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Suzuki's pedagogy developed from the belief that "man is a child of environment" and that no "talent is inborn." "There is only superiority or inferiority in so far as quality of sensitivity and speed in adapting to the environment may vary from child to child," but as a rule, every child has the potential to do anything, provided he is carefully nurtured. Suzuki backed this conviction with the proof of mother-tongue acquisition. The fact that all children acquire their mother tongue after birth without effort, despite the great complexity of language, was a universal demonstration of the learning capacity of children.

The "mother-tongue approach" inspired a school of violin based on listening, imitation, repetition and the mother-infant relationship. At first, the infant only listens to recordings and the classes of older children, while the mother takes violin lessons, learning the basics on a small violin. Ideally, nobody decides for the child that he will begin the violin: he ends up wanting to play, and all he has to do is grab the tiny violin from his mother. He has already heard the first pieces of the method countless times. Learning is done by ear, and once the child can play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and its variations, he is taught how to play it beautifully. This concept of the beautiful is emphasised from the very begining. "On this simple, basic piece, the sense of perfection is already inculcated" and the perfect assimilation of each piece is a precondition for progression to the next.

Suzuki's aim was not to breed child prodigies, but fulfilled individuals whose learning potential in childhood has been given every chance to flower. At a time of obsession in Japan with economic growth, Suzuki pledged himself to the cause of moral and spiritual growth. In his writings of the 50s, he also criticized, on the one hand, the laxity of pre-school education and on the other, the over-academic leanings of school education.