The Suzuki Music and Teacher Training Academy of Tampa Bay

Had our first concert of the year at Westminster Retirement Home. Kids were awesome and the residents loved listening to them and seeing them in their Halloween costumes. Was a great afternoon!!!

Part 1... Being Called

How does one know when they are being called to do something? For myself, I seem to be the “last to find out!” Born in 1946, one year after the end of World War II, I was not yet even slightly aware of where life would lead, nor was I to be so for a long time. I certainly did not know there was a Japanese person halfway around the world whose heart and mind would be the aura which shaped my own.

In 1946, Shinichi Suzuki, witness to the devastation in Japan, was trying to survive. His purpose was to unite his family of origin, which had been separated during the war. His open heart and intelligent mind, also reached out to the children of the war. How could he give them hope? The ashes of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were barely cool.

Music had always been important in his life, and he experienced this beauty at the core of his being. He had always deeply loved young children. He grew up in a violin factory, owned and run by his father, but which had been used to make weaponry during the war. Out of the rubble of the war rose one of the most profound educational movements of the last 7 decades.

This is no coincidence. The war’s horrible hatred, experienced and witnessed by most of the planet, personally affected most of the earth’s people. But Shinichi Suzuki had an amazing life force. Rather than giving up, he searched for purpose. He found a way where families could come together to create beauty rather than destruction, where people could build intelligence rather than remain ignorant, and to awaken the people of the world in the universal language of music.

Powerful beyond words…that was his life.

Part 2...The Beginnings of My Calling

When I was a child, I was what people called “a hand full.” How this translated to me was I spent a lot of time in the principal’s office! The one thing that was mentioned on all my report cards by all my teachers (right next to the “F” for deportment) was: “For God’s sake, get this child music lessons!”

My parents, being teachers themselves, did exactly that. When the “time was right,” – i.e. at the age of 8 years old, I was signed up for piano lessons. That’s how it was done back then: piano first, then another instrument if desired in a couple of years.

When I was 10, my father and I were walking down the street together. 60 decades later, I still remember vividly exactly where we were and what time of day it was. He began describing the four instruments of the string instrument family. When he got to the viola, he said: “It is rare to find someone who plays the viola.” Right then I decided that was the one for me! The door to Suzuki-land opened a tiny bit more.

Now here is where my calling to Suzuki picks up steam. I was the only string player in my home town. We had a band, but not an orchestra. The symphony orchestras throughout the USA were dying for lack of string players. My first viola teacher, Ruth Ray, who I had for only one year, retired at the end of that year. However, she was present at the very first film shown to a few people at the Music Education National Convention in Chicago where the film showed Shinichi Suzuki demonstrating his “Mother Tongue Method” to other musicians outside of Japan.

This was a whole new way of viewing music and of teaching children…very revolutionary. Up to this point, the world thought that the talent of artists was inborn. I, too, was raised on that idea. Here was Suzuki saying just the opposite. Rather than arguing, he proceeded over the next decade, to show more and more accomplished musicians. Finally the numbers were so high and the standards so amazing, that the old paradigm began to concede little by little. (We are still fighting this idea today, even though most who attend the world’s conservatories are musicians raised on the Suzuki Approach. Many human beings refuse to change!)

Little did I know that 8 years hence I would meet Dr. Suzuki when the first Suzuki Japanese tour group came to the United States!

Part 3...Called From a Small Town in Iowa

As a senior in high school, I had auditioned and applied to colleges. One of them was Oberlin Music Conservatory. I knew that this conservatory had a good reputation and was difficult to get into. However, I was more interested in the fact that Oberlin College was the first liberal arts college in the United States to admit women and African Americans. Oberlin was the last stop in the Underground Railroad during slavery days, leaving a large population of the small Ohio town African American.

By this time, in my “illustrious” academic career, I had managed to alienate much of the high school faculty. You see, as a daughter of two PhDs, I knew I wasn’t getting a good education, and this really distressed me. I had no difficulty in verbalizing the injustices I saw (inappropriately, I’m sure), like reporting wide-spread faculty-condoned cheating on exams, and biased grading determined by how many activities one participated in after regular school hours. I still have a strong sense of justice to this day.

