All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Kee Kor]

So every teacher does have their fair share of the strong and weak students.

Yes, this is the case with most teachers and schools. Even NAFA Young Talents program have quite a number of students dropping out halfway because they can’t pass internal exams. The only exception I can see is when a teacher is popular enough to afford to select and audition only the best students.

Thanks! Will see how DS does in the upcoming months since we are still new with the teacher.

[Dreamaurora]

Grade 4 A1 ABRSM 2015-2016: Tempo di Menuetto by J.N. Hummel


So pretty, yet so difficult to play properly.

Teaching Note

This Minuet and Trio by Hummel may not the flashiest piece set for grade 4, but in my opinion is the most difficult piece technically and requires mature musicianship. The structure of this piece is pretty standard ternary form employed in classical Minuet and Trio. A central trio section is flanked by two identical Minuet sections and there is an additional coda set at the end of the Minuet.

Let's discuss the Minuet section first. I will only refer to the first Minuet from bars 1-16 since bars 32-48 are virtually identical. Interestingly Hummel has decided to make the Minuet the more graceful one whereas the Trio is the more playful one; usually most classical composers would do the opposite. The amount of staccato markings and two note slur markings in the Trio is an important clue to this. So, students would be advised to play the Minuet as sustained as possible. Keep the hands as close as possible to the keys and give all the notes almost their maximum values. There are plenty of syncopated third beats suggested here; bringing these out will bring out some rhythmic excitements. Besides the fz specified at bars 5 and 13, there are a few more places syncopations can add variety. The V7 chords found at the third beats of bars 3, 7 and 15 can be gently emphasized to highlight the cadences here, but be careful that these are not emphasized as much as the fz. The first notes descending arpeggios at the third beats of bars 8 and 9 can be emphasized too, but care must be taken that these do not sound harsh.

The general dynamics for this Minuet should be generally quite quiet to allow it to contrast with the more lively Trio later on. Be careful with fz mentioned earlier at bars 5 and 13; I would suggest not playing them more than mf to keep them in context. I would also recommend the f passage from bars 8-10 to be played not louder than mf too.

The Trio section starting at third beat of bar 16 is decidedly more lively. The start of the trio is immediately marked f marking immediate shift in character. Students should not hold back and play with a dynamics level that is louder than what they play earlier in the Minuet. To achieve the ff chords more easily, quick depression of damper pedals can be used here. Playful p passages are juxtaposed between the f passages; play them much quieter. It may be helpful to think the interaction between these passages like a game of hide and seek. There is a brief lyrical passage from bars 24-27. This passage need to be played more legato similar to the earlier Minuet, but I would shape them more deliberately. The third beat syncopations present in earlier Minuet are also present here, so don't be afraid to play these with slight accents, especially the return of the f staccato passage at third beat of bar 28.

Keep the tempo very constant throughout the entire piece, but a slight ritardando can be made at the last two bars of the Trio to end it more gracefully before the reprise of the Minuet. End the reprise of the Minuet without any ritardando as the music still continues on at the Coda. Play the semiquavers leggiero and semi-detached if possible; the Coda is similar in character to the Trio. Proceed to the end of the Coda without any tempo change and end the final perfect cadence grandly.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un0zOhgdIp0][/youtube]

[Dreamaurora]

Grade 3 B2 ABRSM 2015-2016: Pastushok na svireli igraet by V.I Rebikov


Teaching Note


It is interesting to note this piece shares many similarities with The Little Shepherd from Children's Corner by Claude Debussy. Both share the same key signature, modal harmonies, a RH flute melody and feature juxtaposition of contemplative and lively sections. One can probably conclude that Rebikov had heard Debussy's take and was inspired by it.

As such, I feel this piece should be treated as an impressionistic piece rather than a late romantic one. Central to execute the impressionistic feel of this piece would be the skillful use of the damper pedal. Although there is no con pedale specified in the score, I would advise the damper pedal to be used extensively here. Without the damper pedal, the piece would sound very dry especially in drier acoustics and would not be evocative enough. I would suggest basic legato pedaling for the outer Moderato sections; a musically decent effect can be achieved by changing the pedal every minim beat. For bars 5-8 and 20-23, the damper pedal may be either changed more often or tapered to ensure the clarity of the RH melody.

