating or hurrying up. So, please observe what is ignored as well as what is affirmed. Please take notes and also use the musical score to refer to. It works well to put some notes such as the spots directly onto the score. Other notes may be better in a notebook. Keep a main point for each lesson. It is good to keep a notebook that you can look back on months later and reflect on the progress, and the points to stay focused on.
The child will feel your concentration and attention, and without the judgement will be able to turn all of their attention to the learning.

5. End of Lesson
At the end of the lesson I will summarize the main points. This is a good time to ask any questions about the assignment. Next, please help your child clean up the environment (stuffed animals back in place, etc.) Often this is also a casual time to talk and that is important too. Most of the time logistical questions can be saved for e-mail. Please be mindful of the next students lesson time and leave quietly.

After the lesson on the way home, please affirm what your child did well, and talk about what you will work on for the next week.
Thanks so much for your part in making the lessons an environment for optimum learning experiences.
Leah Brammer

On the Rhythm Part 2: Feel it - Read it

2012-02-15T11:18:00.001-08:00

In the post "On the Rhythm- Part 1", the beginning steps of listening and feeling rhythm were discussed.

Next, when students begin learning a piece, they usually find the correct notes (pitch) first. The feeling of the rhythm may already be there so that the piece is recognizable by ear, however the exact rhythm needs to be reinforced by the parent and teacher as the next step. It is difficult for students to feel longer notes for example, so there is a tendency that these note values are played shorter when the piece is being learned. The dotted half note in "French Children’s Song" is a good example of this. Another familiar example is the dotted quarter notes, and also the half notes in "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

There are several ways to help the student with feeling and playing the correct rhythm. The student can play with the teacher who is keeping a steady beat. At home the parent can sing the melody in correct rhythm as the child plays. At the lesson, the student can clap the steady beat while the teacher plays. Sometimes it helps to show the child a metronome, which they are very interested in, and then the teacher can play the piece with metronome at various tempos keeping a steady beat. This help the students differentiate rhythm and tempo. At a later stage, the parent can clap the beat (softly) for the child at home practice. This can be done in the lesson first to make sure it is helpful to the child.

Specifically, on a spot such as a dotted half note, the teacher can clap the beat on that note when the child plays so that they feel the pulse on the long note. By clapping the pulse without counting “1, 2, 3” the child will be able to play without too much thinking. Of course understanding counting is important too, and is good to do after the child can feel the beat without the use of numbers.

Recognizing the rhythm of pieces without hearing the melody is another good tool for internalizing the rhythm. The teacher or another student can clap the rhythm of a piece, and then the student(s) can guess what song it is. The students enjoy this activity. Mary Had a Little Lamb and London Bridge have the same rhythm until the last two measures, so students have to listen until the last two measures to know which piece is being played. This internalization of the rhythm helps students perform the pieces better, and is also a step towards reading rhythm.

Introducing the visual picture of the rhythm to students is easy to do on the Book 1 pieces they already know. Twinkle D has only quarter and half notes and is great because every phrase has the same rhythm every 2 measures with the half note at the end. Teachers may want to use the Orff or other syllables to represent the sound in addition to clapping, and/or use a hand gesture to indicate the pulse on the notes longer than one beat. . You can clap the rhythm separately, and also while singing the melody. Counting can be introduced after the rhythms are understood through direct association of the feeling with the visual representation.

This can be done with all of the Book 1 pieces when the students are ready. Older students may still be in Book 1 and doing this activity, while younger students studying in Book 2 will benefit from this relationship between what they have already learned by ear, and the visual representation of the rhythm. There are various useful materials that can be used to teach these concepts. I like using a white board for the rhythm, and 8"X11" paper each with one measure on it for the full score representation.

Dr. Suzuki says: Raise your ability on a piece you can play.”

Therefore, using the sound of the pieces the children have already internalized and learned to play, help students to feel the rhythm. Next present the visual representation of the rhythms they already know. This is integral learning as the students are connecting what they can hear, feel, and do with the mental learning of the reading concepts.

Recital Preparation-Key Points

2012-02-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

1. Listen to the recording as much as possible.
Notice when the volume is right so that you are able to hear the music clearly without it being to loud or soft. This way you can make the best environment for listening to many repetitions. If you have more than one child performing, you can make a playlist with the two- four songs so that it is easy to repeat.

2. Be well rested and early to the recital, with appropriate concert dress.
Balance practice with other activities, free time and rest.

