All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[ladyinbliss]

Hi all,

I need advise as I’m quite troubled about my son piano lesson.
He is K2 this year, attending piano lesson in school. Is a bad decision as he has been learning 7 months and till date, i have not seen any progress. We do not have a piano and on off he will play on the keyboard.
I believe that he has the interest and potential in music. We started drum lesson and he has progress alot.
But whereby piano, sadly i felt i’m wasting money. On the 2nd month of the lesson, his piano teacher went for ML for 4 months (a relieve teacher came in). Then lesson was stop for a month for no reason. Now his teacher is back and she can’t update me anything.

He is going to P1 next year and I hope to switch him to another teacher asap.
Any recommendation around Toa Payoh and also what should I look out for as i have no idea about piano at all!

Thanks

[Dreamaurora]

ladyinbliss:

Hi all,

I need advise as I'm quite troubled about my son piano lesson.
He is K2 this year, attending piano lesson in school. Is a bad decision as he has been learning 7 months and till date, i have not seen any progress. We do not have a piano and on off he will play on the keyboard.
I believe that he has the interest and potential in music. We started drum lesson and he has progress alot.
But whereby piano, sadly i felt i'm wasting money. On the 2nd month of the lesson, his piano teacher went for ML for 4 months (a relieve teacher came in). Then lesson was stop for a month for no reason. Now his teacher is back and she can't update me anything.

He is going to P1 next year and I hope to switch him to another teacher asap.
Any recommendation around Toa Payoh and also what should I look out for as i have no idea about piano at all!

Thanks

First thing is you need to sit down and discuss with the teacher what progress to aim for your son. There needs to be a sort of outline to follow. For example by how many lessons he could play basic 2 hands together pieces, when to start grade 1 level piece, etc. It's a two way communication. Teachers need to communicate to parents their plans and expectations of their students, and likewise the parents should do the same for the teachers.

If you are not sure about what piano to get, a brand new exam model Yamaha or Kawai is safe bet to get. If sourcing for 2nd hands or lesser known brands you probably will want to get someone knowledgeable to tag along with you.

Check your PM regarding a teacher in Toa Payoh.

[ladyinbliss]

Dreamaurora:

ladyinbliss:

Hi all,

I need advise as I'm quite troubled about my son piano lesson.
He is K2 this year, attending piano lesson in school. Is a bad decision as he has been learning 7 months and till date, i have not seen any progress. We do not have a piano and on off he will play on the keyboard.
I believe that he has the interest and potential in music. We started drum lesson and he has progress alot.
But whereby piano, sadly i felt i'm wasting money. On the 2nd month of the lesson, his piano teacher went for ML for 4 months (a relieve teacher came in). Then lesson was stop for a month for no reason. Now his teacher is back and she can't update me anything.

He is going to P1 next year and I hope to switch him to another teacher asap.
Any recommendation around Toa Payoh and also what should I look out for as i have no idea about piano at all!

Thanks

First thing is you need to sit down and discuss with the teacher what progress to aim for your son. There needs to be a sort of outline to follow. For example by how many lessons he could play basic 2 hands together pieces, when to start grade 1 level piece, etc. It's a two way communication. Teachers need to communicate to parents their plans and expectations of their students, and likewise the parents should do the same for the teachers.

If you are not sure about what piano to get, a brand new exam model Yamaha or Kawai is safe bet to get. If sourcing for 2nd hands or lesser known brands you probably will want to get someone knowledgeable to tag along with you.

Check your PM regarding a teacher in Toa Payoh.

Thanks for your advice.
I have spoken to the teacher but she said my son is still at beginner book 1. She had 2 session with him since she was back and she comment that my son is getting rusty so have to spend time to recap again probably the relieve teacher has gone through too fast.
I think is will be a better choice to change a new teacher since he is leaving his current school very soon.
I will check out on the teacher at toa payoh.
Thanks

[waiyean]

Hi ladyinbliss,

Before focusing the issue on what the school/teacher did or didn’t do, you might want to ask yourself whether the lack of progress is due to the lack of practice on the piano. Not sure what you mean when you say play on the keyboard "on and off", but if the child gets to touch the piano once a week and only during the lesson itself, you can’t really expect much progress right?

Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can’t help. I have a 5 year old (K2) daughter learning the piano too, and I realise that you need lots of patience for a child that young. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Hi ladyinbliss,

Before focusing the issue on what the school/teacher did or didn't do, you might want to ask yourself whether the lack of progress is due to the lack of practice on the piano. Not sure what you mean when you say play on the keyboard \"on and off\", but if the child gets to touch the piano once a week and only during the lesson itself, you can't really expect much progress right?

Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can't help. I have a 5 year old (K2) daughter learning the piano too, and I realise that you need lots of patience for a child that young. Just my 2 cents worth.

True. Personally I think if child cannot commit around 20-30 minutes of practice on average per day for beginner/grade 1 I really do not recommend starting lessons. If no proper piano I will also request the parents to buy a piano first before starting lessons with me .

[peanut_butter]

waiyean:

Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can't help.

If the school charge three times as much, the parents will definitely make their kids practice hard.

[waiyean]

peanut_butter:

waiyean:

Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can't help.

If the school charge three times as much, the parents will definitely make their kids practice hard.

Or the parents will make the kids drop out from the school

[sleepy]

peanut_butter:

waiyean:

Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can't help.

If the school charge three times as much, the parents will definitely make their kids practice hard.

No wonder Nafa kids practice 2 to 3 hours everyday. School fees is so ex

[Dreamaurora]

sleepy:

peanut_butter:

[quote=\"waiyean\"]Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can't help.

If the school charge three times as much, the parents will definitely make their kids practice hard.

No wonder Nafa kids practice 2 to 3 hours everyday. School fees is so ex[/quote]I think it's more because if they fail any of the internal exams they will be kicked out of the course.

[waiyean]

sleepy:

peanut_butter:

[quote=\"waiyean\"]Without regular practice, even the best school and teachers with the best lesson outlines can't help.

If the school charge three times as much, the parents will definitely make their kids practice hard.

No wonder Nafa kids practice 2 to 3 hours everyday. School fees is so ex[/quote]Actually on per hour basis, it is one of the cheapest I have seen.