All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Dreamaurora]

fifiyeo:

phankao:

I would be cautious about this approach of \"perfection\". The child, as you have observed, can get rebellious. And for girls, they do start into their Tween years earlier than boys. One of my boys - we expected lots of him. but by the time he was 10-11yrs, he got rebellious. He didn't want to practise when I told him to. Ended up only wanting to practise when I was not at home. Thankfully he has pride and does well at every exam he takes as well as at competitions and thankfully he has not seriously said he wanted to quit. Anyway, I told him he cannot quit until he has his diploma (haha - simply bc he's actually rather good at it but not so good in his studies - hopefully it can be something he can fall back on , altho' he says he doesn't ever want to use it as a career).

So I would advise giving the child some personal space. Ask her to practise the way she thinks it actually \"sounds good\". 1st goal \"every note must be correct, fingering correct\". 2nd goal \" notes correct PLUS rhythm correct\". 3rd goal \"dynamics\". 4th goal \"tempo\". ... then \"polish\". I do this even with my 5yo these days so I can have some breather. Some days, I only insist on SLOW but accurate practise and we are done. After 5 days of just SLOW accurate practice (notes/fingering correct, rhythm correct, as well as dynamics observed\" ... generally he can play it fairly well at a faster tempo.

Hope that helps.

I agree with these 4 goals. That's what I always tell me DS. After enough practices, it will just polish up nicely but learning to play it the right way slowly is really important. Otherwise will be polishing up a wrongly played piece.

When DS was in K1, he came home one day and said he was going to be a music teacher when he grows up and had a terrible looking drawing of himself on the piano. Then this whole thing died off. 3 years ago he wanted music lessons again but we were busy with no.1 so never happened. Last year it came up again so we agreed. Now he wants be a pianist / music teacher.

Its heartening to see parents like you willing to support their Children’s dream of becoming musician or music teacher. This means in the future we may see more excellent home grown teachers. Currently music teaching industry is still heavily dominated by foreigners, even most of the big name teachers here are not local. I think there are really a lot of passionate students around, but circumstances do not allow them to pursue their passion.

So tragically, a lot of the really good students in Singapore who trained under the best teachers here and won prizes did not go into the profession. So you end up with a lot of teachers like me who did not have semiprofessional training from young but made mid-career switch to music in our adulthood. Undoubtedly I can say I am passionate in what I do now, but I’m not kidding myself, if I had the benefit of superior teachers and learning environment much earlier, I would be performing and teaching at much more higher level now.

[Dreamaurora]

fifiyeo:

classymadame:

[quote=\"fifiyeo]

Music is a lifelong learning process and to cultivate a love for it is really important to keep on going on the long run. I can understand why the teacher started to be encouraging and took a softer approach towards your DD after she was crying at the end of the lesson.

If the child feels motivated, he/she will practice and push on and it can go a long way. If the teacher is the one who is pushing too hard, then it will kill the interest totally.

My DS's piano teacher is also very encouraging and I think that is what kept DS going at a fast pace since he started his lessons back in Dec. DS will never not practice his piano and will often do extra theory work and learn new pieces ahead of what he is taught. His piano classes are something he looks forward to every week. In fact I think he is dying for those praises from his teacher that makes him practice and practice.

Fifiyeo, I am envious that your DS is diligent. DD's teacher is encouraging and she liked going to lessons, but this actually made DD lazier. I sat with DD everyday to help her practice and I often had to raise my voice at her just to get her to correct her mistakes. DD is so easily self-satisfied even when she played lousy, because her teacher so easily praised her even if the playing was not good. Lately DD has became more rebellious and would refuse to follow what I asked her to do during practice. It's very tiring because obviously I am more strict towards DD than the teacher. It should be the other way around.

[/quote]

Classymadame, actually I'm also stricter with DS than his teacher. The last thing I want is for him to be afraid or detest his teacher. So he loves going for classes and if the teacher did not pass his songs (so far only 2 pieces) he gets really upset.[/quote][/quote][/quote]

Must see the kid also. Naturally competitive kid tend to be able take harsher criticism and can self-regulate learning. Normally these kids are also competitive academically in school and this translates to natural competitiveness in music learning.

I would say only a minority of students can be treated like this, in my student population probably only 5 or 6 are like these. With these students I am much more direct and I do not mince my words, perhaps even close to the point of being tyrannical. The students are aware of the level of standard and amount of effort required to do well for distinctions at higher grades, so they do not mind a much more serious tone in lessons.

But for majority of my students, they are still in the process of starting out the instrument and learning to appreciate it. And most parents who engage me at lower grades want the kids to appreciate music first, achieving high standard in playing and exam is secondary i.e. not your typical NAFA student. So in general I am more encouraging towards them and will appreciate the effort they put in. They may not necessarily achieve playing of distinction standard, but as long they enjoy playing I would consider mission accomplished. When they are older, more self-motivated and preparing higher grades, then I can change my approach to a more serious one with them.

