Customer Reviews

Nurtured by Love: The Classic Approach to Talent Education

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This book by Shinichi Suzuki is part-description of the principles of his Talent Education method, part-snapshots of personal history, part-statements on his philosophy of life. It is written with great optimism and love for humane development of children into noble people. Based on his observation that all children speak their mother tongue fluently (and are thus highly capable to be educated in many disciplines) and on his belief that talent is not inherited but learned, Suzuki's method concentrates on creating the best environment for child development. His famous violin teaching method incorporates parent involvement, listening to the same piece many times and extensive practice, among others. Importance of memory training and good mentors (Einstein was one of Suzuki's) is stressed. Many real-life stories illustrate his points.

By way of criticism, while themes of compassion and developing a noble character recur throughout the book, it takes some effort to piece it all together. The book reads like a series of short improvisations on the themes of love and rearing of children. The parts of personal history, for example, with the description of illness, war and Suzuki's father's starting violin manufacturing business, while interesting, do not blend with the rest of the book. A chapter entitled "If you think of something do it" has nothing to do with its title (there is a chapter that talks about people of action in his other book, "Ability development from age zero", which repeats many of the stories verbatim). Some bits of Suzuki's take on life's truths, such as "an unfair advantage leads to evil" sound out of place.

In spite of some shortcomings, I would recommend this book. Not as a practical guide, but as an inspirational material for parents.

I thought this would be a book about the Suzuki method of converting toddlers into musicians -- revealing some of the secrets about what makes the Suzuki method unique & what makes it effective. It was that, but much more. What I knew as the "Suzuki method," Shinichi Suzuki calls "Talent Education," based on the underlying philosophy that all children can be well-educated and all talent can be nurtured. Suzuki believes that talent is developed, not inherited; he believes in nurturing the talent in each child, in creating a culturally-supportive environment and coupling it with training to develop mediocrity into excellence. Suzuki exlains how & why he developed "Talent Education," drawing on his own experiences as a musician and during WWII. His text is filled with anecdotes about students, many of whom became quite successful as musicians, many of whom teach at conservatories around the world.

Suzuki's "method" includes focus not only on music, but also on character development -- on awareness, joy, integrity, courage. He believes that "However little talent on thinks he/she has, one should at least try". This book is easy to read, filled with stories & philosophy and bolstered by photographs here & there, inspiring joy in the reader.

I am new to Suzuki Violin and when my instructor assigned this book I thought I was going to read a book about music, but instead a read a book about how to live a beautiful life! What a great gift Suzuki was to the world -- I wish everyone could read his books -- it truly would be a better world as a result!

As a child who grew up in the Suzuki Method of music education, and just in music education in general, (both of my parents are {were} music teachers.) this book was wonderfully enlighteing to read. It made me appreciate so much how fortunate I was to have been brought up in the wonderful world of music and Suzuki. But the book goes far beyond just being a book about music education; it applies to all of life. It really is a must-read for anyone with children, and especially those planning on having children. It is a very easy read; and will change your life.

This book revolutionized my life. I visited a Suzuki flute instructor and fell in love with this method. I saw how excited the children were about learning and how much joy they had. When I read the book I understood why. Dr. Suzuki has a mastery over how children respond to love and encouragement. Reading the stories in here about patience, love and encouragement changed the way I taught flute and also the way I approach life in general. I now try to emulate Dr. Suzuki's teachings in all my interactions. I would recommend this book to every music instructor, whether Suzuki or traditional, every teacher, every parent, and any person who works with or has contact with children. I bought this copy to give to a former student, to help him remember his roots as he begins his music career. I hope he will choose to emulate Dr. Suzuki's love and wisdom in his teaching.

I recomend this book to anyone raising children!! This is not only a book about talent education and music learning, but a book about life and faith in humanity and children. What Mr. Shinichi Suzuki contibuted to the world with his findings is far beyond our comprehension, if every parent out there were to follow Mr. Suzuki's philosophy the world might be a very different place! Please do read this book, is life changing.

Although he boarded with a great genius (Dr. Albert Einstein), Shinichi Suzuki was a great genius himself. A must read for everyone. A combination of Dale Carnegie (the greatness in everyone) and Miyamoto Musashi (repetition to master a skill). Not only does the author understand how we learn, he sees great potential in everyone and never finds fault with the individual. As a result, he is able accomplish the seemingly impossible. On the surface this is a "music" book but it is actually a learning guide for everyone. It teaches us how we learn and he uses simple examples (parakeet page 5) to illustrate his ideas. The methods can be applied to ourselves, pets, children, students, athletes, employees, etc.

As another review states, the book tends to jump around and doesnt use an outline or chapters. It is more a scoll of "great thoughts by a genius" and progesses like his teaching style - from the basics to the advanced.

This book made me realize how important music education can be in a child's life. Sinichi Suzuki was an extraordinary man who loved teaching, but loved his students more. His story helped me form my own philosophy of teaching. I recommend it to anyone!

This book is required reading for the parents of students enrolled in the Suzuki string program, thank goodness! The message is profound. Several passages are thought-provoking. I found it easy reading and very beneficial. The Suzuki method is right on target for bringing out the best in our children.

The book wonders between autobiography, philosophy, history of how Suzuki's philosophy developed, and technique but the message is clear. Most children's success is dependent on the culture parents create EVERYDAY at their home and for their children. The parents are the creators of culture and the culture is what is done, talked about, emphisized, supported, given time to, and encourage everyday with love. It is easier if society at large supports the culture that parents want but parents ultamately have to create their own culture for their children and the key is what is done everyday and it requires a serious investment of time.

We are what we do everyday (Suzuki is in line with Aristotle on this one). Patience, perserverance, determination shrouded in love 15 minutes a day, for a child, is better than an hour one day a week. Parents talking about it, encouraging it everyday, making it the family culture, are keys to success in music as most anything for most children. There are a lot of distractions that wish to throw our children into worshiping the vanities in this world, the best way to fight this is to create an inner dignity and harmony that comes from a serious but loving endevour everyday.