Listening
Even before lessons commence, parents can begin preparing their child by playing music to them. Suzuki thought that the minds of young children soak up information like a sponge and that these early years were therefore ideal for planting the learning seeds.
Listening to music is essential, not just at the beginning of a child's education, but all the way through. It is amazing how well the musical ear can develop through listening alone. Children find it much easier to learn how to play a tune if they know what it sounds like already. For this reason, a CD of the Suzuki repertoire is given to each pupil and listening is prescribed as part of the daily practice. All Suzuki tunes are learnt by memory and perfected technically before moving on to the next one. Listening regularly to the repertoire will aid both of these skills.