3.In practicing, affirm each step, each part that is done correctly, and especially notice when the tone is really clear and ringing.

Practice the beginning and the ending many times.

Practice hands separate in a slow tempo, and also in performance tempo.

Spot and part/phrase practice focusing on the most important points.

Focus on the tone as much as possible without too many instructions so that the child can internalize what they have learned.

It is good to have a performance practice time (in concert dress) one and/or two days ahead. On the day of the recital, please practice with good concentration for a short period. There is no need to play the piece hands together many times. This can make the piece get worse! If the child makes a mistake with this kind of in tempo hands together playing on the day of the recital it may inadvertently get into their performance too. So, it is a good time for lots of listening, rest, and hands separate spot/part practice. So, it is like putting the repetitions (skill development) into a savings account to "spend" at the recital.

all the best,
Leah Brammer

Re-solutions

2012-01-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

It's interesting in the "New Year" that most people decide to really do what they meant to do before. So, it is not really something "new", but rather a renewed effort to do what one already "knows" is the best thing to do.

Dr. Suzuki often talks about knowledge and action in his writings. He says:
           "Knowledge plus 10,000 times equals ability."

In this way, the action is the resolution:
         "The habit of action - this, I think is the most important thing we must acquire. Life's     success or failure actually depends on this one thing. So what should we do? We should get so that it is second nature to put our thoughts into action."

In Nurtured by Love he states his own resolution from around the end of World War II:
          "I shall acquire the habit of doing the things I have in mind to do."

All the best for the New Year!
Leah Brammer

Sensibility and the Holidays*

2011-11-16T10:26:00.001-08:00

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

2011-10-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

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-

2011-05-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

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

Sensibility and the Holidays

2010-12-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Sensibility is the ability developed through learning by the senses. In Dr. Karen Hagberg's explanation of the term "Sensibility" as translator of Dr. Kataoka's book "Sensibility and Education" she says:

"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. Ultimately it is the "intangible heart and soul" that remembers the feelings of Christmas/the holidays.

Holistic learning is a process of ingesting the environment/concept all at once in an intuitive/senses way rather than only the intellect. Children learn through touch, sound, intuition. 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 absorbing the environment and understand long before they are able to articulate. Children in general understand feelings even when they do not know exactly what is being said.

So, "knowledge" in this way is not really measurable. Students who learn primarily this way may not always do well on a test. However, given a practical situation they may be able to cope with the problem solving issues that another student going by the textbook answers would 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/perceiving, or unable to make good judgments. We see this in real life all the time and wonder how to educate children to make wise judgments in the complexities of day to day reality.

Core education is the development of life ability-or talent at life. The definition of the word core is: " the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything." It is core learning that develops the ability to learn which is the essential part of education. Developing life ability involves preserving and nurturing the natural way children learn from birth through their senses.

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 not thinking of other things when the children are 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. We also preserve sensibility by recognizing that the holidays are full of stimulating activities and therefore balancing these activities with quiet feelings and enough sleep.

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:

1. Continue to play the Suzuki recordings. 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 they can learn the joy of giving. You can do this informally, or organize a concert. Also, you can use the video recordings and send to relatives and friends far away with a personal holiday message.

Have a wonderful holiday!
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)

The 16th Fryderyk Chopin Competition

2010-10-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

The 16th Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Warsaw finished this week. Many of the most famous pianist in the world including Martha Argerich, Garrick Olson, Maurizio Pollini, Yundi Li,and Krystian Zimmerman have won this competition at the beginning of their career. The admissions committee began it's process in February and the live preliminary auditions were in April. The first stage auditions began on October 3, with the finals finishing on October 20. There were 78 performers to enter the first stage, forty participants went on to stage two, 20 participants were chosen for stage three and 10 performers were selected for the finals. Each stage had specific requirements. The final stage included the concerto with orchestra,

There were so many wonderful pianists from all over the world, and many incredible performances. I feel it is inspirational for piano students to be able to watch these young performers as they begin their careers.
Therefore I would like to share with you excerpt performances of the finalists.
The links to watch their complete performances at the Chopin Competition on the competition website are at the bottom of the post. The audio quality is better on those links, but it is more difficult to get to specific pieces as you cannot fast forward, and there is no embed code for a blog/website. So, I have taken the best clips I could find off You-tube. When you are watching the excepts below, you can click on the full screen button in the far right corner of the video to enlarge the video, and then press the escape key to get back to this blog.