So I think classymadame's DD is still in the process of appreciating the instrument and perhaps not ready to aim for the sky yet; this does not mean her DD is not capable of achieving great things, just that mentally perhaps not the time yet. But she has the final say on how to bring up her DD and I wish her all the best in her quest to find the perfect teacher for her DD.

[fifiyeo]

phankao:

fifiyeo:

When DS was in K1, he came home one day and said he was going to be a music teacher when he grows up and had a terrible looking drawing of himself on the piano. Then this whole thing died off. 3 years ago he wanted music lessons again but we were busy with no.1 so never happened. Last year it came up again so we agreed. Now he wants be a pianist / music teacher.

I never have these dreams of my kids. haha. I don't think any of them is interested in being a teacher, especially the \"reluctant\" one.

But through these years, I've seen music as a means to show themselves that they can achieve via just learning a piece of music to performance standard. The ability to break down a piece, to organise practising it by parts, etc, to how they journeyed from not knowing to excelling in that piece - that is one small achievement at a time. Builds their confidence. These skills, they can apply to other parts of their life.

I also don't know why DS2 wants to be a pianist or a piano teacher. Maybe it's his inborn instinct??? He certainly didn't grow up in a musical environment. I do see him playing with his recorder at times too.

DS1 would run away from music lessons anytime and I myself did not touch the keyboard for a good 20+ years after I completely stopped playing the organ. DH hasn't even touched the piano since it arrived home.

[sacredmusicals]

Dreamaurora:

So tragically, a lot of the really good students in Singapore who trained under the best teachers here and won prizes did not go into the profession. So you end up with a lot of teachers like me who did not have semiprofessional training from young but made mid-career switch to music in our adulthood. Undoubtedly I can say I am passionate in what I do now, but I’m not kidding myself, if I had the benefit of superior teachers and learning environment much earlier, I would be performing and teaching at much more higher level now.

Well Dreamaurora, you still turn out ok as compared to those who started from young. Dont think too much.

[sacredmusicals]

Just read the epic discussion on classymadame’s DD and her teacher. Wow, I can’t imagine seeing my student cry in lesson. If that happens to me, i would be quite depressed. If I’m the teacher i would have followed the same course of action too.

[Dreamaurora]

sacredmusicals:

Dreamaurora:

So tragically, a lot of the really good students in Singapore who trained under the best teachers here and won prizes did not go into the profession. So you end up with a lot of teachers like me who did not have semiprofessional training from young but made mid-career switch to music in our adulthood. Undoubtedly I can say I am passionate in what I do now, but I’m not kidding myself, if I had the benefit of superior teachers and learning environment much earlier, I would be performing and teaching at much more higher level now.

Well Dreamaurora, you still turn out ok as compared to those who started from young. Dont think too much.

I feel very blessed that despite my relative inexperience in teaching that my current students and parents put their trust in me to accompany them on their piano journey.

That being said, fact is, I am severely under-qualified as compared to many of my peers. Many professional teachers my age have advanced qualifications such as Masters, LRSM, FRSM, etc; which I don't have at the moment. I also lack significant performing resume such as winning competitions, recitals, performing concerti with orchestra, etc. My best students are playing so far quite decent, but I hope eventually I will have a few who can compare to cream of the crop students from NAFA and the big name teachers.

So I'm not kidding myself, I am nowhere near the caliber of the big name teachers in Singapore. Starting piano late means I missed out that crucial early years where most students could practice without much worry. It's difficult juggling teaching career and upgrading myself; i often have to practice past midnight. But if I want to be taken seriously as a professional teacher by prospective students and my peers, I need to continue to improve my performance and teaching skill. Hopefully I can clear both my LRSM performance and teaching next year. It's embarrassing that I do not have these 2 qualifications yet when people much younger than me already cleared them.

[sacredmusicals]

Dreamaurora, if you are "underqualified" then most teachers do not deserve to teach already. Those big name teachers do not freely share and extend their help, whereas you do. Dont be so hard on yourself, if you are good, you are good. Dont care about what your peers think of you.

[Shanney]

Hi, I’m wondering how young can a kid start learning piano??


On a side note, I’m also thinking of learning piano myself… Do I have to own a piano to learn? And what brands and where to buy ? Any recommended private teacher in sengkang?

Thanks in advance!

[Dreamaurora]

Shanney:

Hi, I'm wondering how young can a kid start learning piano??


On a side note, I'm also thinking of learning piano myself.. Do I have to own a piano to learn? And what brands and where to buy ? Any recommended private teacher in sengkang?

Thanks in advance!

As long a child can sit still reasonably for around 20-30 minutes and can understand basic instructions, then should be ok to start piano lesson, but this is provided parent willing to assist and help at home.

Definitely best to own a piano to learn. But if not ready to commit to a piano, there are other options also such as renting piano studios at music school or renting pianos from some piano dealers.

[fifiyeo]

For grades 2 or 3, how many songs must one play for the exams?