Techniques and principles advocated in Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog! and the
Suzuki violin method are startlingly similar. Here are but a few of them.

#1. Positive approach. Pryor (pp.11 and 13) argues that negative control is overused. The
heart of Suzuki's approach is positive interaction and mutual respect: Each lesson begins
with a bow and remains positive throughout.

#2. Positive reinforcement enhances relationships. Pryor (p. 25) stresses this with animals
(and humans) whereas Suzuki focuses on family relations (where parents work closely
with their children) and in group lessons (where children are taught to praise and
encourage another's playing).

#3. Thinning schedules. Pryor's (p. 36) discussion on thinning schedules parallels how
Suzuki almost imperceptibly increases the length of pieces played until children are
performing a 3-4 page concerto without notes available. The number of violin techniques
(bow holds, violin positioning, vibrato, etc.) required at each lesson advances slowly as
does the lesson's length.

#4. Immediate reinforcement. The importance of immediate reinforcement (Pryor, p. 27) is
clearly emphasized by Suzuki. In addition to the verbal forms of praise and encouragement
throughout a lesson, Suzuki students and teachers play together while students evaluate
their work note-by-note.

#5. Shaping. Pryor (p. 54-66) describes 10 rules for shaping behavior (increase
requirements slowly, train only one behavior at a time, etc.) All 10 are found in Suzuki
training. Space limitations preclude a full discussion but these examples are typical: (a)
Train specific skills in sequence and never advance until each is fully learned (Suzuki likes
to say that nothing is learned until it has been done 10,000 times). (b) Train one new skill
at a time and build on previous steps (in Suzuki, there are no "prerequisites to nowhere"
as the direct instruction literature calls them). (c) If a skill deteriorates, check
prerequisites, or "tool skills" as they are called in precision teaching. This is done at each
Suzuki lesson.

Pryor stated that "If the task can be broken down into separate components, which are
then shaped separately, the learning will go much faster" (p. 57). Suzuki has an interesting
tactic for accomplishing this. Students learn a piece or two, like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star", to fluency and then practice new skills, like moving one's hands up the violin neck
to play high on the finger board, on just that piece. This keeps all the previously learned
skills in tact while a new one is added. Another twist on this tactic is to practice a skill
without the violin. Training the hand movement needed to do a vibrato is done with a
shaker moved in time to music that the child can play fluently. When vibrato practice
moves to the violin, it involves playing only one note and checking tone quality against the
teacher's playing.

#6. Using existing stimulus control. On page 86, Pryor cites stimulus control principles
occurring in music. Suzuki extends this by tying music to stimulus control in stories.
Children make a story that fits the music they are playing. This helps students remember
the sequence of musical themes to be played and improves the intonation and expression
of notes by providing cues for what the music represents. This creates analogies between
playing and stories that are the beginning of musical interpretation.

In summary, Suzuki violin teachers and behavior analysts have a lot to discuss. For
example, could standard celeration charting identify fluent playing? Could stimulus
equivalence assist ear training (e.g., help students identify intervals such as thirds, fifths,
and octaves by establishing symmetrical relations between pairs of notes)? Could Direct
Instruction improve the effectiveness of teacher communication in Suzuki violin training?
Is the success of the Suzuki Method linked to the fact it was developed and continues to
operate outside the influence of institutionalized education?

Reference
Pryor, K. (1984). Don't Shoot the Dog! New York: Bantum Books