Over the years, more and more teachers and parents became interested in Suzuki’s ideas and began to teach children with his method. Now there are thousands of children around the world who have learned to play instruments through the Suzuki Method.

Through his teaching, Dr. Suzuki showed teachers and parents everywhere what children could do. He also believed that hearing and playing great music helped children become good people with beautiful, peaceful hearts. Dr. Suzuki hoped that these children would help bring peace and understanding to the world.

Dr. Suzuki Speaks to Children
For many years, Japanese children sent graduation tapes to Dr. Suzuki so he could hear their playing. He would listen and make comments to the children and then return the tapes to them. Dr. Suzuki encouraged the children and made suggestions for them to improve their playing. But he also wanted children to develop beautiful hearts. He asked them not to hurt other people’s feelings and encouraged them to be kind to everyone—their friends, families, and teachers. On one child’s tape, he said: You are going to play the music of great composers, and you must try to catch their hearts in the music. You must practice every day to catch the feelings of others without words. Look at your mother and father. Can you see how they feel? Try to see when your mother needs your help … before she asks. Then it is too late. If you practice every day, watching not to harm anyone by what you say, and also trying to catch how they feel, then you will develop sensitivity toward the feelings of others. Perhaps later you will also catch the hearts of Bach and Mozart in their music. Dr. Suzuki also made these suggestions to children at their lessons. He would ask them to do something special for a friend or someone in their family and tell him about it at the next lesson. Sometimes children would be so excited to report their good deeds to Dr. Suzuki that they could hardly wait to tell him. After his ending bow, one little boy hurried to Dr. Suzuki to whisper, "I polished my father’s shoes without his knowing it!"

A Gift to Dr. Suzuki
A Japanese mother wrote letters to her daughters when they went with Dr. Suzuki on a trip to the United States . To her nine-year-old daughter Makiko, she said, "The teachers must be very busy during the tour. Is there anything you can do to help? It will be wonderful if you can be helpful and willing. Please show your care to everyone around you. For example, instead of serving yourself first at meals, you might serve the smaller children, your friends and the teachers, and then take your share." And to five-year-old Emiko, she wrote, "The sound that comes dancing out of your violin—that is your heart, Emi. What kind of heart do you have, I wonder? From a beautiful heart comes a beautiful sound."

On October 17 she wrote to the girls, "Today is Mr. Suzuki’s birthday. I am sure you celebrated and sang Happy Birthday. You have Mr. Suzuki’s poem, which says: Wish for a beautiful tone for a beautiful heart.