All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Dreamaurora]

Kee Kor:

I attended the annual recital last year and many of the students didn't play very well. I can see that teacher was disappointed. Was wondering if they got stage fright and didn't play as well as they should. Will observe carefully when the next recital comes up again. So if the students are generally not playing very well, then teacher's teaching standard should be questioned or could it be teacher allowed all students to participate just as a form of encouragement regardless of abilities?

Annual recital can be a tricky thing. I think most teachers would use their annual recital as an avenue for as many as their students to perform, even if the students are still very green. As a result, you would often see widely different standards being exhibited. Also, performing in front of people is quite different from performing in an exam. It is not an uncommon to see a student who scores distinction for exams crash and burn when being asked to play in a performance setting.

It is a constant struggle for me to improve the consistency of performance of my students, but I come to realise that for my students to perform well, thorough preparation and sufficient rehearsals are necessary. Performance classes and private mini concerts are necessary for the students to run through their pieces first, so when they participate in a public recital they are mentally prepared and it won't be the first time they perform their pieces. So yes, if you see a student not playing well, this does not mean the student can't play well, it is just perhaps the student is not prepared to handle that pressure. Now, this definitely places a lot more demands and commitments on the teachers and students. Not many teachers are willing to do this because performance is not their focus, and not many parents have the objective of training their children to become confident performers. If you place emphasis on your children to become confident performers, then yes, perhaps you may want to consider a change to a teacher who is performance focused. But if you are already contented that the teacher has met what your expectations and your children are happy with them, then no reason to question the teacher's ability. The concert is afterall just a snapshot of how the students do on that day, if you are sitting in regularly in the lessons, the weekly lessons should give you more accurate indication of the teacher's ability and professionalism.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Dreamaurora:

I prepared my grade 8 by myself without teacher by copying everything from the ABRSM CDs. I played securely up to speed without any noticeable mistakes save for a brief lapse for one of the pieces. But I still only managed to secure only Merit (24, 26, and 25) marks for the pieces because my playing was superficial and lacked finesse.

Would it have helped if you had access to Youtube and the online resources that is much more readily available now back then?

On a side note, do you encourage students to watch good Youtube recordings of exam pieces?

Hmm, I'm not sure if Youtube and online resources will do much good for my case. My playing then was clunky because of poor technical foundation. The musical errors I made were mainly the results of poor technical control. I tried to practice technical exercises on my own, but it did me more harm in the end because there was no feedback whether I have done them correctly or not. I was unaware also of the more subtle and less obvious musical details that can be easily pointed out by a good teacher. For example, I knew certain few bars needed to be played piano, but I was not aware how to balance the musical lines in both hands correctly. Subtler use of accents and rubato also escaped me no matter how closely I followed the recordings.

There's no harm in watching artists' renditions of exam pieces, but still need to listen and watch critically because the interpretation and technique may not be suitable for the students or exams. Normally I will play the videos or recordings in lessons and then I will discuss together with my students the pros and cons.

[Dreamaurora]

Celerebaby:

:

Dreamaurora:

[quote=\"Celerebaby\"]Hi all,


I'm on the prowl for a dedicated piano teacher who loves teaching young children. Someone who can inspire and nurture them to appreciate and develop a life long love of music. Not too bothered about exams. Staying in Pasir Panjang/Buona Vista but willing to travel within the vicinity. My sons are 5 & 6, both absolute beginners and we don't own a piano (yet). Would really appreciate personal recommendations from parents. Would it be more conducive to have individual lessons or both of them in the same class? Thanks much in advance.

No two kids will learn the same way or at same rate of progress. The kind of pieces they like may be different e.g. one may prefer more classical another may prefer more contemporary ones. Their learning approach can be different too. I don't advocate group lessons for this reason. Group appreciation classes such as Yamaha JMC is different story because they are focused more to develop interest and basic musical skills first. If you are getting a private teacher, I would advise you to go fully one-to-one so the lesson is more specific to each of your child. If you don't mind a slower rate of progress overall and place more emphasis that your children are happy in lessons, then perhaps you can consider group class.

Their learning approach and progress are most certainly different but there exist a friendly competition between them, which normally serves as motivation to improve. It’s a one upmanship game In this respect, having both of them in the same lesson might not be a bad thing. Perhaps 1 out of every 4 individual lessons, sort of a mini ensemble? Just a thought…

We definitely want them to have a happy learning journey and do not require accelerated learning to fit within a certain time frame. Appreciating the instrument and taking time to develop good techniques are important and so are sound musical concepts and developing a breadth of interest in musical pieces/styles, be it classical, contemporary, jazz etc. Our immediate aim is to start them on the road and eventually (hopefully) develop a lifelong enjoyment of playing. We have no plans to use music certifications as a means to further academic ambitions BUT do require each child to be presented with appropriate challenges and for him to meet that challenge with discipline. So, steady but purposeful progress, but no rush to take exams, if at all. Their school has compulsory music lessons for all students from Year 3 onwards and most will master at least 2 instruments by the end of school.

I am only considering private lessons as flexibility is important. I would hate to go down the same Suzuki violin route at Mandeville. Driving there was a chore, parking was horrendous and progress was painfully slow. :stupid: We don’t do weekend lessons and can only have classes from 4.00pm onwards when my boys are home from school.[/quote]That is a great attitude to have towards learning. I've always told parents that piano is a very difficult instrument to master and there are many challenges. The initial excitement of picking up instruments might be replaced by hesitation as the technical challenges start to manifest. This is why it is important for children to acknowledge the discipline required to overcome these challenges, and for the parents to put their feet down and assist if necessary when the childre encounter these difficulties. All the best in finding a good teacher your kids!

