Sympathetic Vibrations - A Guide for Private Music Teachers is a resource that has been designed to help private music teachers of all instruments develop flexibility in meeting each student's needs. Although it contains many teaching ideas, it is not a "methods" book. Its most important purpose is to help music teachers and their students discover their own answers. It will show how to identify students' learning styles, and demonstrate the benefits of using experimentation and intuition to supplement proven teaching strategies. Music therapists can benefit form the concepts discussed in this book in working with students with special needs. The book offers practical advice for many common teaching situations, as well as motivational activities, composition, improvisation and listening exercises, strategies for rapid advancement, marketing ideas and pragmatic advice for running one's own teaching studio. The appendices include an unusual practice sheet, record keeping forms and a recital planning guide.

Dr. Suzuki questioned why all vocalists vocalize every day to improve their voices, but instrumentalists do not do so every day with their instruments. He believes that on any instrument, one needs to practice to make a more beautiful tone. First he talks about playing a beautiful resonant tone with the bow while plucking the string with a finger. When a pizzicato is played, the resonance goes on for a long time. Students should listen to that resonance and play the same kind of clear beautiful sound. He talks about how to make a difference in the tone by using a different bow speed, how to practice to find the resonance point, how to change the weight of the arm on the bow to produce a different kind of tone, and how to change tone color. This book includes all of Dr. Suzuki's basic ideas about tone.