All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[waiyean]

sleepy:

Oh boi, I only spent 1 minutes to work out the Maths but so lengthy to type out my logic :faint:
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Hey, let's not dwell on this anymore

Hi, yeah thanks. Your opinion made more sense now after the lengthy explanation. Sorry to have made you type all that out :imsorry:

You have a truely gifted child to be able to do grade 5 theory from scratch in such a short time.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

sleepy:

Oh boi, I only spent 1 minutes to work out the Maths but so lengthy to type out my logic :faint:
-----
Hey, let's not dwell on this anymore

Hi, yeah thanks. Your opinion made more sense now after the lengthy explanation. Sorry to have made you type all that out :imsorry:

You have a truely gifted child to be able to do grade 5 theory from scratch in such a short time.

Grade 5 theory from scratch within 16-20 hours are actually very much possible and there are teachers who are able to do this. The trick is really to treat the questions mathematically and figure out the optimal formulas and steps for the exam questions. If using traditional workbook method not really feasible.

[kathyh]

i basically treat it as math but i guess with music background, the "computation" will go naturally like my child, who can do the question much faster than me, though i am the one to teach

[metz]

Before my kids' experience with Grade 5 theory, I used to think of it as a very tough exam. Now that my dd is working on it, I realised Grade 5 theory isn't as tough as I thought. As for the amount of time required for preparation, generally less time required for older (or musically inclined) kids? I know of a P5 (plays cello) who started preparation only in nov/dec and sat for the mar test (not sure of the results, though).


The difficulty faced would really depend on the child. I have friends whose kids dislike theory work. Hence, don't think it's gonna be a breeze for them. But basically, for lower primary kids to take grade 5 theory from scratch, some knowledge of fractions would be helpful.

Btw, bass clef is not difficult for one to master once they understand how the treble clef works. My kids started on violin first and yet the bass clef was never a problem for them when they started on piano lessons.

[Dreamaurora]

metz:

Before my kids' experience with Grade 5 theory, I used to think it's must be a very tough exam. Now that my dd is working on it, I realised Grade 5 theory isn't as tough as I thought. As for the amount of time required for preparation, generally less time required for older (or musically inclined) kids? I know of a P5 (plays cello) who started preparation only in nov/dec and sat for the mar test (not sure of the results, though).


The difficulty faced would really depend on the child. I have friends whose kids dislike theory work. Hence, don't think it's gonna be a breeze for them. But basically, for lower primary kids to take grade 5 theory from scratch, some knowledge of fractions would be helpful.

Btw, bass clef is not difficult for one to master once they understand how the treble clef works. My kids started on violin first and yet the bass clef was never a problem for them when they started on piano lessons.

Yes, need to be comfortable with standard calculations, including fraction, multiplication, addition, division, etc. So if the child cannot do this, not recommended to take grade 5. Also, technically speaking, no one really takes grade 5 theory from scratch. A student would have learnt basic theory necessary to facilitate note reading for their practical; it's just that no workbooks are used and the theory concepts are directly applied in reading the notes.

[metz]

As for Nafa's theory package, I believe the package covers more than just abrsm theory.


Another private music school, that works along the same line as NAFA, charges S$420 for ten 45mins-theory group lessons (no aural). Theory contents cover ABRSM syllabus and in addition Trinity syllabus will be an additional knowledge and building stronger foundation as well as simple composition.

So, it will be unfair to compare NAFA's theory lessons to private intensive theory lessons in that sense.

[metz]

Dreamaurora:

Yes, need to be comfortable with standard calculations, including fraction, multiplication, addition, division, etc. So if the child cannot do this, not recommended to take grade 5. Also, technically speaking, no one really takes grade 5 theory from scratch. A student would have learnt basic theory necessary to facilitate note reading for their practical; it's just that no workbooks are used and the theory concepts are directly applied in reading the notes.

I kind of suspected that too.

Grade 5 theory would also be 'easier' for students who have worked on scales for their practical exams, if I'm not wrong. Saw my kids working on those.

[metz]

Is Grade 6 theory much more difficult than Grade 5 theory? Or is it just slightly more advanced than Grade 5 theory?


I know of a girl who took 6 months (thereabout) to prepare for the Grade 6 theory exam and scored a distinction. She was in P4 when she took the exam. Is this also common for certain groups of students? Is taking Grade 8 theory exam generally encouraged? What are the benefits of taking the exam?

Paiseh, seldom hear people discuss about Grade 6 and above theory exams. Hoping to find out more about these exams.

[alibaba]

Hi all,

I am new to this thread.
My boy is now 5.5 years old. He wants to learn piano but I know nothing about music.
I am looking for individual class which is fun and also can help my boy advance his music grade.
I approached yamaha & cristofori. yahama gives me rather good impression but they mention that they are slower in pace compare to other schools. But currently no suitable time slot.
Cristofori didn’t explain much on how they work & can’t really understand her english as she is not local.
Any advice on which music school & teacher to recommend for me?

[Dreamaurora]

metz:

Is Grade 6 theory much more difficult than Grade 5 theory? Or is it just slightly more advanced than Grade 5 theory?


I know of a girl who took 6 months (thereabout) to prepare for the Grade 6 theory exam and scored a distinction. She was in P4 when she took the exam. Is this also common for certain groups of students? Is taking Grade 8 theory exam generally encouraged? What are the benefits of taking the exam?

Paiseh, seldom hear people discuss about Grade 6 and above theory exams. Hoping to find out more about these exams.

I cannot speak for grade 6 theory as I don't prepare students for it and I am not really familiar with what is tested in that grade, but in general good theory teachers can prepare grade 8 theory within one to one and half year (considering 1 hour lesson per week) depending on students' current theory proficiencies. So I guess grade 6 distinction within half a year is quite reasonable.

I cannot speak for other instruments, but grade 8 theory is invaluable for pianists. The ability to harmonise harmonies, forms, and modulations is essential to work out interpretations of more advanced pieces. Without working knowledge of cadences and borrowed chords for example, one may not be able to identify starts and ends of points of phrases correctly and deduce which notes need to be accented. Knowing how to compose proper melodies with modulations and complete piano parts will be useful also should a pianist decide to branch into pop or jazz.