All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers
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This dinosaur didn't think of clicking on the URL!
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phankao:
Yup, that's why I said he \"may\" be interested. So, the best would be to have the \"grade exam\" ready. A friend's son couldn't join MEP initially because he hadn't taken any exam. He started learning piano only in P5. Fortunately, he got to join MEP in sec 3 (or sec 2) upon taking his grade 5 exam. He just received a university scholarship for teaching music this year.metz:
As I understand from friends the MEP is a pretty interesting program which my son may be interested, I am letting him take the abrsm exam in the near future. .
It depends. If your child is more interested in Performing only, then MEP may bore him/her. But if the child is interested in broader aspects including lots of theory and history and composition, and aural too, then he can excel in MEP.
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metz:
Yup, that's why I said he \"may\" be interested. So, the best would be to have the \"grade exam\" ready. A friend's son couldn't join MEP initially because he hadn't taken any exam. He started learning piano only in P5. Fortunately, he got to join MEP in sec 3 (or sec 2) upon taking his grade 5 exam. He just received a university scholarship for teaching music this year.phankao:
[quote=\"metz\"] As I understand from friends the MEP is a pretty interesting program which my son may be interested, I am letting him take the abrsm exam in the near future. .
It depends. If your child is more interested in Performing only, then MEP may bore him/her. But if the child is interested in broader aspects including lots of theory and history and composition, and aural too, then he can excel in MEP.[/quote]I know so bc I have child who's taking and not taking. haha!
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phankao:
Actually it depends on what the child's interest and aspiration is. No need for long practices if don't intend to make music a career. My girl's current ambition is to be a concert pianist and piano teacher, so just helping to guide her in the right direction.
My boy not like \"waiyean\"'s girl - can do 1hour lessons and 2hour practices.
She used to aspire to be a hairdresser, and for one year, she spent 20 mins every night pretending to cut my hair. I am just glad she changed her ambitions.
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waiyean:
Hi Waiyean,
Hi Metz,
Yes, I mention not enough time, because she wasn't able to play the pieces that she practiced during the week during the lesson for the teacher to comment on. Also, although teacher was teaching theory, there was insufficient time to really pace it according to the practical grade, ie. she was still doing grade 1 theory while doing grade 2 practical, and doing grade 2 theory while doing grade 3 practical.
Teacher often have to extend lessons, or call back for extra classes within the same week to catch up, or polish up certain pieces. It happened then, it is still happening now. Probably nothing to do with teachers, but my daughter just need more lesson time.
Hence, I am always very amazed by teachers who can teach practical, theory and aural in 30-45 mins a week.
Think it's best not to make such comparisons. The programs that your dd is doing are very different to what other teachers are doing with their students. As a matter of fact, I don't think they are covering the same items your dd did/does in their lessons.
A fairer comparison would be with other students in similar programs as your dd. For instance, do her peers (who are in the same program or school) experience the same problem in time that she has? Do they also require extension or more classes? That will give an idea how your dd is progressing in the program.
For my kids, the piano teacher spent about 5 minutes on theory with them at the end of lessons. Usually 2 pages of homework. That's enough for them as they weren't sitting for any theory exams. For aural, even for violin, I was told my son would probably need only 2 or 4 lessons before taking grade 5 exam. Most teachers don't cover aural in class until nearer the exam date, I believe. I may be wrong. -
waiyean:
She used to aspire to be a hairdresser, and for one year, she spent 20 mins every night pretending to cut my hair. I am just glad she changed her ambitions.
δ½ ζ―ε₯½ε¦ε¦οΌ
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ammonite:
Phew! only pretending. For a moment, I thought she really cut your hair.waiyean:
She used to aspire to be a hairdresser, and for one year, she spent 20 mins every night pretending to cut my hair. I am just glad she changed her ambitions. δ½ ζ―ε₯½ε¦ε¦οΌ
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metz:
Phew! only pretending. For a moment, I thought she really cut your hair.ammonite:
[quote=\"waiyean\"]
She used to aspire to be a hairdresser, and for one year, she spent 20 mins every night pretending to cut my hair. I am just glad she changed her ambitions. δ½ ζ―ε₯½ε¦ε¦οΌ[/quote]With kids you never know ... They are filled with great imagination and brimming with confidence. They can see the final product in their mind and they KNOW they can do it... :faint:
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waiyean:
I start my students on grade 5 theory lessons roughly when my students are around grade 3 practical. So they will take their grade 5 theory before their grade 5 practical is attempted. The syllabus for grade 1-5 is cumulative, so preparing grade 5 means must cover whatever is being taught in the lower grades anyway.
Hi Dreamaurora,
If the theory lags the practical by 1-2 grades, then would you face the danger of having the student at grade 6 practical, but without the necessary grade 5 theory? Or do you jump straight into grade 5 theory preparation, potentially skipping some contents in grade 3-4 theory?
[quote]Hence in these cases, would you not suggest an adjustment to the lesson duration? This is exactly what I meant in above posts, where i mention that there is not enough lesson time. In situations where the student has the capacity to go faster, but limited by the lesson duration per week, should parents just lower expectations, or should they request for additional lessons? Would appreciate your views as a teacher.[/quote]IMO, I think it will be a disservice to limit a child who clearly loves music and has potential. The only instance where I think parent should lower expectation is when a child has serious foundation issue and bad habits that urgently need to be fixed before progressing further. Other than that, if a child is doing well in music, why limit him/her?
Maybe you can request for slightly longer lessons first for one month to see if there is a marked improvement in progress? -
metz:
Personally I would not take the risk of spending only 2 or 4 lessons for higher grade aural; even if a student is very strong in aural he still needs some time to practice answering the questions, especially for the viva question. What I would do is I would assess the student's current aural capability first by giving him/her a mock aural test of the grade to be taken, then after that I will plan accordingly and go through the aural regularly in lessons.
For aural, even for violin, I was told my son would probably need only 2 or 4 lessons before taking grade 5 exam. Most teachers don't cover aural in class until nearer the exam date, I believe. I may be wrong.
For grade 5-8 aural, as far as piano students concerned, 2 or 4 lessons definitely not enough. For grade 8 aural, I already started the aural training 2 years before the planned exam date; very kiasu I know, but better be safe than sorry.
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