We Love Bravo Cards!
“Live by looking for things to do for other people.”
Shinichi Suzuki
Shinichi Suzuki (1898-1998) developed his approach to music education based on the belief that all children, given a nurturing environment, could learn to play an instrument in the same way they learned a language as a baby. Suzuki music programs believe that a student’s effort to learn an instrument should be met with encouragement and praise, both at home and within a Suzuki community. Students are encouraged to support each other’s efforts, fostering an attitude of generosity and cooperation. Support from family, teachers and the greater Suzuki community is critical to the musical growth process.
We implemented the use of Bravo cards after a couple of years of programming adjustments during the pandemic. As we returned to in-person learning and larger-scale gatherings like recitals and concerts, we realized that our ability to learn and grow as a community had been impacted by the pandemic. Our students and families had had limited opportunities to learn and play together. And, even though we were returning to community events, it just wasn’t as easy to nurture relationships and share experiences.
Learning to play piano can be a lonely endeavour at the best of times, so we explored ideas that would help build community. We came up with the idea of Bravo Cards. Each card had a prompt like “I really enjoyed it when you…” or “My favourite part of your performance was…”, and at every recital, concert, or special event, we encouraged students and their families to take a couple of cards and complete them during the performance. The cards meant that audience members had to be very attentive to everyone’s performances in order to write encouraging remarks. After the event, teachers would collect the cards and hand them out to the intended students.
We designed it so that every student would receive at least a couple of Bravo cards, and the effect has been incredibly positive. It has been a joy to see recipients of the cards feel the positive encouragement and support of their musical community. Parents felt proud when reading the compliments that their children received. Additionally, Bravo cards encourage community members to be supportive and generous to one another. It’s been fun to see students ask for extra cards to encourage more of their friends, or for them to complete a Bravo card for their teacher or a guest performer.
This simple project has demonstrated how easy it is to encourage and support one another, both within our musical community and society in general. It is a celebration of one of our most important Suzuki principles.