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Parents Should Know They’re Not Alone: An Interview with Kimberley Wong

Pictures of Christine Goodner and Kimberley Wong on a green and blue background. that says Episode 2: Time to Practice Podcast and includes the title of this article.

I am excited to share a new podcast episode with you – We’re talking to violinist Kimberley Wong and you can read more about our conversation below and listen to the full conversation through the links provided at the end of this article.

It‘s always been my passion to support parents, caregivers, and other practice partners ever since I learned how challenging practice can be with my own children many years ago. I think it’s so important to know we’re not alone if practice isn’t easy and to talk about practical ways to make practice sessions run more smoothly. 

This is why I am such a fan of Kimberley Wong and her work and reached out to have a conversation with her about practice and how we can make practice sessions less stressful and more effective for everyone.  

Kimberley Wong a violinist and Suzuki teacher from London who teaches children from age 3 all the way up to adults. She is passionate about helping parents and families make music practice less stressful for everyone involved. We discuss how important it is to have community and not feel alone, Kimberley’s 3 E’s for practice, and what studying music when we’re young gives us as adults.  

A picture of Christine Goodner and Kimberley Wong talking on Zoom

Here are three takeaways from my conversation with Kimberley Wong:

1. We need community as both teachers and parents and to know that we aren’t the only one’s going through frustrations and struggles. 

2. Kimberley Wong’s 3 E’s of making practice more efficient, effective and enjoyable. What a great way to think about goals for improving practice!

3. This journey is worth it: being there is what is important, and it’s absolutely worth it. 

Highlights include:

  • On the focus of her teaching: “I am trying to put a huge emphasis on my students’ practice lives and how to make it less stressful and how to keep the body and the mind well within the family, because I learned firsthand that it was hard.
  • On her experience both in Suzuki and traditional music learning growing up: “Looking back on it from this end, I want to prepare my students for that competitive side, but I want them not to lose that less stressful home environment, which it IS stressful. Actually, if you think about doing something that’s skill-based day on day, whether or not you put it through all of the positive mindset stuff, it’s  still stressful because you are learning a skill and you are putting your body and your mind through challenges.”
  • On what it’s been like as a teacher these past 18 months: “Where do you even start? I’m sure like all other teachers, it has involved a lot more screen time than I’m used to. It has definitely been challenging, in equal parts found it really hard because I think a lot of teachers will agree that it’s so hard to design the atmosphere. . . And on the other side, I really enjoyed the freshness that it brought and their needing to be more creative and find new ways to do it and deliver the same kind of fun that we had to do before, so we tried a lot of new things.” 
  • “I have definitely been thinking about the sides of the Suzuki Triangle that we don’t as teachers see so much of,  which is that parent to child side of the triangle. And if you break it down into percentages, we only really see the parent and child for 14% of the week. So that’s a lot of time that they’re spending away from us trying to muddle through.”
  • “One thing that I think is really important is backing up Suzuki philosophy with science-based strategies, you know, psychology and psychotherapy and strategies with stress regulation that are going to help parents to back up this idealistic philosophy that they want to put into their practice.”
  • “We know that music benefits a person’s life in so many ways and to massive degrees. But as we said before, it can also be really stressful day to day. It’s normal for families to wonder several times, maybe even during the year, whether this is really the right journey for them. Parents should know that they’re not alone in that.”
  • On a parting thought to leave parents and practice partners with: “I think what I would love for them to know is that the journey is worth it. I think I’d like them to know that coming from someone who’s been there and done it from a child’s point of view that despite all the fights and stress, and I do remember that it was stressful in that we used to fight, my mom and I have the most incredible relationship. And I know that we would have had a really great relationship anyway, but I do attribute quite a lot of our real closeness now to the fact that she was there. That’s what you remember. That’s what your kids are going to remember at the end of the day was not what you fought about, but the fact that you stuck by them the whole time, it really does create a very special bond. And a few years back, I sent out a little plea to any of my Suzuki friends that I was growing up with. If they could tell me something that they felt about their journey and where it’s brought them. And they were in all walks of life, real all walks of life. One thing that came back from every single person was that through this journey, we feel that we can do anything as long as we put the work in. And it’s an amazing feeling. It’s like being a potential superhero every day.”

Resources:

Find Kimberley Wong’s Website: https://kimberleywong.com/

Find Kimberley‘s Practice Parent Toolkit HERE

Sign up for one of the upcoming Time to Practice Pep Talks HERE

Reach out: TimetoPracticePodcast@gmail.com 

Find Christine on Instagram @SuzukiTriangle 

Christine’s Book Beyond the Music Lesson

What I’m currently reading: The Teachers’ Guide to Big Motivation by Ruth Meints

To get a full transcript of my conversation with Kimberley Wong, click here 

You can listen to the full podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and more. You can also click the link below to listen directly from this post.

4 Tips for Music Practice Through the Holidays – Time To Practice

Get Involved:

Share this article or the podcast with someone you think would benefit from hearing it! 

What resonated with you? I’d love to hear how you can relate to our conversation, or how your experience varies, in the comments below:

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