Dr. Shinichi Suzuki was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1898. Suzuki was surrounded by the sound of violins at his father’s violin making factory. Born into a large family, Suzuki spent his childhood not learning how to play the violin, but working at the factory putting violins together. A family mentor, who ran the local talent education school, encouraged Suzuki to study Western culture. It wasn’t until the age of 17, though, that he finally taught himself how to play the violin after becoming inspired by a recording of a famous violinist, Mischa Elman.

Suzuki had always loved children and became very interested in teaching them. He thought children could learn music just as they learned to speak—starting when they were very young and hearing music all around them. He believed all children have the talent to learn if they are taught well by loving parents and teachers. These were very unusual ideas at that time. If children did play an instrument, they started learning when they were ten or eleven. Also, most people thought musical talent was a special thing only a few people had.

For many years, Dr. Suzuki continued to work on his teaching method. He chose music that would help children learn to play (in a skill-building, sequential order). He even wrote some pieces himself (like the Twinkle Variations, Allegro, Perpetual Motion, and Etude). Teachers from many countries came to Japan to learn about his method of teaching, and Dr. Suzuki and his students traveled to play in other countries. 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 these children would help bring peace and understanding to the world.