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"Tone Has A Living Soul"

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A Relaxed Technique of Musica... A Relaxed Technique of Musical Excellence Bringing Out Our Best
Dr. Shinichi Suzuki was a world renowned music educator and some of experts say, “If it weren’t for Dr. Suzuki we wouldn’t have today’s famous orchestras.” He introduced a loving unique technique translated in his book NURTURED BY LOVE. He had three particular quotes that portrayed his philosophy - “Every Child Can Be Educated, Man Is a Child of His Environment, Tone Has a Living Soul.” A gift from Dr. Suzuki of his hand calligraphic piece hangs in our living room today.

There is no way to explain these educational principles easily, but I believe our two daughter’s, Lynette & Kelly, my husband and I hugely benefitted from our association with Dr. Suzuki and the girls gained some musical skills early in our lives. On one of his trips to the USA, I was young and naive enough to invite him to our home for lunch because I thought he was missing Japanese food. Many of our family’s successful outcomes can be attributed to learning the Suzuki Method with the good Japanese heritage values.

Over fifty years ago in 1967, three-year-old Lynette and I often walked around our Seattle Capitol Hill neighborhood. Music was flowing out an open door - variations of Mozart's 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. We stopped to listen. It was the “Little White House”, across the street from Holy Names Academy at Aloha & 22nd street. Sister Annella was the head teacher and when she saw little Lynette and realized I was of Japanese heritage she explained, “I have a teacher coming from Japan next month. She was one of the famous Dr. Suzuki’s first violin students in Matsumoto, Japan, and is now one of his teachers. I’ve arranged for her to come to Seattle and develop our music program.”

Mihoko Yamaguchi arrived in May of 1967 and Sister Annella called me to ask if I might be interested in meeting her and maybe do some translation. Very few of us third-generation Japanese Americans keep the language, but open to new experiences, I responded, “I am pleased to come and meet her, but my Japanese is extremely limited.”

As I joined the conversations, I understood more than I thought; especially, if I relaxed. The Japanese I heard living with my Grandfather as a small child came to the surface. In the next few weeks of translating, I gained an in-depth Suzuki Method seminar. Aside from the mechanics of playing a stringed instrument, the methods of achieving a music education and understanding Dr. Suzuki’s quote: “Tone has a living soul,” was the most intriguing.

“Tone is the quality of a good sound”. Miss Yamaguchi explained, adding, “Dr. Suzuki developed his method with a goal for students to hear and internalize recordings of classic masters and emulate their sound. As students add their own humanness and personality to reproducing the sounds of the masters, it must come from their own heart. In this process of producing “ beautiful tone”, they develop better character and become better human beings.”

The special Suzuki technique, was to learn the ability to add a “relaxed weight” to the violin bow in producing the sound. One day, Miss Yamaguchi suggested to the half dozen teachers at this one session, “I want you to take turns in picking each other up from behind.” It was not difficult to lift my partner’s feet off the floor.

Then she added, “Think about relaxing, dropping your center of gravity and your whole body to the basement.” We practiced becoming “dead weight”, and found it became difficult to lift each other. “This relaxed weight brings out a richer tone,” Miss Yamaguchi continued to explain.

There is another aspect of tone. It is known that famous orchestras tune to the “A” that is 440 megahertz. To get a brighter sound, a Tokyo orchestra is trying for 444. A good conductor can tell the difference between 440 and 441. Learning this helped me get excited about the depth of musical skill education and talents to be developed.

What does it mean when musicians/philosophers declare Mozart’s music speaks to the Gods? With practice we learn to relax, bring out our best and practice until the skills become second nature. Malcolm Gladwell in his book OUTLIERS suggests “greatness” takes 10,000 hours of preparation. Dr. Suzuki used the environment of his Japanese heritage – connecting with nature, connecting with the Gods, mastery of arts like writing, tea ceremony, bonsai, calligraphy, martial arts and others - where the artist practices repetitions until one no longer has to think about the motions and is free to touch the beauty in our universe.

TONE HAS A LIVING SOUL not only refers to sound, but with good repetition, commitment, personal growth and good teachers; we can be in tune with and vibrate in harmony with other successful people for a fulfilling life. Music is one way to learn to be in “Harmony With Nature”.

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