All my past times involved my viola playing, which of necessity required traveling to neighboring towns to play in orchestras with adults rather than young people my own age. I was an outsider in a small town whose people mostly did not appreciate people who “took a stand” on anything. Survival depended on conformity. Needless to say, my choosing the viola for my instrument, and applying to a college which stood for more than the status quo, my village mates were not impressed with this young woman, soon to be college student.

In fact, unbeknownst to me, the faculty had bet on whether or not I would get into such a prestigious school. I later found out there was only one vote on my side, the gum teacher. She still believed in me (I loved sports and was good at them.) She told me to please tell her first when I got my acceptance letter from Oberlin and that at graduation she would tell me why. I did just that. She immediately disappeared, leaving me in charge of the class. At graduation I found out what had happened. She evidently made a lot of money betting on me! I say “good for her!!”

Part 4...My Calling Speeds Up

During the first two weeks at Oberlin Conservatory, I felt lost, totally out-classed, and unprepared academically and musically. One afternoon I was walking around the conservatory aimlessly feeling very homesick. The place seemed so big, and all the students so smart! Little did I know that I was about to fulfill my first step toward being the Suzuki teacher I was meant to be.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and as with most events which call us, there is a clarity to this day which takes me back to that magic moment. It was the middle of the afternoon, and there was bright sunshine streaming through the widows of the large conservatory concert hall. I opened the door a crack and peeked in. There were just a small number of people listening to this little Japanese man on stage. In the front row were a few Japanese children, all very young. They were fascinated with these strange Americans and their big, round eyes!

What in the world is going on? I sat down to have my life changed.

What I didn’t know, was that Shinichi Suzuki was in the United States for the first time, and he had brought a concert tour group with him. This was the very first of his many trips to the USA, bringing many children, all of whom were top notch violinists. No one in the USA had ever seen anything like this! Dr. Suzuki was explaining, in his broken English and with the help of an interpreter, what this method was that had allowed these children to be so accomplished!

He explained his philosophy of music education: that talent was developed and not inborn. He said there were hundreds more back in Japan who could play just as well as those we were about to hear. He named his method “The Mother Tongue Approach,” and explained the parallel between this and learning language from babyhood on. He outlined the elements which made it so successful: listening, encouragement, parental involvement, imitation, repetition, practice of all pieces already learned, playing with peers, mastery of each step, embracing mistakes, and celebration of small steps.

He said that music education, with the right upbringing, could save the world. He said music talent must be made available to all people. He said that Suzuki training was parent training. His belief was nothing short of nurturing noble human beings. He really got my attention!! I left thinking about the 2 wars we had been involved in since 1945: Korean and now Viet Nam. How did this happen after all the world’s people had seen? Surely we needed what this man had to offer. After all he had experienced first hand the bombs being dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 1964 was only a six years after Ruth Ray had seen the film in Chicago, and only 19 years after the end of the world war.

Here was a profound peace message from a Japanese music teacher! I wanted to be part of this. I had so much hope leaving the concert hall that afternoon. Here was something to which I could commit, where my life could make a difference. As a freshman I was only beginning my academic journey, and this was going on half away around the world! I did not know yet how I was to be led toward this beautiful life philosophy, but led I was!

Part 5...Conservatory Years

Upon first look, it seems that the conservatory years were dormant for me, not apart of the overall calling to being a Suzuki teacher. However, looking back on it, as with all of life, there is a flow, a way of being, that is constantly making it’s way to the surface, often in very profound ways. This describes my conservatory years.

I never felt I belonged at Oberlin, although to this day I don’t really know what that means. Since the very nature of the place during my years there was one of profound individualism, perhaps I fit in perfectly! I was afraid most of the time…afraid that I could not measure up. I convinced myself that I would never be able to compete with those musicians around me. Yet I got good grades and an excellent education. My relationship with music was ambiguous at best, the conversations in my classes controversial and challenging. I can see now that my professors were constantly pushing us beyond our comfort zones, challenging us to think for ourselves. We were rewarded for having our own ideas, something I covet to this day. My music education classes were first and foremost about developing and unearthing my personal philosophy of education, of being a teacher. I left Oberlin with firm ground to stand on when I got in front of the middle school orchestra. I left conservatory as a public school teacher, ready to save the world, one student at a time.