Shape the flute melody on the RH very delicately and avoid accenting the last notes of the phrases; think of each phrase as fading off into the open sky. LH should be kept as soft and gentle as possible; flatten the fingers more and don't depress them all the way down. Bars 7-8 and 22-23 can be played mezza voce to add variety; if students find this difficult the una corda pedal may be employed here.

The music becomes decidedly more lively at the Allegretto part, sounding dance-like. Students should continue to employ the damper pedal here, but change it every time the LH block chords change. Be careful with these block chords. Play them a few levels softer than the RH to allow the RH melody to soar clearly; the technique to play these chords are the same as I have described earlier. From middle of bar 12 onwards, the RH plays rapid up and down A major scales. Keep these scale runs as leggiero as possible; crescendo only slightly at the last ascending one to the broken E octaves. If these are executed correctly, these should sound 'pearly' when the damper pedal is applied to them. If students are having difficulty executing the quick mordents at bars 9 and 11, the fingerings can be swapped to 2 3 2 1 for the first four notes of the bars.

I would personally keep the tempo almost steady throughout. Slight ritardando can be done at bars 8, 15, and 23, but more or less play the piece semplice without any overwrought rubato. Interestingly, Rebikov decided not to finish the final plagal cadence leaving it hanging at the B Minor chord at bar 23; delay the sounding of this final chord so the listener is aware that this is the conclusion of the piece.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90R6c78m8XI][/youtube]

[Dreamaurora]

Grade 5 A3 ABRSM 2015-2016: Adagio by Pleyel


Teaching Note

The score for this piece may look intimidating initially because of the copious amount of small note values such as demisemiquavers and even hemi-demisemiquavers. But the music itself is actually quite straightforward rhythmically and fits the hands well. I would suggest students to practice this piece with semiquavers beats first to prevent rhythmic errors. The numerous dotted rhythms here are especially prone to errors as students may inadvertently overdot them or play the demisemiquavers early.

The articulations in this piece is another aspect that need careful considerations as there are plenty of juxtapositions of lyrical and playful passages in this piece. The first section from bars 1-8 begins lyrically. From bars 1-5, there are staccato markings suggested at the final quavers of each RH phrase. I would suggest these are ignored and for the quavers to be given their full values. The phrases would end more smoothly and gracefully, allowing the first section of the piece to be contrasted better with the more playful second section from bars 8-16. The RH from bars 1-5 should be played as legato as possible. Bars 6-7 can be played detached to convey a slight change of mood to a more playful one, but be careful not to play them too short.

The second section of the piece starting from the last quaver of bar 8 to bar 16 has more staccato markings and smaller note values in the RH indicating a more playful nature. Keep the LH as legato and sustained as possible. Keep the RH as close as possible and avoid bouncing up and down unnecessarily during the staccato passages. Be careful that the quavers at the end of these staccato passages are not staccatoed otherwise they will end too abruptly. Bars 14-16 have quick hemi-demisemiquaver patterns on the RH; these should be played leggiero to prevent them from sounding clumsy. It may be helpful to think of these patterns as broken chords instead.

The third section starts from the 2nd beat of bar 16 to bar 20. The RH double sixths and double thirds should be played legato. The bottom notes for the first three notes of the double sixths can be taken by the LH to help the legato. If students are having difficulty playing these RH legato, another solution would be playing them potato. The music suddenly becomes playful again at the middle of bar 18. Although there is no staccato specified here, I would advise playing these the same way as similar staccatoed passage starting at middle of bar 22 to maintain consistency. Be careful also that the staccatoed passage here has slightly different rhythm from the one above at bar 18. There is a short Codetta like passage from the middle of bar 24 onwards. Play this passage legato and gently crescendo to the V chord at bar 28 to prepare for the repeat of the opening bars.

