NAFA piano course

[dream]

Thanks. mumwgals,

[ctct61t]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


I brought my girl to the test this Sunday, a lot of parents are waiting there, the test delayed a lot. but it's quite fast for my girl's test.

there are 5 portions for whole tests:

1. the child was requested to play a song of her favorite, my daughter play the one which is not arrange by me before the test.

2. audio test, my daughter was hesitated for a while when she heard about the black key, but she speak out the right answer finally.

3. rhythm, teacher play a short piece, my daughter clamp the rhythm right

4. sight reading, my daughter can play this part quiet good at home, but she seems got a bit lost at that day,

5. singing, teacher play a short piece of song, and ask my daughter to sing, my girl shake her head, and says \"i don't know\", she thought the teacher is asking she to sing the score, ..., when she understanding the meaning of this test, she sing with the right rhythm with teacher finally.

The teacher says that my girls's sight reading should be strengthen.

I don't know how is the result, i really hope my girl can pass the exam....

[corneyAmber]

Actually the aural part is about gr 1 aural. it can be train if your child has 1-1 private lesson. Try to work from there.


Sight reading is train since the first lesson and it shouldn’t be a problem if your child has attended 1-1.

Good Luck!

Cheers

[ctct61t]

pianojazzy:

Actually the aural part is about gr 1 aural. it can be train if your child has 1-1 private lesson. Try to work from there.


Sight reading is train since the first lesson and it shouldn't be a problem if your child has attended 1-1.

Good Luck!

Cheers

[corneyAmber]

Emailed you

[ctct61t]

pianojazzy:

Emailed you

Pianojazzy, Thank you very very much.

[corneyAmber]

you r most welcome

[unflappable_chicken]

hello;D

actually i’m not a parent, but a student myself.
I happened to chance upon this website and when I saw some of these forum posts, I really wanted to say something based on a student’s pov.

I’m thirteen this year, and I was from NAFA (I left 4 years ago)
I went into NAFA when I was in pri.1, having learnt piano for only about a year, my parents brought me there to try for grade 2 piano.
I’m not sure why you brought your kids to NAFA, but for my parents, that was because my earlier piano tchr moved hse & it was troublesome for us to go there. Thus, my parents wanted to look for a new piano tchr & they heard that NAFA had gd tchrs.

anyway, so I tried for the test & in my opinion, flunked the test really badly- I don’t really remember well (i was only pri 1 back then) but I guess I did well for the playing section & the sight reading one, though I completely failed the aural section because I just can’t sing…even when I did my grade 8 two years ago, I still failed my aural section.

However, much to my surprise, I got into NAFA!
nevertheless, life in NAFA wasn’t a bed of roses for me starting then, and I found it to be very stressful. I wasn’t the type who would practise piano for 4-5 hours a day nor was I gifted/talented in music. I remember attending additional theory lessons & aural lessons outside of those provided by NAFA as I couldnt cope with them. and certainly the terrible memories of crying my hearts out after being reprimanded & shamed at masterclasses. but no, I was not a crybaby, I just couldnt stand e shame at being scolded by the principal in front of everyone.

eventually, after failing my aural tests quite a no. of times, and getting warning letters (yes, nafa gives warning letters to those who are not performing well), my parents & I decided to leave NAFA when I was in pri.4.
Luckily, I had a gd tchr in NAFA whom I continued lessons with until I finished grd 8 in pri.6. Currently, I am continuing my diploma course with another tchr (also from NAFA) after stopping e lessons during e PSLE period last year.

Okay, so why I am sharing this 1st hand experience here?
I guess it’s because I really want parents to reconsider about what choices they make for their kids- even if it’s for their own gd, you may say.
for me, I’m really glad that my parents arent kiasu parents, and they would let me try things I wanna do, and they would stop me in time if they realise that I’m struggling (such as the case in NAFA) perhaps that’s why I would think I’m doing okay in both my academic and other pursuits.
yes, I would encourage you to let your child try for nafa- if he/she has the talent in music/ she is willing to work really hard. but if he/she doesn’t meet the criteria, dn force him/her. Afterall, isn’t learning piano supposed to cultivate a good sense of music appreciation- it’s supposed to be something that one shld enjoy.
Right now, I still have friends in NAFA who persevered until diploma, but honestly the no. is very little.
oh, just some last words-- the tchrs in NAFA are gd, but some tchrs (fortunately not mine) are very strict & fierce- they r known to smack their students’ hands shld they not play well. Yes, there is a chinese proverb that says gd students come frm strict tchrs, but I kind of think that some tchrs are too strict to cultivate any gd sense of music appreciation in students. Also, some tchrs in NAFA focus too much on the technical aspect of playing that e general feeling of music is lost.

yupp, that’s all ;D on my part as a student.
btw, even though i didn’t score very well for my grd 8, I still love music

[ChiefKiasu]

unflappable_chicken:

hello;D

actually i'm not a parent, but a student myself...

unflappable_chicken, that is an excellent post that displays a maturity way above the accepted norm for your age. It is kids like you that give us reason to believe that Singapore has a future. 加油!

[corneyAmber]

unflappable_chicken, i am very glad that you share your experience wth us. I heard a lot of stories from students, parents and friends. This is what i am trying to tell the parents here too