Good Practice Makes Good Habits: An Interview with Tamara Gonzalez

This week we’re speaking with Violinist & Violist, Suzuki Teacher, conductor, and music education advocate Tamara Gonzalez. We discuss the importance of school music programs, how vital an orchestra experience is if you have one in your community, and many helpful ideas about practice.

Time to Practice Podcast Episode 19: Good Practice makes Good Habits with Tamara Gonzalez. White writing on a two tone blue background, along with a picture of Tamara playing the viola

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

Highlights include:

On growing up in a Suzuki Family: “We were a Suzuki family from a start. And my parents, my mom was really committed to that. She realized how good it was for us. Like she just saw so many positive side effects, not just the music-making, but we were engaged in something that was challenging and it was teaching us discipline something that was also social. Like we made so many friends through group class, like all of our best friends for like since forever have always been our music friends. And so it was easy for her and for my parents to both kind of commit to that.”

On what makes it hard to practice for children: “I came to love it much, much farther down the line. But as a child, I did not like it because it’s hard. It just is. You’re, you’re very vulnerable. You’re trying things that you can’t do yet. You have to break it down, you have to repeat it. It’s frustrating. And if you’re a perfectionist, like I tend to be, it’s just a nightmare because you’re constantly imperfect.”

On her love for conducting: “I’m just obsessed with the whole orchestral experience and conducting as the coolest job ever, because my instrument is the orchestra. I get to really use my ears as a guide, as to what needs to happen. And it’s the ultimate . . . it’s sort of like the ultimate and envisioning a final product in your own ear. You have to hear it so strongly over. What’s actually happening in the room so that you can compare what’s happening in front of you versus what it is you want coming out of the ensemble.”

“Orchestra rehearsal is the ultimate practice session is really what it is. It is the ultimate and taking something big, breaking it down into chunks, being very strategic. And then as someone who works with student ensembles at teaching along the way I want . . . I want kids to be able to copy-paste what they’ve learned from their rehearsal into their own home practice between rehearsals, not just on their orchestra music, but on (everything), because what’s so great about learning is it’s so transferable. If you can learn how to do one thing, it’s easier to learn how to do another thing.”

On Practice: “Because again, that idea of that know bad practice makes bad habits. Good practice makes good habits. So I would say that that would be my biggest tip is to just embrace the smartphone that you have in your hand and videotape things (that) you think will be good supplements to your written notes so that you’re making the most out of your practice time.”