Inda Howland

I had two teachers at Oberlin who stood out for me as people who changed my entire way of being. The first was Inda Howland, my eurythmics professor. It was in this class that I had my first all encompassing spiritual experience. And as with all my callings, this one is so clear in my mind and heart that I can relive the experience completely today. The class was pausing after doing an amazing physical routine which required endless hours of practicing in the basement of my dorm, around the huge furnace. Around and around I’d go, all alone, saying one rhythm with my mouth, doing another in my hands, and yet another in my feet. Then I would inter-change those rhythms: feet to hands, hands to voice, voice to feet, etc. I would stumble, get out of breath, act out my small frustrations, and have another go at it.

This particular day, we had just finished doing the routine in class. It had finally worked! You see, I had to learn that with enough practice, I could leave the realm of “doing,” and experience the art of “being.” This is essential for any artist. I couldn’t “do” the routine, but rather had to “be” it in order to have success. In the pause, I looked out the windows to the conservatory garden, and I experienced being one with nature, one with my classmates, one with the universe. It was a horrible gray and wet day. But it was perhaps the most beautiful day of my life at that exact moment. I have since had several of those moments through meditation and music practicing. The amazing fact was that this course, the most profound of my total education, was only worth ½ a credit hour. The weight of this on my GPA was insignificant. But the gift to my life was unmeasurable. Here is an invaluable lesson: life is worth what I put into it, not what someone else says its worth. Without investment, all is worthless.

Professor Melcher

The other teacher who changed my life was Mr. Melcher, one of my theory teachers. We were all in awe of him. He was “tough”, unyielding of his standards. I entered his classroom always prepared, with respect for what was about to happen, and with huge fear I was not good enough for this class at this moment. The last requirement I had to perform, before graduation, was to take his private sight reading exam. Again, the clarity of being called to Suzuki teaching has me in his office on a sunny day, in the morning for my exam. The lesson I received from him that day was priceless, profound, life changing. I’m not talking about the exam, but rather his parting words, which changed my life.

When the exam was over, the world as I knew it, stopped. He gave me an intense stare and said, “Well, what are you going to do with this education?” His question felt like I was being invited into the inner sanctum. I replied (totally floored that I did so) with: “I really don’t want to talk about my future plans, but rather that I don’t feel worthy of my diploma.” He broke out in his huge smile, looked me dead in the eye, laughed out loud, and said without flinching, “Thank God someone in this place has some sense!” That’s all he said. But I got the message…my “education” was only beginning. I really didn’t know anything yet. But with that one sentence, my fear of not knowing was removed and I was actually proud of myself for it. I left his office feeling 20 pounds lighter and very excited about the journey ahead. I couldn’t wait to be a REAL teacher!

For those that don't know me, my name is Martha Shackford and I am a Master Suzuki Teacher with over 40 years of experience. I belong to the Suzuki Associate of Americas (SAA) as a Violin Teacher Trainer. I graduated with a BA from Oberlin Conservatory and have been training students in the Suzuki method since 1969.

I share a deep connection to the Suzuki Method of teaching and invite you to read my story that will follow is several parts. I hope that through my writings, you will learn a bit about where I come from and understand my methodology. It is “my calling” in life and I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Welcome everyone! It is so exciting to be greeting you from my second and newest face book page - Suzuki Tampa Bay. We've got really exciting things happening this year...so stay tuned. Meanwhile school begins for me tomorrow, and I am happy to introduce our new violin/viola Suzuki teacher Monica Mac Michael Oechsner. She has moved from Sante Fe and is teaching at the Academy with me. She's only been here a month, and we've been having a blast! Hope you are all beginning your new academic year with much happiness!
Martha Shackford

We are now accepting 7 to 10 additional students for our Academy ages 4 to 10. Register at suzukimusictampabay.com.

Now Accepting Students in St. Petersburg | Suzuki Tampa Bay Now Accepting Students in St. Petersburg Posted on March 3, 2016March 3, 2016 by admin The Suzuki Music and Teacher Training Academy of Tampa Bay is pleased to announce we are accepting 7 to 10 additional Suzuki violin students. If you are interested in having your child (ages 4 to 10) please fill o…