Suzuki Early Childhood Education: Felicity Harrison

Course report for the Suzuki Early Childhood Education Level 1 course

Birmingham 30^th Oct – 3^rd Nov 2018

Felicity Harrison

I would like to say a really big thank you and show my appreciation to the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund Bursary for contributing to the course fees.

This was the first Suzuki course that I had gone to without my violin but it felt like it was going to be something really special. There were 12 of us there as trainees and Patricia Rüttimann was our fantastic instructor.

It was Dorothy Jones who developed these interactive music classes for babies age 0-3. During the 1980’s, she had studied alongside Dr Suzuki in Japan and he had advised her “don’t’ forget the babies”. She took this on board and spend years carefully creating these classes and curriculum. There are 7 concepts and they embrace the Suzuki philosophy ‘every child can learn’, ‘ability develops early’ and ‘environment nurtures growth’.

The course involved observing the same class of babies from 0-3 each day who were engaged in the hour-long class. It was fascinating to watch their development just in the space of a week and see the parents encourage and praise success in even the smallest of achievements. There were older children who were able to beat the drum independently and smaller babies who communicated with a smile at the sound of an instrument or nursery rhyme. This curriculum is not just teaching music but how to become empathetic and compassionate through music.

The week involved us being part of the class as we learnt how to use the instruments correctly and also with the children, how to observe while taking the class and notice the little steps of success by each child, the development of babies and the different stages they go through and how to set up your own classes with all elements covered. Alongside this, we learned how the parents are taught and trained to celebrate the tiny developments and successes of their children, follow instructions, see why repetition is so important and see the rewards of listening to music on a regular basis.

I went on this course to develop my own understanding of how to teach music to babies and very young children and how to incorporate this into my Suzuki teaching where they start at the age of 3 or 4. It is clear from this course that those who attend the Suzuki early childhood education classes should have a solid music foundation – good rhythm, pitch, tempo and dynamics.

My teaching partner and I have just set up our own SECE class upon completion of the course and exam. We are looking forward to seeing how the babies and young children develop alongside their parents.