[Kee Kor]

Is performing in an exam that different from on stage? Both also you are being judged. Maybe just more pairs of eyes watching!


DS wants to perform well but I really can’t tell if teacher is performance focused. I have never sat in for any lesson before.

[Dreamaurora]

Kee Kor:

Is performing in an exam that different from on stage? Both also you are being judged. Maybe just more pairs of eyes watching!


DS wants to perform well but I really can't tell if teacher is performance focused. I have never sat in for any lesson before.

Yes, very different. I always tell this story of me performing for the first time in public to my students. It was one of NAFA's Music Platform concert during my full time study. I had performed the piece well a few times in the performance class (hence being selected for the concert), but as I sat down on the bench, my right leg began to shake uncontrollably. It was my body's reaction to the stress, this has never happened to me before! Thankfully, my mind was still clear and I got through the performance well, from the audience view it just looked like that I changed the pedal very often.

Only a small percentage of teachers are performance focused in Singapore, maybe less than 1%? That is why you always see students from the same few teachers (and NAFA) in public festivals and concerts. It is not easy being performance focused because the pressure is immense to maintain the students' standards when they went out to play, the audience will inadvertently start to making comparisons and my students need to hold up well to scrutiny. I only began to shift my teaching practice to performance focused last year by taking the plunge to send my students for one of the local music festivals. More stress and commitment, but I am glad as I could see a discernible increase in my students' playing standards and motivation level.

[Dreamaurora]

Kee Kor:

Is performing in an exam that different from on stage? Both also you are being judged. Maybe just more pairs of eyes watching!


DS wants to perform well but I really can't tell if teacher is performance focused. I have never sat in for any lesson before.

Yes, very different. I always tell this story of me performing for the first time in public to my students. It was one of NAFA's Music Platform concert during my full time study. I had performed the piece well a few times in the performance class (hence being selected for the concert), but as I sat down on the bench, my right leg began to shake uncontrollably. It was my body's reaction to the stress, this has never happened to me before! Thankfully, my mind was still clear and I got through the performance well, from the audience view it just looked like that I changed the pedal very often.

Only a small percentage of teachers are performance focused in Singapore, maybe less than 1%? That is why you always see students from the same few teachers (and NAFA) in public festivals and concerts. It is not easy being performance focused because the pressure is immense to maintain the students' standards when they went out to play, the audience will inadvertently start to make comparisons and my students need to hold up well to scrutiny. I only began to shift my teaching practice to performance focused last year by taking the plunge to send my students for one of the local music festivals. More stress and commitment, but I am glad as I could see a discernible increase in my students' playing standards and motivation level.

[Kee Kor]

Dreamaurora:

Kee Kor:

Is performing in an exam that different from on stage? Both also you are being judged. Maybe just more pairs of eyes watching!


DS wants to perform well but I really can't tell if teacher is performance focused. I have never sat in for any lesson before.

Yes, very different. I always tell this story of me performing for the first time in public to my students. It was one of NAFA's Music Platform concert during my full time study. I had performed the piece well a few times in the performance class (hence being selected for the concert), but as I sat down on the bench, my right leg began to shake uncontrollably. It was my body's reaction to the stress, this has never happened to me before! Thankfully, my mind was still clear and I got through the performance well, from the audience view it just looked like that I changed the pedal very often.

Only a small percentage of teachers are performance focused in Singapore, maybe less than 1%? That is why you always see students from the same few teachers (and NAFA) in public festivals and concerts. It is not easy being performance focused because the pressure is immense to maintain the students' standards when they went out to play, the audience will inadvertently start to making comparisons and my students need to hold up well to scrutiny. I only began to shift my teaching practice to performance focused last year by taking the plunge to send my students for one of the local music festivals. More stress and commitment, but I am glad as I could see a discernible increase in my students' playing standards and motivation level.

Oh I see so that's why those students going for competitions and public concerts always come from certain teachers. So if DS is performance focus I should really look into changing teacher for him? DS said he enjoys performing. I must find out if our teacher sends her more advance students for music festivals. Thanks for the input.

[waiyean]

Kee Kor:

Oh I see so that's why those students going for competitions and public concerts always come from certain teachers. So if DS is performance focus I should really look into changing teacher for him? DS said he enjoys performing. I must find out if our teacher sends her more advance students for music festivals. Thanks for the input.

Actually, the parent can always register child for these festivals and competitions. Even if your teacher is not performance focus, you can still tell the teacher of his interest to perform. Your teacher is unlikely to object to preparing your DS for the performance.

[Dreamaurora]

Kee Kor:

Oh I see so that's why those students going for competitions and public concerts always come from certain teachers. So if DS is performance focus I should really look into changing teacher for him? DS said he enjoys performing. I must find out if our teacher sends her more advance students for music festivals. Thanks for the input.

Yup, if your DS is really keen on performing then he will best suited with a teacher who has this same goal.

By the way I am not implying that a teacher who is not performance focused is not good, in fact there are many excellent teachers who are low profile and never bother to send their students for performances, festivals, and competitions.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Kee Kor:

Oh I see so that's why those students going for competitions and public concerts always come from certain teachers. So if DS is performance focus I should really look into changing teacher for him? DS said he enjoys performing. I must find out if our teacher sends her more advance students for music festivals. Thanks for the input.

Actually, the parent can always register child for these festivals and competitions. Even if your teacher is not performance focus, you can still tell the teacher of his interest to perform. Your teacher is unlikely to object to preparing your DS for the performance.

That is true. But the teacher will most likely not have the necessary support system to maximise the chance of the child to perform at his best. Can still join the festivals and competitions lar for experience, but if want better awards and prizes then need the teacher to be on board to plan.