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Group class Keeps you in good shape - like dribbling and passing drills in basketball - these are the fundamentals and once you know how to do them you keep them a part of each practice - they are the foundation of other skills you will work on. sample practice chart

Making Great Music with Ease: A Conversation with Jennifer Roig-Francolí

On this episode of the Time to Practice podcast, we’re speaking to Jennifer Roig-Francolí, creator of the Art of Freedom Method™, Alexander Teacher, musicians coach, and bestselling author of the new book Make Great Music with Ease!: The Secret to Smarter Practice, Confident Performance, and Living a Happier Life.

In this episode we talking about the importance of choices and playing without tension, doubt gremlins, and Jennifer’s 5 life pillars from her Art of Freedom method™. There are important takeaways here for you whether you’re a musician yourself, music educator, or parent or caregiver of a young musician. 

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Listener Favorite: Best Practice Tips of Season 1 (Part 2) Time To Practice

A photo of a white woman holding a violin with the following text: "Episode 46: Making Great Music with Ease! with Jennifer Riog-Francoli

Highlights of our conversation with Jennifer Roig-Francolí include:

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Measuring Both the Gap & The Gain

In this mini-episode of the Time to Practice podcast, we’re discussing measuring both the gap & the gain.

Christine Goodner discusses the importance of knowing both how far we’ve come AND where we’re headed. Striking that balance as a musician and an adult supporting a young musician is important. You can read the blog version of this episode below, which will act as this week’s transcript.

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.You can also listen to this episode in it’s audio format through the link below:

Listener Favorite: Best Practice Tips of Season 1 (Part 2) Time To Practice

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The Parent-Child Relationship in Music Practice: A Conversation with Alan Duncan

On this week’s episode of the Time to Practice podcast, we’re speaking with long-time Suzuki parent and collaborative pianist for his violinist daughter, Alan Duncan. Alan shares what he’s learned through the challenging starting phases of preschool, beginning lessons through letting go and helping his daughter transition into the independent practicer she is now. We talk about creativity, practice as the stress-test for the parent-child relationship, and the act of letting go as we let our children take charge of their practice when the time is right and so much more.

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below:

Listener Favorite: Best Practice Tips of Season 1 (Part 2) Time To Practice

Highlights from my conversation with Alan Duncan:

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Leading with Love First: A Conversation with Barbie Wong

On this week’s episode, we’re speaking with music educator and speaker Barbie Wong. Barbie is a Suzuki Piano Teacher, holds degrees in music from Stanford and Smith College and gives wonderful talks and workshops on raising musical children.

In this episode, Barbie Wong shares about the importance of community for young musicians (and their parents!), about supporting our children in music practice through the idea of love first, and remembering the difference between practicing and playing. 

You can scroll down to find the full transcript of this conversation at the bottom of this post.

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Listener Favorite: Best Practice Tips of Season 1 (Part 2) Time To Practice

Highlights from My Conversation with Barbie Wong:

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Helping Students Find The Joy

This article all about helping students find the joy is the transcript for Episode 42 of the Time to Practice Podcast, essentially the podcast in written form. The words may be edited slightly for ease in reading. 

This mini episode I wanted to reflect on one of the themes that has come up in each of the interviews that you have already heard on the podcast this season, and in upcoming episodes that I have already recorded, but are still in the editing process. 

If you’d prefer to listen to this episode, you can do so through your favorite podcast streaming service or through the link below: 

Listener Favorite: Best Practice Tips of Season 1 (Part 2) Time To Practice

It is interesting that certain topics keep coming up with all of my guests so far and they’re not anything I’m asking specifically about or prompting anyone to discuss. They are just organically being said with slightly different perspectives during each conversation. 

One theme that I keep hearing about over and over is the theme of finding joy in our music practice or music performance… In our music journey somewhere.

Crystal Boyack (you can find her episode HERE) talked about – Susanna Klein (found HERE) also brought it up, and it’s going to come up in future episodes as well.

Practicing and learning, a musical instrument is hard work, there’s no doubt about that.

It involves discipline, repetition, mastery, and doing the work, even when we’re not always in the mood for it –  as we discussed in our last mini-episode about strengthening our perseverance muscle.

BUT… What keeps coming up in the conversations about practice that I’ve been having for this podcast and just thinking about my own musical life and the students I work with is that if all of it is hard work and drudgery and perseverance building, why would we want to do it day and day out? What are we doing this for?

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Playing the Long Game: A Conversation with Susanna Klein

In this week’s episode, we’re speaking to violinist and practice expert Susanna Klein. Susanna shares her own experience with music practice, how her perspective changed about music practice after incorporating ideas from sports psychology, and thoughts on supporting our children in their music practice. You can find the transcript for this week’s interview below.

About Susanna Kelien (from her Practizma Journal): ” Susanna Klein is a professional violinist and practice researcher. She has held positions in the Colorado,m Memphis, and Richmond Symphonies and enjoys playing chamber music with the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble and Trio 826. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Violin and Coordinator of Strings at Virginia Commonwealth University. She writes, blogs, and presents nationally on technology-assisted practice. She still likes to practice (most days).”

