The parent role in Suzuki music lessons: experiences and perspectives shared by novice Suzuki parents

ABSTRACT

This qualitative thematic analysis explores parents’ perceptions of Suzuki music learning. Although parents are part of the ‘Suzuki triangle’ alongside the child and teacher, there is little research that investigates the Suzuki parent role. This work explores self-reports of parents’ experiences, expectations, and needs during their child’s first year of lessons with an expert pedagogue. Semi-structured interviews with parents of six novice violin and cello students from the United States yielded four themes: (1) the importance of the initial parent education families received upon starting lessons with their child, (2) the ways that parents supported their child outside of lessons, (3) the challenges parents faced in the ‘home teacher’ role, and (4) the strong partnership parents established with the teacher. Targeted preparation, together with ongoing teacher support, provided parents with the necessary skills and knowledge to support their child and to remain motivated in the face of challenges.

KEYWORDS:

• Suzuki method
• parental support
• music learning
• instrument practice

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express our gratitude to the parents and teacher trainers described in this article. We acknowledge the support of the International Research Symposium on Talent Education (IRSTE). We would also like to acknowledge Jacob Dakon for his contributions to the original conceptualisation of this work and to thank Nancy Mitchell, BettyAnne Gottlieb, and Jacob Dakon for their contributions to data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support or compensation for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Kathleen M. Einarson

Dr. Kate Einarson is a Knowledge Translation Specialist in the Bloorview Research Institute at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Canada. A behavioural scientist by training, Einarson holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from McMaster University, where she conducted research as part of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. Her research interests include human development through infancy, childhood, and adolescence, with attention to the effect of environment on skill acquisition, prosocial behaviour, and health. A former Suzuki teacher, she is co-coordinator of the International Research Symposium on Talent Education.

Eun Cho

Dr. Eun Cho is a music educator and researcher, interested in interdisciplinary research that encompasses music, education, psychology, and culture. She is currently a Visiting Scholar at Experimental Acoustics Research Studio at University of California, Riverside, leading a binational research project on music-evoked nostalgia. As an active researcher in music education and psychology, she has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and wrote several book chapters.

Patricia D’Ercole

Patricia D’Ercole is a faculty member at the Aber Suzuki Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where she teaches violin to children and Suzuki pedagogy courses to graduate and undergraduate students. She is a Suzuki Association of the Americas violin teacher trainer and is co-coordinator of the International Research Symposium on Talent Education.