One of the most important concepts that I learned from the International Suzuki String Institute this year is the power of Active Listening. Passive Listening occurs when you turn on the Suzuki Recording in your student’s room and they listen while they play, or sleep. Active Listening is when you specifically turn on a particular song on the recording, and the student follows along in the music with his or her finger as the music plays.
My daughter had a teacher for her Masterclass that came to ISSI this year from New York. He is a teacher with the School for Strings, which is a prominent Suzuki School. He told her that he had tried an experiment within his studio involving Active Listening. He asked some of his students to Actively Listen to their new song between 3-5 times each day, and asked the other students to Passively Listen to their new song between 3-5 times each day. The students who Actively Listened learned not only their music, but also the technique needed to play the music approximately 60% faster than those who passively listened. The difference between the two groups was so pronounced, that he now assigns all his students an Active Listening assignment each week.
Active Listening also helps students learn to track, or follow the notes they are learning to read in their music. It is also proving greatly beneficial for those students who struggle to focus while playing their instrument.
I’m asking both my students and children to practice some Active Listening each day now. We all should tap into the power of Active Listening.
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