All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers
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sleepy:
I found teachers also have very different criteria for grade. My DS's previous teacher always tells us it's not good to rush for grade 8 before P6. Later we tried several different teachers and some said can start on grade 3, some said can start from grade 4, one even said can start from grade 5 if we want to pass grade 8 before P6... I'm amazed that some teachers are very optimistic yet others could be more cautious. IMHO grade 8 doesn't mean anything if a kid cannot enjoy and appreciate piano.Haha, no need to be agitated la. Indeed speaking from my personal experience, being unnecessarily held back by a teacher who subsequently admitted it's her mistake in judgment, applying a blanket rule 1 year 1 grade, rather than assess every student individually.
So we stayed away from teachers who hold such firm belief from thereon. Oh well, obviously i can only speak from own experience, not representing anyone else. Chill la, no need to resort to name calling
As to accelerated progress, it's the norm with our previous private teacher. Her p5 student is taking diploma. Her youngest grade 8 student is in p1. In that learning environment, naturally it becomes the norm to us since we are surrounded by such students for 3 years +. Teacher is utterly dissatisfied with dd's progress though
Anyway no longer with that teacher. Over zealous teacher killed interests too, if that makes anyone feels better :siam: -
sacredmusicals:
This is in response to sleepy's comment about teachers who believe one grade per year are mediocre which had been edited out. What an ignorant and snobbish comment. Not everyone is aiming to clear grade 8 by p6 and just because a teacher is unwilling to do it does not mean the teacher is mediocre. I swear this forum is becoming more toxic to read everyday with over eager parents and teachers sharing out of ordinary achievements and passing them off as normal.
Research has shown that for a child to clear grade 8 by P6, it's 10% dependent on teacher, and 90% dependent on the child and the supporting environment.....
Okay, the above statistics were plucked from the sky.... but the main point is, a child's success in accelerated learning is highly dependent on natural inclination, the amount of hard work put in, and how supportive the family environment is. Having the right teacher is one component of the equation, but it's certainly not the main one. -
Miaor:
I'm amazed that some teachers are very optimistic yet others could be more cautious.
Haha, current teacher over optimistic, said dd can go exam next Mar
but I'm doubtful so seeking second opinion earlier. Miaor:
Agreed!IMHO grade 8 doesn't mean anything if a kid cannot enjoy and appreciate piano.
My dd feels burned out after 3 years + with previous private teacher so I made the decision to quit. For a period of time, she didn't touch piano at all. I offered her the option to kiv for as long as she likes. We can sell her piano too if she decided to quit forever, which she objected strongly.
She started playing automatically again (to my pleasant surprise) after going cold turkey. So we engaged her another teacher recently. She used to love piano. I never pressurized her to pass certain grade by certain age. She just happen to progress very quickly with her interests.
Therefore, a good teacher should not hold her back unnecessarily with a blanket 1 year 1 grade rule (I think I'm entitled to have my opinion
)
And I know I need a good teacher to bring out her full potential but not so intense to the extent of extinguishing interests.
Need strike a delicate balance loh. No point in learning if child stops playing totally after passing grade 8. Defeat the purpose le
But hor, I'm also a very practical parent at the same time, not ashamed to declare I place more weight on academic results than any hobby pursue.
Alarm bell should ring if learning music becomes an additional source of stress to the child instead of enjoyment and self actualization. -
waiyean:
Can't say I agreed with that percent. We are completely 100% reliant on teacher to teach. I have no idea if dd is practicing correctly. Even if she makes any mistakes, I can't tell at all. Piano sounds nice to me and that's it
Research has shown that for a child to clear grade 8 by P6, it's 10% dependent on teacher, and 90% dependent on the child and the supporting environment.....
Okay, the above statistics were plucked from the sky.... but the main point is, a child's success in accelerated learning is highly dependent on natural inclination, the amount of hard work put in, and how supportive the family environment is. Having the right teacher is one component of the equation, but it's certainly not the main one.
I'm not musically inclined le. My job is to find her the best teacher. She will refer to videos of teacher playing if she needs to clarify any minor parts over the week during home practice. She does her own practice. This has always been her learning style all these years. I don't sit next to her because I'm of no value add at all.
And so long no major complaints from teacher the following week, I would assume she is practicing correctly at home. -
With regards to china 1-10级, theres many exam boards in China , some are given by music schools, one by a artist association , and also another by the Ministry of Education. Having been trained for that and also having done the ABRSM exams , its safe to say 10级 has lower benchmarks for passing and that is why I said its not equivalent to grade 8. But nowhere near grade 3 ABRSM either , id place it around grades 6-7.