Evgeny Bozhanov, age 26 from Bulgaria is my personal favorite of all the performers. He finished in 4th place. Below are two excepts from his performances:

Next Daniel Trifonov age 20 from Russia came in third place. Interestingly he misses the repeated notes in the very beginning, but goes on to play a wonderful performance.

Next is Lukas Geniusas(spelled wrong on the You-tube link) from Russia/Lituania who at 19 years old tied for second place:

The other second place was Ingolf Wunder, age 26 from Austria:

Next is the first place winner Yulianna Avdeeva age 25 from Russia performing the famous Polanaise op. 53 from the second round of the competition, and then the third movement of the Concerto in e minor in the final round of the competition:

First Place -Juliana Andeeva -Link to third stage performance:
http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/edition/xvi/video/3_Yulianna_Avdeeva/stage/3

Second Place -Lukas Geniusas -Link to third stage performance:
http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/edition/xvi/video/14_Lukas_Geniusas/stage/3

Third Place -Danill Trifonov -Link to the third stage performance:
http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/edition/xvi/video/72_Daniil_Trifonov/stage/3

Fourth Place -Evgeny Bozhaov -Link to third stage performance:
http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/edition/xvi/video/5_Evgeni_Bozhanov/stage/3

Enjoy!
Leah Brammer

Learning Technologies

2010-09-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Dr. Suzuki was a big proponent of using technology to provide the best environment for students. He formally began his Talent Education School after World War II in the small farming community of Matsumoto. Students listened to recordings of great artists. As early as the graduation concert in 1953, Dr. Suzuki was listening to tapes of students playing as a part of their graduation process. There are many accounts of how he would awake at 4:00 AM and listen to all of the tapes submitted to him from around Japan. Just from listening to the tapes he would be able to tell specifically how the student was playing, such as holding the bow, bowing, posture, etc. He would give specific advice on how to improve their tone through technique, as well as encouragement, a graduation certificate, and the opportunity to perform in the Graduation concert.
Dr. Kataoka was very interested in the Blu-Ray technology with it's superior sound and video capabilities. She had a collection of famous pianists that had recorded on Blu-Ray. Additionally, all of the 10 Piano Concerts in Matsumoto are professionally recorded, as well as many of the concerts. So, there is a history of openness in the Suzuki Method for using technology as a tool for learning.
Let's research how to use technology to help us create an optimum environment for learning:

1. Recordings: Please use a collection of recordings and make play-lists. These play-lists can be put in various places from the car to the MP3 player, as well as on the iPhone, or burned onto a CD.
It is good to make sure that your child hears pieces they are working on now as well as next month, next year, and even years from now. For example students in Book 1 can listen to pieces in Books 2 and 3, or the graduation level pieces including piano concertos. These pieces can be mixed in to their working pieces, or listened to at special times. Often times in the lesson I will make a specific listening assignment for that week.

2. Video blog: The studio video blog on this website has postings of Suzuki students playing the repertoire beginning as far back as 1996. I am regularly adding to this library. This is a wonderful place for your child to spend time watching and listening to piano students perform:

http://coresuzukipianovideos.blogspot.com

3. You Tube: On my You-tube homepage I have a section devoted to Suzuki repertoire. Some of them are professional pianists, and others are students. I also have piano music sorted by performer, and am beginning to save according to individual pieces. When I am writing blogs, I am researching You Tube and playing it at the same time. This is inspirational to me.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LeahBrammer

4. Recorded lessons: Having a record of the lesson is a very useful tool. The camera is in the best position to be able to see the body balance of the student. When you view the video you can really see the posture, how we are working on it, and how it affects the sound and the playing.
This is more valuable than written notes. For students whose lessons are getting longer it is a good idea to "track" the different sections of the lesson. This way there will be different sections on the video recording that you can view separately. To do this turn the camera to pause and then back to record. For example, the scale, reading, each piece, or a special practice section. This will make it much easier to get directly to the section that is the most useful.

5. Books and Blogs: There are many good books on ability development that have come out in the last couple years. I will be writing some blogs on the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle. You may be able to get it at your local library.

all the best,
Leah Brammer

Create Ready

2010-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

All of us are working on the process of lessons, such as how to arrive with calmness. When I say all of us, I mean myself, the parents that are new to the studio, and the returning parents as well. So, we are really always working on the most important points. To help your child in this endeavor, please make as much quiet listening space as possible for your child before the lesson.

