I really found it exciting to be able to attend/participate in the annual Los Angeles Suzuki Institute training this summer in Claremont this past June sponsored in part by the Association of the the Americas Suzuki Music Association of California. For an entire week, teachers conducted training workshops for teachers, students, and parents, and every day there were recitals and group play-ins as well. The highlight was hearing a virtuoso violist, Matthew Lipman perform in concert. One of the take aways from this busy week was the motto, "Don't practice until you get it right. Practice it until you cannot get it wrong!" The gentle methods of correction and psychological ploys to help young people find music exciting was something I really resonated with. A momentum built up inside of me, and I decided to register in Santa Rosa just a month later for the "Every Child Can" introductory course for Suzuki teacher training. Suzuki had a dream that every child could benefit from a nurturing and loving musical environment that brought together the teacher/parent/student triangle which enabled a child to be the winner. Dr. Suzuki has a wonderful philosophy of child education that mirrors a Christian viewpoint. He respected the students and learned how to reach their hearts through a sensitive understanding of the a child needs for love, a kinesthetic learning, breaking skill sets down into small bite sized "dessert" chunks, and encouraging them with noble endeavors to master any skill. He excited them with group discovery classes and inspired in them a noble sense that all were valuable and capable of achieving anything they set out to do. Suzuki philosophy is one that encourages students to develop an ear by having them listen repetitively to music that they are learning just like they pick up how to speak their mother tongue by listening intently and repetitiously. Rooted in the Suzuki philosophy is the belief that learning to play music with the proper tone must necessarily precede learning to read musical notation. In other words, a beautiful tone is central to Suzuki training. So tone development begins with the earliest lessons. All technique is in service to beautiful sound.