What is the right environment for learning?

By Rob Watson

What’s important when it comes to the teacher/student teaching environment for Suzuki guitar lessons? First and foremost, to borrow from the old real-estate saying that it’s location, location, location – it’s parent, parent, parent for Suzuki guitar lessons. The parent teaching time and environment between parent and child is very important because that’s where much of the critical learning occurs.
One of our parents has been using their living room for practice for several years—so their daughter always calls it “the music room.” He says the room has enough room to be comfortable; it’s familiar as the place where they practice, and it is within reach of their stereo so he can play any of the Suzuki music if he wants to for a lesson. Now, they change rooms occasionally to “mix it up” and keep it interesting. Every family should experiment with rooms to find the one that works best for both parent and child.

We designed our facility to inspire a sense of community among parents, students, and our surrounding community. Scott and I each have private sound-insulated studio rooms for our one-on-one lessons. We have an open area that facilitates group lessons comfortably. Our movable stage gives us a simple and flexible platform to configure the room for any requirement, whether it’s a practice for a student or a group concert. We have a comfy couch and coffee table to students and parents waiting for their lesson can relax and feel at-home while they wait. Our whole approach in design centered on making our school comfortable, accessible and functional. We set out to create an intimate and open environment that encourages working closely with our students and parents in the spirit of the Suzuki tradition--with fun, laughter, great music learning for the Silicon Valley lifestyle.