We're focusing attention on the ready - the place of non-action - the place of stillness. Students continue to need this time, and practicing the ready every day creates a habit of becoming still before beginning to play the piano. Ultimately after many years of practice, it develops the ability to become still/focused inside as a conscious choice. Please continue.

When the process of learning is rooted in stillness/calmness, children feel nurtured in the doing rather than rushed, or pushed. This can be difficult to achieve in the middle of a busy schedule! It takes a strong intention to make the time and the place for a child to become still and focused.

This focus is the ready and is the potential for a high level of learning. Teaching this kind of focused attention is teaching how to learn.

At the beginning of this school year -Create Ready

*Please play the recording many hours every day. Internalized sound is a key component of "ready" to speak music.

The New Year

2010-08-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

In August, I usually ask parents to prepare for the new school year by getting organized: ordering books, playing discs, setting routines in place, and establishing good habits. These processes are both important and necessary to provide a good environment for the child. However, with all of these extra things to do, along with taking care of other children, a job to attend to, and various responsibilities, it is easy to be thinking about everything except the child in front of us. Teenagers are often finally able to verbalize this feeling when they exclaim: "You don't listen to me!"

Attention develops Awareness

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 it is this awareness that develops through our attention that 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)

So, 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. However, 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 is true 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.

Keiko Ogiwara, former student of Dr. Kataoka and Suzuki teacher says:

"The memories and abilities that the children gain through their music study will be their treasure when they are older, more valuable than anything you can buy."(3)

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. With this attention, children can develop a better awareness of their own sound and enter into a "flow" state.

This is a positive psychology concept developed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. From Wikipedia: (5)

Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. According to Csíkszentmihályi, flow is completely focused motivation.

Csíkszentmihályi describes some specific parts of the flow experience. These include the following:
1. Clear reasonably reachable goals.
2. A high level of focus or concentration in a limited area.
3. A disappearance of self-consciousness. That is, a person’s ‘awareness’ joins with the action and that common experience of having a separate sense of observing the self disappears.
4. The subjective sense of time is distorted.
5. Immediate feedback is available to adjust behavior as needed.
6. There is an optimal balance between a person’s ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult). So, a person is not overly frustrated nor bored.
7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding. The activity is worth doing for its own sake.

This 'flow' state leads to the best performances when the child can fully express their self and communicate with their audience.

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? Think about a baby learning to walk. It's great when parents are happy that the child is trying to walk, but it is also obvious that the child is trying to walk because they are driven to do so. I have never known a parent to give candy to a child if they took an extra step!"

Although it may seem contrary in terms, I would define this process of a baby learning to walk as a "flow" experience. Likewise, it is important that students are motivated intrinsically to develop their awareness and ability to communicate through music.

Providing the best environment means holding the space for concentration by looking and listening and noticing and acknowledging. This awareness enables you to give the child an affirmation or acknowledgment of what you are observing. This increases their their ability to learn and improve without the emotional roller coaster of good and bad. The intrinsic motivation to play the piano is strengthened through this experience. This is Positive Affirmation.

We can develop children's music ability by fostering their inner awareness. In doing so, we will surely help them develop their Life Ability.
The resolution for the New Year is concentration.
The intention is the development of awareness.
"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 a speech given at the Sacramento Suzuki Piano Friendship Concert-August 15, 2010
4. From this blog "Core Suzuki Piano", the article "Affirm, Motivate, and Inspire" published January 2010
5. Flow Theory:
Wikipedia
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Creativity, fulfillment and flow from Ted Talks on You-Tube
6. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunnru Suzuki, page 113

*Thanks to my daughter Bria Long for editing this post.

28_Twinkle Lessons: Learn by Heart, Play by heart

2010-05-20T18:51:00.002-07:00

At this time it is important to review, absorb, and finish. It is the end of the school year physically, mentally, and emotionally. The goal to the end is to be doing the most important learning in the present moment.

In the last blog I discussed the importance of Transfer in Learning. The students are in the process of transferring the ability they have developed in their Twinkles to the Right Hand pieces. Additionally, they are acquiring the left hand skills with very little instruction because they are transferring the learning from the Right Hand.

