All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[starz]

Dear all,


Thanks so much for your advice.

One thing is my child has been slightly inconsistently in her practicing as busy with sch work and activities.

However, even with consistent practicing last yr, i noticed that the teacher usually takes 1 year to complete a book.

Meaning since she first started out with my child (from 6 to 7 yrs old) , teacher completed Alfred book A.

As i mentioned currently on Alfred book B (going to complete soon), also takes almost one year (7-8yrs old).

Now Teacher requested to purchase Alfred book C.

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds- ... -3130.aspx

So i will predict it will take another year to complete book C as well, meaning from 8-9yrs old?

Hmm still pondering? i guess i would switch to another teacher that can probably progress slightly faster n continue from there. as i m not sure whether is it my child or teacher's problem. Teacher mentioned her intention is to build strong solid foundation. hmmm

[Dreamaurora]

starz:

Dear all,


Thanks so much for your advice.

One thing is my child has been slightly inconsistently in her practicing as busy with sch work and activities.

However, even with consistent practicing last yr, i noticed that the teacher usually takes 1 year to complete a book.

Meaning since she first started out with my child (from 6 to 7 yrs old) , teacher completed Alfred book A.

As i mentioned currently on Alfred book B (going to complete soon), also takes almost one year (7-8yrs old).

Now Teacher requested to purchase Alfred book C.

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds- ... -3130.aspx

So i will predict it will take another year to complete book C as well, meaning from 8-9yrs old?

Hmm still pondering? i guess i would switch to another teacher that can probably progress slightly faster n continue from there. as i m not sure whether is it my child or teacher's problem. Teacher mentioned her intention is to build strong solid foundation. hmmm

Completing method books does not automatically mean your child have solid foundation. Rather, it's how the method books are being used. It is very much possible to complete many method books but still having weak foundation at the end.

Nowadays, the only teachers who adhere rigidly to completing entire method books are older teachers who were trained this way. It is more beneficial to pick selected pieces that focus on certain aspects of technique and play them really well. So a beginner who plays a much smaller amount of pieces musically with proper technique I consider as having much better progress compared to another beginner who can play a lot of pieces but very average in quality. There are also a much greater selection of teaching materials an beginning repertoire available compared to last time, so I feel sticking to only a method book is severely limiting a student.

Like I have suggested, query the teacher again. Ask her to define what is good progress and what is good foundation. If she is unable to do so, then she's just going through the motions.

[Dreamaurora]

starz:

Dear all,


Thanks so much for your advice.

One thing is my child has been slightly inconsistently in her practicing as busy with sch work and activities.

However, even with consistent practicing last yr, i noticed that the teacher usually takes 1 year to complete a book.

Meaning since she first started out with my child (from 6 to 7 yrs old) , teacher completed Alfred book A.

As i mentioned currently on Alfred book B (going to complete soon), also takes almost one year (7-8yrs old).

Now Teacher requested to purchase Alfred book C.

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds- ... -3130.aspx

So i will predict it will take another year to complete book C as well, meaning from 8-9yrs old?

Hmm still pondering? i guess i would switch to another teacher that can probably progress slightly faster n continue from there. as i m not sure whether is it my child or teacher's problem. Teacher mentioned her intention is to build strong solid foundation. hmmm

Completing method books does not automatically mean your child have solid foundation. Rather, it's how the method books are being used. It is very much possible to complete many method books but still having weak foundation at the end.

Nowadays, the only teachers who adhere rigidly to completing entire method books are older teachers who were trained this way. It is more beneficial to pick selected pieces that focus on certain aspects of technique and play them really well. So a beginner who plays a much smaller amount of pieces musically with proper technique I consider as having much better progress compared to another beginner who can play a lot of pieces but very average in quality. There are also a much greater selection of teaching materials an beginning repertoire available compared to last time, so I feel sticking to only a method book is severely limiting a student.

Like I have suggested, query the teacher again. Ask her to define what is good progress and what is good foundation. If she is unable to do so, then she's just going through the motions.

[starz]

in addition, may i know how long does it takes 2 to3 same level books? for example, now teacher is using 2 alfred piano books + 2 theory books (occasionally used only). how long does it take to finish these series? need one year?

[reiner]

errr… my girl piano tr no use any teaching book @ all… besides the abrsm exam books (exam pieces, scales, etc)… she will wanna me to find the songs sheets n print then teach… like hanon ones the tr said is for fingerings… so far me just pay for the fee… no request us to buy any books leh… thinking this will save some monies… haha…

[mehchek]

Lots of ABRSM syllabus books for sale, do check

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum ... 21&t=74511

[waiyean]

starz:

Dear all,


Thanks so much for your advice.

One thing is my child has been slightly inconsistently in her practicing as busy with sch work and activities.

However, even with consistent practicing last yr, i noticed that the teacher usually takes 1 year to complete a book.

Meaning since she first started out with my child (from 6 to 7 yrs old) , teacher completed Alfred book A.

As i mentioned currently on Alfred book B (going to complete soon), also takes almost one year (7-8yrs old).

Now Teacher requested to purchase Alfred book C.

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds- ... -3130.aspx

So i will predict it will take another year to complete book C as well, meaning from 8-9yrs old?

