Grikor Mirzaian Suni (1876-1939)

1723 Wells | Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3601 USA | (734) 996-1949 | info@suniproject.org 

"Sing for Your Baby" Music Education

Armenian composer, conductor, musicologist, and teacher Grikor Mirzaian Suni (1876-1939) was born into a long line of Armenian ashoush (minstrel) singers, going back generations. The music was transmitted by the oral tradition, with the elders singing and playing instruments for the youth, who listened, absorbed, and grew to become elders themselves. This tradition continues today. Presented here are a series of articles about music education by the Suzuki method, created by Shin'ichi Suzuki (1898-1998). The article "Sing for Your Baby" is about the oral tradition. Following articles address psychology, learning, and the art of teaching.

Shin'ichi Suzuki pointed out that all normal babies learn their mother tongue fluently. This is the language we hear in our immediate environment even before we are born.The way we learn this first language he calls "The Mother Tongue Method". He also calls it "Talent Education" because all babies develop talent in their mother tongue, depending on the what they hear in their environment. We can study this method and apply it to all education, especially to music education, since music and language are both systems of sound learned by ear. The way babies learn to walk is also part of this study. This is the Suzuki Method.