Christine Wilson Goodner’s Beyond the Music Lesson is a well-thought out resource written for Suzuki parents and teachers alike. My favorite thing about this book is that it so clearly lays out the expectations necessary to succeed on the Suzuki Journey. Christine reminds the reader of the big picture, as well as the steps needed to get there! The meat and potatoes of the book largely focuses on mindset, which is the biggest reason I recommend it.
My take on it is this: Success comes when parents have a full understanding of the amount of effort it will take to do the work and tailor that work to their child’s individual needs. Success comes when the gift of music and a strong bond with your child is born out of the hard work you put in together. When parents start with this expectation at the very beginning, they are capable of navigating with clearer vision and more realistic goals and expectations of what can be accomplished together. Beyond the Music Lesson helps the adults in the Suzuki Triangle to do this.
Christine brings a wonderful, genuine perspective to the table, from the vantage point of a Suzuki teacher, parent, and student. You can feel her understanding of today’s Suzuki challenges in her delivery; She validates and encourages parents by acknowledging their very real experiences and struggles while also sharing her candid teacher and student perspective.
She also doesn’t waste anyone’s time, which is great, since we’re all busy! Her points are honest, positive, concise, and practical. She offers many digestible guiding questions and tidbits along the way that are thought-provoking and doable.
Thanks to Christine for sending us an advance e-reader copy to give feedback before the book launched. Right after reading, we ordered a physical copy to keep here for our studio parents, and we look forward to using it as a reference in our teaching for years to come.
If you're interested, here's a link to go right to it! http://a.co/eiJevET
Now, let's go off script and talk about it!
Want to get even more behind the scenes on what the book is about? Check out Rachel's interview with Christine on our podcast!
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Rachel Samson (viola, violin) and Neil Fong Gilfillan (cello) are Suzuki music teachers in Frisco, Texas. With their super cute labradoodle they founded Chili Dog Strings, the only string studio in Frisco named after a dog. To see more of their teaching techniques and performances, check their studio Facebook page, YouTube channel and Instagram!