Book Review: Music Practice Makeover

by H. Murray Published May 13, 2022.

I was so grateful to receive a copy of Music Practice Makeover: Strategies to Make Practice with Your Music Student as Painless and Efficient as Possible by Christine Goodner to read and review. I’ve followed her social media page (IG @suzukitriangle ) for years and find her content helpful and valuable as a music teacher and practicing musician. In her newest book, Music Practice Makeover, she expertly soothes practice partner anxiety (“Is my student doing okay?” “Am I doing my part?” “Why is this so difficult?”) while also providing time-tested insight and solutions to ease tension and redefine success. I love how encouraging she is. She speaks from the trenches; she’s been there, done that, heard all of the experiences, and conducted endless research. All of that expertise is consolidated into this easy-to-read, relatively short book. As a violin teacher myself, I’m often presented with questions about home practice routines and challenges. Sometimes I have just the right answer, and occasionally I’m stumped. This book is also an excellent resource for teachers looking to help their students and families navigate the complicated and confusing territory of home practice.  I dog-eared several pages as fantastic insight for current students I’ve struggled to find the right solution for. I’ve also noted a few passages particularly pertinent to my own practice habits and routines. Goodner also articulates how critical different types and styles of aid and assistance can be for different personality types and developmental stages.

I highly recommend this book as a resource for private instructors, families enrolled in music lessons (any instrument), and practice partners and mentors that want to fill their tool kit with practical answers and approaches to support the student they’re working with. I even felt like I was accomplishing effective practice just reading this book and learning about some of these strategies (or maybe I was just feeling lazy that day 😆).

This book was released on March 21st, 2022, and is available from a variety of online retailers or directly from the author’s website at  https://suzukitriangle.com