In Praise of Imitation
School stresses originality. But in a world where innovation is the grammar of progress, directing students to begin projects from scratch is a terrible idea.
After finishing his violin studies with acclaimed teacher, conductor and violinist, Karl Klingler, a young Shinichi Suzuki traveled back to his native Japan. He had spent the previous years in Germany studying Western Culture and Music which he began putting to use in a teaching career while also playing string quartet concerts with his brothers. At the beginning, he based his teaching methods on the traditions and rules of music schools at the time. Students eligible for music training had to audition for positions, sit and pass intelligence tests or demonstrate innate music ability.
But the suggestion to teach a four-year-old-boy pushed him to rethink his teaching philosophy. There was the risk of failure: the joke he would become to critical colleagues and a sentinel public would be denting to his career. He accepted the request.
He started lessons with the boy and used his down time to scour for ideas he could use to teach young children. One day he had an epiphany. He noticed that children, surrounded by language sounds from birth, learn to speak their own mother tongue with astounding accuracy, fluent awareness and informed nuance. This was enough proof of the remarkable ability of any child to learn an instrument. He called this “the concept of mother tongue.” Reasoning that if a child is surrounded by musical sounds in the same way he will develop musical intelligence.
Average Musicians. Great Performances
During his lessons he would have his students concentrate on mirroring his own bowing and finger movements with precision.
He advised parents to play CD recordings of the music the student was learning at home. Like the constant chatter of a bus station, music formed the backdrop of the child’s home activities.
This was the “language environment” he was immersing his students in. With immersion and attentive personal instruction, the children began to play with beauty and grace. Many were impressed. No one in Japan had seen so many children play with such artistic expression.
The public brushed off the children as geniuses few understood Suzuki’s secret.
More Than Will Power. Less Than Ability
Suzuki’s students were not musical geniuses. Many were average musicians. Traditional teaching was based on assumptions and biases that stunted talent development. While the parent’s role in the learning process was less than clear, the teacher’s pole tended towards insensitivity to personal student needs.
He was aware that no amount of willpower or ability could compensate for an environment that is less than supportive to the child’s goals. To parents he said :
“2 hours of listening is equivalent to 1 hour of teaching.”
This low-friction approach guaranteed that students did half the work with their imagination. Long hours of passive listening to recordings changed the lives of many average musicians.
Talent Education was making huge leaps forward.
Imitation at Work
Trying to create from nothing is frustrating. Blank pages get no grades.
In my own writing, starting without a vision of what I want is intimidating. My thoughts behave like a trapped rat; scurrying in every direction. By obsessing about originality I end up with impractical ideas or trite observations. Starting with the raw material of other people’s work makes the creation process less daunting and more exciting.
When practicing a new skill, imitation and deep immersion in the environment of your target skill contribute to engaged learning. Having multiple skills that you can pull out of your hat at will is a superpower anyone can develop.
Watching videos, reading other people’s work, or listening to recordings prepares the imagination by creating a working model of the final result. During a lesson the teacher breaks down the content into bits that are small enough to master yet challenging enough to get you learning something new. Consider it a proper ratio mix of old and new material. As you struggle with the exercises you begin developing a deeper understanding of the final result while also learning how to build things and solve problems. Taking on bigger problems stimulates critical thinking and innovation too as your brain is challenged to search for efficient paths to a solution.
Starting with a map of the study content strengthens the learner’s confidence. Effective teachers grow a learner’s ability by securing in them an abundance of knowledge. This awareness stimulates the taste buds of creativity.
Imitation Primes Innovation
Learners make innovative discoveries during solo practice.
While hacking away at assignments alone you develop familiarity with your own problem solving approaches and peculiarities.
To be sure the kind of imitation that leads to innovation demands a focused mind. It is hard work. Thoughtless copying is plagiarism. Copying that builds, elaborates and emphasizes a fresh aspect of the source material is intelligent and honest.
In his treatise on Traditional Harmony Composer, Music Educator & Philosopher Paul Hindemith said about creativity: “… a tiny percentage of those who compose are really gifted composers…with the best will in the world, and even with the severest judgement, the danger is ever present of mistaking for creative talent what is only a gift for adroit imagination or a highly developed skill in compilation.”
Mashups, remixes and renditions of popular songs get rave reviews and millions of views because the creators of these works intuitively embrace this concept. Maria Popova of The Marginalian calls it “networked knowledge and the combinatorial nature of creativity.”
Students can be primed for a lifetime of innovative thinking by encouraging them to be intelligent imitators while grounding them in proper technical knowledge. These are the tools for creative expression.
Indeed there is nothing new.
If you enjoyed this article do leave a comment and like below. I love hearing how you learn new skills, how you create stuff, and how you solve problems.
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Great story about Suzuki! There is so much we can pick up almost passively - if we do so with intention!