Shinichi Suzuki

The son of a violin maker, Suzuki taught at the Imperial School of Music in Tokyo before founding his own school, the Talent Education Institute. He believed that all children can become proficient at playing an instrument and developed the Suzuki method, in which very young children learn to play without reference to printed music, but by listening, imitation, and memory. Parental involvement is an important facet of the program. The Suzuki method became an international phenomenon, starting thousands of children on the path to Vivaldi and Beethoven by first memorizing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”