All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Dreamaurora]

Highwaygrace,


perhaps you want to ask your DD the following questions if she find practice stressful and a struggle:
- Does her teacher set clear practice goals to be achieved by next lesson e.g. play bar 1-8 of piece A at half tempo?
- Does her teacher set a practice plan for her?
- Are the workload assigned reasonable for her?
- Does her teacher explain how to practice at home to achieve these goals e.g. staggered metronome practice, hand separate first?
- If she struggles with the technical aspect of the pieces, does her teacher try to troubleshoot the technical difficulties or simply ask her to practice more?
- Is there a conscious attempt to develop her technique beyond just playing pieces and the odd few Hanon/Czerny?

You raised quite an important issue that often plagues higher grade learners. Often they are not equipped with the technical tools and practice skills to handle the more difficult repertoire. Can still somewhat brute force the way through with a lot of practice though. From the way you describe it, it seems your daughter is experiencing. This does not mean the teacher is lousy though, I think we need to consider also the pay grade of the teacher and the quality delivered. I think your kids’ current teachers had done quite exceptional for her qualification and fees, so if I am you I would be quite happy. Of course with more expensive teacher, comes the expectation of higher quality and I would expect a $100 per lesson teacher to tick all the questions I raised above.

[Maple Oak]

Hi all,


all this talk of money makes me want to shift the focus a bit.
Can I ask all the parents on this forum, what do you hope to give your children through music lessons??

(And yes, it’s fine to be honest even if one of the goals is to outperform peers… by all means, an honest discussion is always educational)

[momoftwo]

Maple Oak:

Hi all,


all this talk of money makes me want to shift the focus a bit.
Can I ask all the parents on this forum, what do you hope to give your children through music lessons??

(And yes, it's fine to be honest even if one of the goals is to outperform peers... by all means, an honest discussion is always educational)

Great question. I have been pondering about this for almost a month while looking for a violin teacher for my younger daughter. She is currently in a school owned by a famous violinist. But I have been frustrated with the changes of teacher and lack of empowerment for the teachers. So I went to enquire with NAFA, many private teachers, some are also in SSO, and some music schools. I got overwhelmed. And as I think again, I realise, all I want is just for her to enjoy playing the violin like what she is now. I want teacher that's flexible, which also means that if the kid want to learn Disney songs, then the teacher will also do that instead of focusing that she must achieve certain exam result goal. I want a teacher that can make her love music. If she happened to be great, that's great. If not I am contented that my kids have joy while playing music, and being able to use that as their creative outlet and expression.

So I decided on a non branded private teacher which I feel comfortable with and is willing to work with me and the kids to ensure the love of music. Likewise, my piano teacher for my elder daughter is the same.

[momoftwo]

Btw Ive been wanting to ask this for the longest time. What is DD and what is DS? What do they stand for? Seems like it is used a lot in the local forum. Thanks for enlightening me.

[peachbubble]

momoftwo:

Btw Ive been wanting to ask this for the longest time. What is DD and what is DS? What do they stand for? Seems like it is used a lot in the local forum. Thanks for enlightening me.

DD means darling daughter. DS means darling son. DH means darling husband.

[Oh My Gosh]

What is the difference in the qualifications of \"Diploma in Music Pedagogy\" versus \"BMUS CTAABRSM\"? Which is better? :?

[waiyean]

Maple Oak:

Hi all,


all this talk of money makes me want to shift the focus a bit.
Can I ask all the parents on this forum, what do you hope to give your children through music lessons??

(And yes, it's fine to be honest even if one of the goals is to outperform peers... by all means, an honest discussion is always educational)

It evolved along the way.

When we first began, we wanted to gift our daughter with the love of music, probably because of our own interest as well. Also, it's a known fact that learning music makes a child brighter, hence being the kiasu parents we were, we wouldn't pass an opportunity to give her a head start in life.

Learning an instrument is not easy. As the lessons progressed, it became much more than just for the love of music. It takes lots of commitment and hard work from the child to persevere. Learning music became a life lesson in understanding the relationship between hard work and outcome; we hope that DD will learn that if you are willing to work hard, anything is possible.

Then, DD decided that she wants to make music her career in future. So, lessons are now structured to prepare her for advanced study in music. She is probably still too young to decide on her career, and she might not eventually take this path in career, but nevertheless, as parents, we will just support her in pursuing what she wants to do.

[Dreamaurora]

Oh My Gosh:

What is the difference in the qualifications of \"Diploma in Music Pedagogy\" versus \"BMUS CTAABRSM\"? Which is better? :?

BMus - Bachelor of Music, without Honors
CTABRSM - Certificate of Teaching ABRSM

The progression of the certs

BMus/Ba -> MMus/MA -> Phd/DMA
CTABRSM -> DipABRSM Teaching -> LRSM Teaching -> FRSM Teaching

A typical BMus/BA recital would be at the level of LRSM/LTCL Performance, so having that certifies the teacher as being able to perform up to the level. MMus would be equivalent to FRSM/FTCL.

For ABRSM Teaching Diplomas, DipABRSM Teaching certifies a teacher to teach up to grade 6, LRSM Teaching certifies up to grade 8, and FRSM Teaching up to DipABRSM Performance. This does not mean a teacher can't prepare students without the teaching certs, just that these Diplomas are a form of recognition by ABRSM regarding the teaching ability of the teacher. There are plenty of brand name teachers without Teaching Diplomas and they still produce good students just fine.

Diploma in Music Pedagogy is a very generic term. Could be full time cert like what NAFA is offering or private one like what ABRSM is offering.

[Jprincess]

Hi ,


sorry for interrupting, anybody knows of any piano teacher residing in The Gardens at Bishan or Sin Ming Walk area?

Thanks
Jen

[Oh My Gosh]

Dreamaurora:

BMus/Ba -> MMus/MA -> Phd/DMA
CTABRSM -> DipABRSM Teaching -> LRSM Teaching -> FRSM Teaching

A typical BMus/BA recital would be at the level of LRSM/LTCL Performance, so having that certifies the teacher as being able to perform up to the level. MMus would be equivalent to FRSM/FTCL.

If DD is doing the ABRSM exams, does that means I should get a teacher with LRSM over BMus, as both are the same level and the former is ABRSM-related? How about LLCM? Is that the less recognised?