You will need at least one recording of Suzuki Piano books 1 and 2, on tape or CD Or both. They need to be played every day, in the background of daily life. Some families play the tape in the car, but this is not enough. Please plan to play the first book several times a day. Imagine how difficult it would be to speak another language if you haven’t been living with it for some time to get used to the sounds. Listening will make all the learning easier for your child, and for you. Children progress better if they listen daily, and teacher can tell the difference. Many of our finest pedagogues today require their students to listen to a new piece several months before beginning to study it. The term ‘saturation listening’ implies they should listen many times per day for those several months. This type of listening will cut learning time down substantially because the rhythm and melody will already be thoroughly familiar. I recommend either the CD played by William Aide or the one played by Haruko Kataoka. Both have their good and not good points.

A New International Edition had been published by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. in 2008 and can be obtain with book and CD together. It is performed by the pianist Seizo Azuma.