Also important in the development of ability is the contextual variety or differences in the pieces. For example, Clair de Lune and Long Ago both start with the first note repeated and then go up from the Do to the Re. Another example which is coming up for the students is Little Playmates and Allegretto II which begin with the same notes and same basic rhythm.
This challenges the student to differentiate between the two songs. Through repeated listening and practice they will be able to do this easily without confusion. This is the natural outcome of pattern recognition development that is discussed in the blog Ability Development and Pattern Recognition. This is done first aurally, then physically, and they also may be using some mental discriminators such as Clair de Lune has 3 repeated notes and Long Long ago has 2 repeated notes. By memorizing the aural patterns and connecting them physically and mentally they are internalizing patterns in a very different way from students who learn to read symbols and depend on the visual cue to "know" which notes to play. So, in addition to developing the ability to recognize patterns, we are developing the ability to understand the relationships between those patterns much like putting together words and sentences. They are able to "speak" and thus have a fluency and security in their playing. This is a much deeper knowledge/ability than having a piece "memorized."

Through playing the disc many hours each day we provide the most important part of the process for the child to be able to learn all of these skills.
It's amazing really how complex it is what they have to learn, contrasted with how simple it is to provide the right environment for natural learning.

After the student can play the correct notes with accuracy and tone it is important to help them keep the steady beat. The easiest way to do this is to continue to sing the solfege - not to help them find the notes or fingering -but to help them keep from slowing down or speeding up. At lessons I do this by playing with the student. Also we are working on deep and light sounds. This is the same as natural inflection in speech. It is good to mark the places where I am demonstrating deep and light sounds in your score and then you can sing in that same way at the home practice. This will help them to feel the beat and rhythm, and thus will help their music have "feeling". This is discussed in more detail in the blog "On the rhythm"

At the beginning of year I wrote "Fertilizing the roots" which refers to the idea of reinforcing the most basic concepts upon which the framework of learning is developed.
The roots have been fertilized well. The students have good posture, and good ready position.The students can produce a good tone and move their fingers. They understand how to listen to singing/playing and copying the sound. They can play many pieces, and are learning the left hand. They have their unique preferences and abilities too. This is also natural and part of individual sensibility that teachers and parents must always be aware of. Dr. Kataoka's book Sensibility and Education is a wonderful book to have and to read.

Now is a good time to affirm everything that they can do when they play piano. The concept of affirmation is presented in the blog "Affirm, Motivate, and Inspire" and is one of the Seven Principles of Core Education. This affirmation will help them understand on the emotional level (without the need for external rewards) how much they have really learned this year. As they practice, point out all of the skills they can do. It is not necessary to say that they are "good" or even "did a good job", but only to affirm what they can do. Also, please affirm the process such as "you are able to do that spot 10x now" . That is the most important point to bring to their awareness now. Intrinsically, they will grow from this understanding. Emotional growth is part of Integral Learning which is written about in this blog: Twinkle Lessons: Integral Learning.

In January 2009 I wrote an article on integral learning to the teachers in Philadelphia before traveling there to teach. Here is an excerpt from that blog which is relevant to the point we are at now:

Dr. Suzuki's famous quote "Character then ability" points to the recognition of developing the emotional and spiritual quadrants. In fact, the whole true way of "Talent Education" is to enable the student to develop physically, emotionally and spiritually as well as mentally.

"Playing by heart" is not just memorization. It is not just physically being able to play the notes without looking at the music. It has to do with what is going on inside when a person is playing. This is mysterious isn't it? For example, if we teach physical with mostly verbal/mental directions, students are probably thinking "move your fingers, drop your shoulder, don't drop your head, etc. etc." If we teach how to "interpret" the musical score with directions instead of teaching through sound, students are possibly thinking "Get louder here, slow down here, ...etc"
If we do not help the students achieve enough ability before a performance, we can feel/hear them get nervous when the hard part comes.

When you see a great performer, do you think they are thinking/feeling this way? Can we teach "playing by heart" through teaching students many things to think?
Dr. Suzuki called this way "playing with heart tone", which is in essence the place where the sound and the awareness are one without interfering thought.

With our best intentions and effort the children can play by heart at every practice, every lesson, and every performance. This is optimum learning.
Piano Ability is Life Ability

*Please enjoy the performances on the right side of this blog. The two performances are an excellent example of ability development, the concept of transfer, and playing by heart. Katie performed the Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement for her level 9 Graduation performance, and the Beethoven Concerto #3, 1st mvt. for her level 10 Graduation performance.
**All the best to the Atlanta teachers and students on the upcoming Graduation Concerts. A Special Congratulations to Marjorie Saviano and her wonderful teacher Robin Blankenship. Marjorie will be performing the Beethoven Concerto #3 for her level 10 graduation. performance.