Hmm still pondering? i guess i would switch to another teacher that can probably progress slightly faster n continue from there. as i m not sure whether is it my child or teacher's problem. Teacher mentioned her intention is to build strong solid foundation. hmmm

I really think you should change the teacher.
There are 6 books (book A to F) in this prep series. Is the teacher planning to take your child through 6 years of prep before attempting grade 1? And all these after already 2 years of JMC?

I don't blame your child for being inconsistent in the practice. I mean, who is going to be motivated to spend a few years doing nothing but just playing C C C C, D D D D, etc. and a couple of children song with simple 5 fingers melodies? That's what they do in these prep series.

My daughter was in a music school that compresses these prep contents into 4 books. It takes slightly more than a year of group lessons to complete these 4 books, after which they were already playing pieces equivalent to grade 1 pieces.

Do you sit in with your child during the lessons? What exactly is the teacher doing to build up that \"strong solid foundation\"? There is nothing wrong with spending time to build up a good foundation, but I have a feeling the teacher is taking you for a ride in this.

[Gifts from Heaven]

Hi starz,


If you are still interested to keep your teacher, just tell her that you wish to sign your child up for ABRSM Grade 1 or 2 piano practical exams next year Aug(2015) and see what she says. If your child is ready and her teacher is confident, there is more than enough time to prepare for it. If teacher says your child is not ready, then you can ask her to work towards getting your child ready by the following Mar (2016). Ask her to give you a checkpoint sometime in Dec this year and next year Mar (2015) to see if your kid can attempt Grade 1 or Grade 2 in Mar 2016. Like that, you will be able to see the progress as a parent.
Hope this helps.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

starz:

Dear all,


Thanks so much for your advice.

One thing is my child has been slightly inconsistently in her practicing as busy with sch work and activities.

However, even with consistent practicing last yr, i noticed that the teacher usually takes 1 year to complete a book.

Meaning since she first started out with my child (from 6 to 7 yrs old) , teacher completed Alfred book A.

As i mentioned currently on Alfred book B (going to complete soon), also takes almost one year (7-8yrs old).

Now Teacher requested to purchase Alfred book C.

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Alfreds- ... -3130.aspx

So i will predict it will take another year to complete book C as well, meaning from 8-9yrs old?

Hmm still pondering? i guess i would switch to another teacher that can probably progress slightly faster n continue from there. as i m not sure whether is it my child or teacher's problem. Teacher mentioned her intention is to build strong solid foundation. hmmm

I really think you should change the teacher.
There are 6 books (book A to F) in this prep series. Is the teacher planning to take your child through 6 years of prep before attempting grade 1? And all these after already 2 years of JMC?

I don't blame your child for being inconsistent in the practice. I mean, who is going to be motivated to spend a few years doing nothing but just playing C C C C, D D D D, etc. and a couple of children song with simple 5 fingers melodies? That's what they do in these prep series.

My daughter was in a music school that compresses these prep contents into 4 books. It takes slightly more than a year of group lessons to complete these 4 books, after which they were already playing pieces equivalent to grade 1 pieces.

Do you sit in with your child during the lessons? What exactly is the teacher doing to build up that \"strong solid foundation\"? There is nothing wrong with spending time to build up a good foundation, but I have a feeling the teacher is taking you for a ride in this.

I read ABRSM forum quite regularly besides this forum. It is interesting to observe quite a lot of teachers there don't bat an eyelid for making the students go through 3 to 4 years of lessons before attempting grade 1. Many of them are also vehemently against the idea of sending young kids for exams.

I think we are blessed to live in Singapore where there is a healthy number of teachers who are highly competent and able to achieve quick progress in young children. As such parents have higher expectations here; parents here generally do not want just the kids to enjoy learning music, they want them to achieve quantifiable progress.

It's good because this weeds out weaker teachers who lack proper training and are not genuinely interested to make the kids progress. I was always amazed when I talked to other teachers and there were many who did not have decent grasps of basic teaching concepts or even able to explain coherently the exam syllabi they are preparing their students for.

But unfortunately here parents are often willing to settle for lesser capable teachers for convenience and cheaper fees, especially for beginners and lower grades. The kids trained under these teachers often have rather slow progress with poor technical foundations. And often also entered into exams prematurely and ending up doing poorly. So well, in the end, spend more money as compared to engaging a (more expensive and less convenient) good teacher right away from the start.

[Dreamaurora]

Gifts from Heaven:

Hi starz,


If you are still interested to keep your teacher, just tell her that you wish to sign your child up for ABRSM Grade 1 or 2 piano practical exams next year Aug(2015) and see what she says. If your child is ready and her teacher is confident, there is more than enough time to prepare for it. If teacher says your child is not ready, then you can ask her to work towards getting your child ready by the following Mar (2016). Ask her to give you a checkpoint sometime in Dec this year and next year Mar (2015) to see if your kid can attempt Grade 1 or Grade 2 in Mar 2016. Like that, you will be able to see the progress as a parent.
Hope this helps.

Good idea.

Honestly, if a parent has to be the one setting the plans and checkpoints instead of the teacher, the teacher may not be the right fit for the student.