We are born with a natural ability to learn: many children grow up in an environment that stunts and damages them. If your ability is not nurtured, you have to develop it yourselves.

“Nurtured by Love” is a book of Shinichi Suzuki, where he presents the philosophy and the main principles of his method for developing every child’s abilities in a natural way.

The main and special point is that:
“Talent is no accident of birth.
A Newborn child adjusts to his environment in order to survive, and various abilities are acquired in the process „

As a young adult in pre-war Japan, Shinichi Suzuki made a very simple observation:

all children learn to speak their mother tongue fluently

Why he couldn’t speak german or english fluenty?
He was been in Germany, he spoke english, but not as mother tongue!
All german children speak german, all japanese children speak japanese.
Language learning had been happening quite naturally in human civilizations.
Dr Suzuki observed that all children were able to learn their mother tongue effortlessly through listening, imitation and repetition.
This realization led Suzuki to analyze mother tongue learning and try to apply the same characteristics first to the study of violin and later to other subjects (not only musical instruments).
Developing his theory, he began to work with very young children.
He thought that the abilities (musical or not) are not inherited.
Very small steps are presented in a playful and carefully way as a language: listen, imitate, read, breaking learning down into small manageable steps and celebrating the successes, just like a mother does with a little child.

However his primary goal was not to teach children to play an instrument, but he recognized the unique contribution of music in the total developing process.
This is the essence of the Suzuki Philosophy:
all children are born with profound potential ability, and that by nurturing that ability in the correct environment we will produce great human-beings.
All children have talent and must be respected as unique beings: the potential of every child is unlimited.
Suzuki started his method of education as an effort to do something to improve the outcomes of education. For Suzuki outcomes and failure are the result of poor methods of education, not results of a student's stupidity.
The most important result of this change in educational thinking would not be in measures of "success“, but in the development of wonderful human beings in a natural way.
Suzuki has never tested to see if his students have talent or not.

“Talent is no accident of birth”.

You could change many things in your life.
Suzuki explains that baby Nightingales that are to be used as pets are taken from their nests as wild birds and put under the tutelage of a “master bird” in order to learn to sing beautifully.
By being in the presence and hearing the fine voice of the master teacher early in life, the young Nightingale will develop “talent.” The Nightingale doesn’t inherit the talent to sing well, but the little birds are allowed to be in the optimal learning environment and thus develop talent.
Environment nurtures growth.

Before formal instruction on an instrument begins, the parents of the young child work to make music a part of the child's life.
They play good recorded music of all genres for their infant, and work to make rhythm and melody a part of life.

Through an non-pressured learning environment, a child learns discipline, develops an appreciation of beauty, gains a sense of purpose: valuable even if the child does not pursue music education long term.
The teaching of a young child involves always a trio: the child, the teacher and the parent. This is the parent who will teach the child at home daily.
This Trio is like a chair with three legs: if one leg is missing the whole structure will fall over.
Suzuki realized that children would progress more rapidly if parents are able and willing to assist their child. Very young children are taught in this way to play by ear with proper technique and beautiful tone from beginning.
Cultivating an appreciation of artistic beauty builds human sensitivity and spirituality, reaching within themselves a sense of inner calm and confidence.
“Dr. Suzuki has developed a philosophy which, when understood to the fullest, can be a philosophy for living. His major aim is to open a world of beauty to young children everywhere that they might have greater enjoyment in their lives through the God-given sounds of music." (Hermann, 1971)[1]
The ultimate direction in life?
Look for beauty, virtue, truth, and love!