the YMSK philosophy

The Yamaha courses began in the mid-1950s in Japan under the direction of Mr. Gen'ichi Kawakami, the president of Nippon-Gakki Company, Ltd. (now called Yamaha Corporation).

Mr. Kawakami believed his company was responsible not only for making a quality product, but also for teaching customers how to use the product. Consequently, he established the nonprofit Yamaha Music Foundation (YMF) in 1966 for the purpose of developing and promoting music education and music popularization activities internationally. YMF guides the development of the Yamaha Music Education System in 41 countries and also sponsors international events such as the Junior Original Concert (JOC).

The musical 'guru' behind the Yamaha Method was Professor Eiza Itoh, whose main musical influencers were Kodaly and Orff. It was his approach to Yamaha in the early 1950s that prompted the first pilot of JMC, the 'Junior Music Course'.

A major philosophy of the Yamaha music system is that learning is much easier when you're enjoying yourself, so the courses are designed to be full of exciting musical activities, which all have a purpose in developing the musical mind of the student. Music should not be a burden and, while creating many accomplished musicians, the education system also gives many students who have no intention of becoming professional the chance to learn musical skills for life. Mr Kawakami's intention was to promote easily accessible music worldwide, creating international 'even temperament' (thought to have come about through 'man's desire for musical expression').