As for the ABRSM exams , while it is a internationally recognised board, these ABRSM certs that parents value so much in Singapore do not hold much significance elsewhere , and that includes the UK. During my studies in Vienna the ABRSM certs were not recognised and I was repeatedly asked to explain to our dean what these certs meant , before finally having it declared invalid and useless. Even in RCM , which is a college under ABRSM , it doesnt hold much significance . Yes they recognise it , but even then, it does not score you any brownie points. All these certs were just shuffled under other papers and rendered useless during applications and interviews. It is the main audition which matters. So parents whose children who are considering to study music in the future , Id strongly advise to focus on proficiency , technicality, musicality and playing alot more than the ABRSM syllabus.
But ultimately , exams are a good way of assessment for parents who have little experience in music , and a very good way of setting goals for young children… sometimes I see huge progress in students I register for exams in a short period of time as they have more motivation. Exams should be considered depending on the student, but definitely not a must every year. -
Dreamaurora:
she is entitled to her opinion
Thanks for being so understanding
Dreamaurora:
Yes, I know very clearly what type of teacher I'm looking for, after many trials and errorsevery parent has his/her own set of criteria of what makes a good teacher and for her being able to achieve fast result is quite obviously at the top the of the list.
Er, regarding fast result.. not entirely true.
See my posting above.
Inclination, interests and right teacher to bring out potential.
If all these components are present, result should come nautrally -
pianoprincess:
As for the ABRSM exams , while it is a internationally recognised board, these ABRSM certs that parents value so much in Singapore do not hold much significance elsewhere , and that includes the UK. During my studies in Vienna the ABRSM certs were not recognised and I was repeatedly asked to explain to our dean what these certs meant , before finally having it declared invalid and useless. Even in RCM , which is a college under ABRSM , it doesnt hold much significance . Yes they recognise it , but even then, it does not score you any brownie points. All these certs were just shuffled under other papers and rendered useless during applications and interviews. It is the main audition which matters. So parents whose children who are considering to study music in the future , Id strongly advise to focus on proficiency , technicality, musicality and playing alot more than the ABRSM syllabus.
I used to go \"wah\" at youtube videos of all these young children playing fast pieces on the piano. They are so young and yet so proficient on the keys.
But now, I find it more interesting to see whether they can play the slow, \"easy\" pieces. It seems that many children can be taught to be technically proficient and to play faster and faster pieces. Musicality on the other hand...
Youtube is a great site for this. For example, for the ABRSM Grade 5 A3 2013-14 piece Allemande in A Minor by Handel, there are two (in my view) very enjoyable rendition (one by Dr Jason Sifford and the other by Cubus) with very different styles and tempo. Interestingly, these did not mention \"ABRSM Grade 5\". There are some videos by people who appear to be piano teachers (who shall remain nameless) that are merely so-so. And then there are quite a number of videos of it played by children, many sounding like metronomes.
But the real fun is in seeing how many youtube whiz kids can play something like Terrega's Adelita (B3). -
Miaor:
Well, I think teachers tend to feel the pressure of seeing their peers 'achieve' more. 'Achieving' in Singapore context seem to mean a lot of distinction scorers or young children passing high grades for a lot of teachers. That and also teachers may be eager to secure more students by promising fast results.
I found teachers also have very different criteria for grade. My DS's previous teacher always tells us it's not good to rush for grade 8 before P6. Later we tried several different teachers and some said can start on grade 3, some said can start from grade 4, one even said can start from grade 5 if we want to pass grade 8 before P6... I'm amazed that some teachers are very optimistic yet others could be more cautious. IMHO grade 8 doesn't mean anything if a kid cannot enjoy and appreciate piano.sleepy:
Haha, no need to be agitated la. Indeed speaking from my personal experience, being unnecessarily held back by a teacher who subsequently admitted it's her mistake in judgment, applying a blanket rule 1 year 1 grade, rather than assess every student individually.
So we stayed away from teachers who hold such firm belief from thereon. Oh well, obviously i can only speak from own experience, not representing anyone else. Chill la, no need to resort to name calling
As to accelerated progress, it's the norm with our previous private teacher. Her p5 student is taking diploma. Her youngest grade 8 student is in p1. In that learning environment, naturally it becomes the norm to us since we are surrounded by such students for 3 years +. Teacher is utterly dissatisfied with dd's progress though
Anyway no longer with that teacher. Over zealous teacher killed interests too, if that makes anyone feels better :siam:
To be honest, I think our culture of heaping praise on achievements at a young age is partly to blame. Considering two children of different age with equal playing level, the younger one will always be considered as more 'talented' as compared to the older one, regardless of how much effort they put in. Those older ones, even those who perform very well seem to be less impressive than younger ones.