I would advise the damper pedal to be used very sparingly here. The only instance I used the damper pedal in my recording is from bars 26 or 27 where to help achieve a smoother legato feel for the RH. Elsewhere, finger pedaling is more than sufficient. The bottom notes for broken octaves in the LH part can be held to twice their values. The bottom note B notes for bars 17 and 18 can be held up to one crotchet long. The tempo for this piece should be kept steady throughout to maintain a good momentum; avoid slowing down at the end of each section to prevent the music from becoming draggy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A-8ATYL6Ys][/youtube]

[mamemo]

I’m looking for a piano teacher at bishan, amk or toa payoh area for beginners (6 years old) any recommendations?

[Pandajo]

I’m looking for a piano teacher at woodlands that do home visits, to teach my boy who is a beginner. Any recommendations?

[Dreamaurora]

Grade 5 C3 ABRSM 2015-2016: 60s Swing by Evelien Vis


Teaching Note

There are no particularly challenging technical parts in this swing jazz piece; the piece is well written to fit under the hands very well and the rhythm is pretty much quite straightforward. Still, there are a few pitfalls students should be aware of. First, concerning the accuracy of executing the swing rhythms. There are a few places where students may accidentally not swing the rhythms. Be careful especially at points where a quaver immediately follows an off-beat crotchet e.g. at the last RH E note at bar 2. The slur for this particular bar can be deceiving; it may be helpful to think of the slur as ending at the previous crotchet F and a new slur beginning on the E overlapping to the next bar. Honestly, this piece is quite forgiving even when the rhythm is not swing precisely, it will still sound correct and do not pose big issue to the integrity of the music.

The texture of this piece is quite straightforward as well. Aside from the LH improvisatory passage from bars 17-22, RH always has the melody while the RH is normally accompanying along with block chords. The LH should be kept lighter throughout and one dynamic level lower than the RH to prevent them from sounding chunky especially because some of them are quite dissionant. I would suggest these chords to be 'caressed' gently into the keys; think of how one caresses a dog or a cat as an analogy. There are some chordal passages e.g bars 7-8. For these bars LH should still be lighter and if possible students should try to voice out the top RH notes of these chords to make the continuation of the RH melodic line clearer. Be careful also not to play the melody with too heavy a touch, in fact as much as possible play the melody as leggiero as possible keeping the hands as still as possible and letting the fingers do most of the work.

There are little issue concerning the fingering for both hand and the patterns found in this piece under the hand very well, but there are a few parts that may pose slight issues for smaller hands if the fingerings printed in the book are followed to the letter. The RH flourish at bar 13 for example. The last four quavers can be re-fingered with 2 1 2 3. The LH bar 19 can be prone to accident too due to its quick positions shifts during the slurs; I actually redistributed the F#-G to the RH when I recorded this. For bars 6, 14, and 30 I feel the top RH notes should be fingered instead with 5 4 3 2 (or 5 4 3 3 for smaller hands) to prevent an accidental spike at the third beat G.

The dynamics should be kept more or less mf throughout the piece to maintain the relaxed mood of the piece. In fact, the only time the composer specified f is during the climax of the LH solo section at bar 23. Tempo should be steady and metronome like during the entire piece, although as suggested by the editor a rallentando at the last 2 bars are appropriate; una corda pedal can employed here to help with the echo effect intended by the composer. Damper pedal should be employed primarily to help achieve legato where it's difficult or impossible to execute using finger legatos, but otherwise try to minimize the usage to maintain the clarity of the melody. For example a quick pedal can be used to connect the last quaver C# of bar 4 to the first notes of bar 5. Another good example will be to use pedal to connect the last crotchet F at bar 6 to the first notes of bar 7. The chordal passages can be pedaled too give more sustained feel to them e.g. bars 7-8, 15-16.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T286V5k9Syk][/youtube]

[kimurahanz]

hi, looking for good private piano teacher based near buangkok, hougang, sengkang or punggol for my 6 y/o dau (without music background) for weekends, please pm me with the location and rates if interested or have recommendations, thks in advance! Appreciated

[mathtuition88]

Hi,


You can check out this tuition agency http://startutor.sg/request,wwcsmt.
(Please use the full link: http://startutor.sg/request,wwcsmt)

It has piano teachers too. Just click on Music --> Instrument (Piano). You can select the Grade too.

Hope it helps!

[Kee Kor]

Anyone knows I can buy a copy of Lang Lang’s CD in Singapore? DS is interested to own one. Thanks!