All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[yc_mw]

waiyean:

Can your child focus for the entire 30 mins currently? Otherwise, no point increasing lesson duration. What does the teacher do in that 30 mins? Does your child practices what was taught throughout the week? Progress of a 5yo is dependent on many things, so when you say there are not much achieved, it can be due to various reasons, not just the teacher.

Hi hi,

Yep. I do practice with her 2-3 times a week and she can usually play the lines taught in sch. I'm pretty sure she can focus during the 30mins, and am sure she can handle 45mins or more.

I'll probably talk to a few external home teachers first and see if she's suitable for home teaching.

[mummychua]

Hi,


May i know what is the different between, 1to1 lesson in piano sch and 1to1 lesson with individual teacher.

what to look out for when looking for a piano teacher? how do a non-musically train parent evaluate a piano teacher?

[Dreamaurora]

mummychua:

Hi,


May i know what is the different between, 1to1 lesson in piano sch and 1to1 lesson with individual teacher.

what to look out for when looking for a piano teacher? how do a non-musically train parent evaluate a piano teacher?

I think the qualities that make a private music teacher or music school are largely the same. To evaluate a private or music school teacher, you should have a trial lesson and ask questions that the teacher must be able to answer satisfactorily. Generally, a teacher should be able demonstrate:
- Ability to demonstrate the repertoire of the levels she is able to teach to a high standard
- Ability to engage and communicate ideas to students without resorting to negative approach such as shouting or mean remarks
- Knowledge of exam syllabus and preparation if exam is desired

[Imami]

Parents, when did your kid start learning sight reading? When he/she enrolls for exam?


Teachers, when do you start teaching sight reading?

Was chatting with a parent whose kids will be doing grade 1 exam in Sept 2016. Her kids were complaining about having to learn sight reading and how it was so difficult. It suddenly dawned on me that there are students who only learn/practice sight readin when they are going for exams. Omg, that would be so tough for those going for first exam.

[mummychua]

Dreamaurora:

mummychua:

Hi,


May i know what is the different between, 1to1 lesson in piano sch and 1to1 lesson with individual teacher.

what to look out for when looking for a piano teacher? how do a non-musically train parent evaluate a piano teacher?

I think the qualities that make a private music teacher or music school are largely the same. To evaluate a private or music school teacher, you should have a trial lesson and ask questions that the teacher must be able to answer satisfactorily. Generally, a teacher should be able demonstrate:
- Ability to demonstrate the repertoire of the levels she is able to teach to a high standard
- Ability to engage and communicate ideas to students without resorting to negative approach such as shouting or mean remarks
- Knowledge of exam syllabus and preparation if exam is desired

thanks for the insight. but i suppose any decent piano teacher will be able to play beginner level of song at a very high standard. Will certainly take note on the communication part.

thanks again.

[Applepiedelicious]

Imami:

Parents, when did your kid start learning sight reading? When he/she enrolls for exam?


Teachers, when do you start teaching sight reading?

Was chatting with a parent whose kids will be doing grade 1 exam in Sept 2016. Her kids were complaining about having to learn sight reading and how it was so difficult. It suddenly dawned on me that there are students who only learn/practice sight readin when they are going for exams. Omg, that would be so tough for those going for first exam.

My DD sight-reads since she started learning piano with the current teacher.
She is not allowed to write \"A B C D E F G\" on the book - I think now that you say that, I feel relieved she learns it the hard way. It took her quite some time to feel comfortable with this method.

If they only sight-read for exams, then how are they playing the pieces during normal lesson (without exam)? or even the pieces for exam?

[Maple Oak]

Applepiedelicious:

Imami:

Parents, when did your kid start learning sight reading? When he/she enrolls for exam?


Teachers, when do you start teaching sight reading?

Was chatting with a parent whose kids will be doing grade 1 exam in Sept 2016. Her kids were complaining about having to learn sight reading and how it was so difficult. It suddenly dawned on me that there are students who only learn/practice sight readin when they are going for exams. Omg, that would be so tough for those going for first exam.

My DD sight-reads since she started learning piano with the current teacher.
She is not allowed to write \"A B C D E F G\" on the book - I think now that you say that, I feel relieved she learns it the hard way. It took her quite some time to feel comfortable with this method.

If they only sight-read for exams, then how are they playing the pieces during normal lesson (without exam)? or even the pieces for exam?

My thoughts exactly... technically, sight reading is just a test of how fast a person can see a score and translate it... so there has been plenty of \"sight reading practice\" along the way... provided as applepie has said, the short cut of labelling A B C D E F G is not taken..

[waiyean]

Imami:

Parents, when did your kid start learning sight reading? When he/she enrolls for exam?


Teachers, when do you start teaching sight reading?

Was chatting with a parent whose kids will be doing grade 1 exam in Sept 2016. Her kids were complaining about having to learn sight reading and how it was so difficult. It suddenly dawned on me that there are students who only learn/practice sight readin when they are going for exams. Omg, that would be so tough for those going for first exam.

Isn't sight reading needed from the moment you learn how to read music? By \"learning\" sight reading, do you mean being familiar with the exam conditions, ie. given a short passage, 30 seconds to go through it, taking note of all directions, then plays it through without stopping? If that's what you meant, then yes, you can start doing it upon registering for the exams. However, I am assuming that the child has already got lots of practice reading scores / exam pieces / other repertoires, etc.

Being proficient in sight reading can only come from practice. That's bad, because it means everyone needs to put in effort to do it well. That's good, because it also means everyone can improve if they do it.

[Imami]

waiyean:

Imami:

Parents, when did your kid start learning sight reading? When he/she enrolls for exam?


Teachers, when do you start teaching sight reading?

Was chatting with a parent whose kids will be doing grade 1 exam in Sept 2016. Her kids were complaining about having to learn sight reading and how it was so difficult. It suddenly dawned on me that there are students who only learn/practice sight readin when they are going for exams. Omg, that would be so tough for those going for first exam.

Isn't sight reading needed from the moment you learn how to read music? By \"learning\" sight reading, do you mean being familiar with the exam conditions, ie. given a short passage, 30 seconds to go through it, taking note of all directions, then plays it through without stopping? If that's what you meant, then yes, you can start doing it upon registering for the exams. However, I am assuming that the child has already got lots of practice reading scores / exam pieces / other repertoires, etc.

Being proficient in sight reading can only come from practice. That's bad, because it means everyone needs to put in effort to do it well. That's good, because it also means everyone can improve if they do it.

Yeah yeah, that's what I mean. What's the proper term to describe that? Sight reading?

This kid I was talking about is still at the \"write notes\" stage. She needs to label some of the notes for each new piece she learns. Not all the notes but perhaps a few notes in each phrase. In this light, I don't think she is well prepared.

While my son doesn't take the exams, his teacher prepares him for sight reading ie get the sight reading book and have him play according to exam condition. I feel that this is so much kinder to the child than to plunge into it only months before the exam, having never really prepare the child for it.

[pirate]

Imami:

This kid I was talking about is still at the \"write notes\" stage. She needs to label some of the notes for each new piece she learns. Not all the notes but perhaps a few notes in each phrase. In this light, I don't think she is well prepared.

In my view, it is best to not even start to label any note in the score. The sooner the child internalizes reading the 'beansprouts' the better. The younger the child is when he/she starts, the faster he/she can internalize it. It is like learning languages - start them young.