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Playing the Long Game with Susanna Klein Time To Practice

Highlights from this week’s Episode:

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Flexing Our Perseverance Muscle through Practice

Welcome everyone to episode 40 of the Time to Practice podcast – all about flexing our perseverance muscle. This is the first of our bite-size episodes in season two. If you’re reading this on the blog, this article acts as a transcript for the episode, this way you can either read it, or listen to it, whichever works best for you. Wording has only been adjusted for ease in reading.

you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below:

Listener Favorite: Best Practice Tips of Season 1 (Part 2) Time To Practice

In today’s episode, I want to reflect a bit on last week’s podcast with Crystal Boyack. I love how she shared that she wanted her children to learn about hard work through playing an instrument. It made me think about how when I ask families of music students what they want their child to gain long-term from studying music, 80 to 90% of the answers I get are about character qualities or life skills.

Things like developing a strong work ethic (like Crystal mentioned), perseverance, grit, leadership, and qualities along these lines. These come up so, so often and music is a great way to develop these characteristics or skills.

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Musicality & Joy from the Beginning with Crystal Boyack

Season 2 of the Time to Practice Podcast is here, featuring our first guest Crystal Boyack, and I’m so excited to share a new episode with you.

On this week’s episode Crystal Boyack speaks with us about her journey as a young musician, what she’s learned about practice from being a parent, and how wanting to change the dynamics in her relationship with her own child in their beginning stages of practice together totally changed her approach to working with beginners and led her to created her Wee Violin (and now Wee Cello and Wee Viola) method and materials.

To Listen to the full episode, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below:

Musicality & Joy from the Beginning with Crystal Boyack Time To Practice

Welcome to season 2!  On this week's episode, we're speaking with Crystal Boyack: violinist, parent, and creator of Wee Violin (and Wee Cello & Wee Viola which are newly out this week!).  We talk about her own practice journey, what she learned from practicing with her own children, and what inspired her to create Wee Violin. Links in this episode: Crystal Boyack's Instagram Website: crystalboyackmusicstudio.com Connect with your host Christine Goodner on Instagram Support the podcast by purchasing or recommending one of Christine's books: Amazon or Bookshop.org Show notes and transcript of our conversation can be found at www.SuzukiTriangle.com/TTPEpisode39
A photo of a young woman holding a violin - with the words "Welcome to Season 2: Musicality and Joy from the Beginning with Crystal Boyack"

Highlights of our conversation with Crystal Boyack include:

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Community & Support for Parents/Caregivers: An Interview with Violist Grazzia Rode-Sagastume

Grazzia Rode-Sagastume is a Honduran born- American based Suzuki Viola, Violin, and Early Childhood educator. She began studying the viola at age 13 in her hometown, San Pedro Sula, Honduras at the Escuela de Música Victoriano López. She discovered her passion for teaching and mentoring while doing her Master degrees and Suzuki long-term training at the University of New Mexico with renowned Suzuki pedagogue, Susan Kempter. Grazzia has been teaching for ten years and loves working with different communities. In her teaching, she prioritizes empowering others through music and helping families succeed in their personal Suzuki music journey. Grazzia teaches Suzuki Viola, Violin, Early Childhood Music, Caregiver support, and String Sprouts at the Omaha Conservatory of Music in Omaha, Nebraska. She currently serves as the interim director for the Omaha Conservatory of Music Suzuki Institute and SoundWaves Summer Program.

On this week’s episode of the Time to Practice podcast we’re speaking with violist Grazzia Rode-Sagastume about how she fell in love with the Viola right from the start of her music journey, the importance of community, and how she works to support parents and caregivers in her program.

Time to Practice Podcast Episode 38. Community and Supporting Parents/Caregivers with Grazzia Rode Sagastume

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Community & Support for Parents/Caregivers with Violist Grazzia Rode-Sagastume Time To Practice

Highlights of our Conversation with Grazzia Rode-Sagastume Include:

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Setting Goals for Music Practice: An Interview with Ángel M. Falú-García

This week on the podcast we’re speaking with freelance artist and viola & violin teacher Ángel Falú-García. We talk about his start in music and how he ended up playing the viola, what he learned the hard way about practice, and how that influences how he works with his students now and more. 

As a freelance artist, Ángel M. Falú-García has performed in a variety of venues including the US Virgin Islands; Guadalajara, Mexico; Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Akron and Green, Ohio; Westport, New York; Burlington, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon, and Rochester, Minnesota.  

Currently, Falú works as a Suzuki Viola and Violin teacher at his own studio located in downtown Rochester.  He is also the current membership chair and former board president of the Southeastern Minnesota Suzuki Association also known as SEMSA.

Mr. Falú holds a Bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and a Masters of Music degree from the University of Akron. 

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible , Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Setting Goals for Music Practice with Ángel M. Falú-García Time To Practice

Highlights from This Episode

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