27_Twinkle Lessons: Ability Development and the Concept of Transfer

2010-05-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

Recitals and concerts are very important points in the learning process. They solidify and accelerate the learning because their importance makes them memorable, and the connection between the preparation and the performance becomes internalized.

What is important after a recital is to utilize the learning from the recital by transferring the ability into the new pieces. In the Book Intelligent Music Teaching Robert Duke explains the concept of transfer:

"The Application of acquired knowledge and skills in situations other than those in which the knowledge and skills were originally learned is called transfer of learning."

He discusses the importance of educators always asking themselves the question "Why is it important for students to learn this now?" By teaching and emphasizing only the most important point at a given point in time in the learning process, students are able to learn the fundamental skill that will transfer into the new pieces. This of course involves repetition of the specific skill.

Just now the students can play Twinkles with good ready, good posture, good technique, and good tone. As you can see from the lessons this week I will continue to ask them to improve their Twinkle technique. It is also time to transfer their ability to the pieces in Book 1. The repertoire is uniquely suited to developing ability because the pieces contain multiple opportunities to transfer the knowledge and gain fluency through this process. You may notice when your child is learning a new piece that their sound is now legato even when they are just learning the notes, and that their hand position is naturally above the keyboard. We can facilitate this transfer by helping them discover similarities and pointing out times when you observe them using skills from a previous piece on the newer pieces.

The transfer of ability into the next piece, the next book, the next level of complexity, is through the process of fostering, nurturing, natural learning, and critical to ability development.

This last week I worked on keeping the "thumb up" with some of the students. This is only one small point but allows the whole hand to stay over the keys and the fingers to be able to move. The new pieces coming up -Clair de Lune, Long Ago and Little Playmates all start on the thumb so this is the appropriate time to solidify this ability and spot the beginnings of the pieces.

How the students are learning the left hand is another good example of the use of transfer. They "know" how they are supposed to hold the arm and move their fingers, but the physical skill has to be developed. So, in this case the contextual similarity of the right hand and left hand will enable them to acquire the ability much more quickly than when they learned the right hand. That said, since the students are right handed the left hand may require more development to become fluid. Repetition is the important key here.
Dr. Duke says about repetition:

"Through consistent, productive repetition over time, the physical and intellectual habits of musicianship become learned to the point that they are somewhat automatic and require less and less conscious though on the part of the learner. All competent musicians have skills in their repertoire that have been rehearsed to a level of automaticity that requires little effort or thought. For example, when it's time to play, the body and the instrument "go to playing position" without a great deal of thought on the part of the performer."

Contextural variety or differences are important too. Pieces that have the same rhythmic feeling at the beginning such as Go Tell Aunt Rody and French Children's Song, but have different pitches develop learning off similarities and differences. Long Long Ago and Clair de Lune together teach this same concept of similarities and differences because they both start on the same note and both go up at the beginning of the melody, but have different rhythms.
The optimum environment for human beings to learn and to transfer that learning into ability arises out these abilities which have become internalized. Eckart Tolle,author of A new Earth and The Power of Now says:

"Do you think that when Rembrandt was painting, he stood there with a brush in his hand thinking, "Okay, I wonder what my next brushstroke is going to be. If I put it there then it may clash with that. I'm not quite sure, but maybe two more centimeters to the right, let's measure it. It might look better over . . ." Creativity arises out of the state of thoughtless presence in which you are much more awake than when you are engrossed in thinking."

This kind of awareness/ability is taught through helping students transfer knowledge/ability from one situation or piece to the next. Again Dr. Duke says:

"If the goal of education is that students learn to use knowlege and skills effectively in the future, even in unfamiliar circumstances, then transfer must be defined as the goal of instruction."

As we continue to learn piece by piece we are focusing on core ability development that is transferable immediately in the new piece. accessible as a habit/ability that we use spontaneously.

Links:
Google Scholar search on Transfer in Learning Transfer in Learning The first article listed from International Encyclopedia of Education is a good general description.

Intelligent Music Teaching by Dr. Robert Duke, director of the Center for Music Learning at The University of Texas at Austin:

Other articles I have written on Ability Development:

Ability Development and Pattern Recognition
Ability Development and the Growth Mindset

Link to the final Twinkle Lessons Blog in this 2009-2010 Series