I've long since stopped comparing myself with other teachers. Those who remember my earlier postings years ago would remember I was kind of...boastful. I was seeking validation from others I guess that I was a good teacher. But I think at the end of the day, what I want to see in my studio are students who are genuinely interested in learning music. And to achieve this, as a teacher I need to set the right attitude by acknowledging that each student is unique and has different level of abilities. -
sleepy:
Speaking from my own experience, my own students who do very well for performance and exams are most likely to have at least one parent who can play piano. I think almost half of my student population have mothers/fathers who managed who play or learned piano themselves.
Can't say I agreed with that percent. We are completely 100% reliant on teacher to teach. I have no idea if dd is practicing correctly. Even if she makes any mistakes, I can't tell at all. Piano sounds nice to me and that's itwaiyean:
Research has shown that for a child to clear grade 8 by P6, it's 10% dependent on teacher, and 90% dependent on the child and the supporting environment.....
Okay, the above statistics were plucked from the sky.... but the main point is, a child's success in accelerated learning is highly dependent on natural inclination, the amount of hard work put in, and how supportive the family environment is. Having the right teacher is one component of the equation, but it's certainly not the main one.
I'm not musically inclined le. My job is to find her the best teacher. She will refer to videos of teacher playing if she needs to clarify any minor parts over the week during home practice. She does her own practice. This has always been her learning style all these years. I don't sit next to her because I'm of no value add at all.
And so long no major complaints from teacher the following week, I would assume she is practicing correctly at home.
With these parents, progress are significantly a lot faster, especially for the higher grades. Mistakes are easily rectified as I can instruct the parents what to fix and the methods to fix them. And these students also have decidedly better technique.
Of course this does not mean those without non-pianist parents won't play well, but obviously there will be marked differences in progress and approach. With these students I generally set more generous timeline. I also take more time to explain and guide them so they will arrive at the answers themselves; for those with piano playing parents, I can be more methodical and direct to the point. -
pirate:
As I have mentioned earlier, regurgitating to children is a far faster and easier method to get things done in lesson. Making them think and experiment is harder and takes a lot more lesson time.pianoprincess:
As for the ABRSM exams , while it is a internationally recognised board, these ABRSM certs that parents value so much in Singapore do not hold much significance elsewhere , and that includes the UK. During my studies in Vienna the ABRSM certs were not recognised and I was repeatedly asked to explain to our dean what these certs meant , before finally having it declared invalid and useless. Even in RCM , which is a college under ABRSM , it doesnt hold much significance . Yes they recognise it , but even then, it does not score you any brownie points. All these certs were just shuffled under other papers and rendered useless during applications and interviews. It is the main audition which matters. So parents whose children who are considering to study music in the future , Id strongly advise to focus on proficiency , technicality, musicality and playing alot more than the ABRSM syllabus.
I used to go \"wah\" at youtube videos of all these young children playing fast pieces on the piano. They are so young and yet so proficient on the keys.
But now, I find it more interesting to see whether they can play the slow, \"easy\" pieces. It seems that many children can be taught to be technically proficient and to play faster and faster pieces. Musicality on the other hand...
Youtube is a great site for this. For example, for the ABRSM Grade 5 A3 2013-14 piece Allemande in A Minor by Handel, there are two (in my view) very enjoyable rendition (one by Dr Jason Sifford and the other by Cubus) with very different styles and tempo. Interestingly, these did not mention \"ABRSM Grade 5\". There are some videos by people who appear to be piano teachers (who shall remain nameless) that are merely so-so. And then there are quite a number of videos of it played by children, many sounding like metronomes.
But the real fun is in seeing how many youtube whiz kids can play something like Terrega's Adelita (B3).
But I think it is a sad state of affair these young students do not understand and connect to the music on the personal level. And even as a teacher, I face an uphill battle because a lot of local students are very passive and not really pro active. I try my best to guide them to understand their music by asking them to find out more about the music and the composer, make up story to accompany their pieces, set lyrics, think of mood and colors, etc. But everytime I have to prompt them and remind them. Very few will actually be curious and go beyond what I ask them to do.
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