All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Alyssamom]

Looking for a piano teacher to send my daughter for weekend classes in Sengkang. Plse PM me. She is a beginner learner. Thanks

[EatNonStop]

Hi


Any piano lesson/course recommendation for 4 yr old in Kovan area? Totally new to music…

[ayl0212]

looking for piano teacher for DS 6yrs this year, Beginner course, preferably at Sengkang area. evening time. tks

[gnk]

ayl0212:

looking for piano teacher for DS 6yrs this year, Beginner course, preferably at Sengkang area. evening time. tks

Pls do not engage Joanne Chiew as a private music tcher. She is unscrupulous and capitalise on parent's music ignorance and registers children in unaccredited and unrecognised music exam brd in Msia. She is currently a musc tcher in Sonare music sch in sengkang. It's a scam. Beware.

[gnk]

EatNonStop:

Hi


Any piano lesson/course recommendation for 4 yr old in Kovan area? Totally new to music...

Pls do not engage Joanne Chiew as a private music tcher. She is unscrupulous and capitalise on parent's music ignorance and registers children in unaccredited and unrecognised music exam brd (or issue fake cert). She is currently a musc tcher in Sonare music sch in sengkang. It's a scam. Beware.

[Dreamaurora]

I think it may be beneficial for all parents in this forum to have a guideline on how to evaluate a prospective piano teacher for your children. I am writing this as a piano teacher myself. I had my own shares of good and not so good teachers and let me share with you some pointers. Hope these will help:


- The most important quality that a piano teacher must have is that he/she MUST love music and teaching. There are many teachers out there who just teach for the sake of earning some extra pocket money. And there are even those qualified ones who treat the whole teaching thing as just a way to make money. The students will only be motivated and inspired by a teacher who loves piano music. How to find out from the teacher? Discuss on his/her favourite piano music and whether he/she is still practicing piano. Also, if possible request the teacher to play for you. A passionate pianist will always be happy to entertain this request.

- Generally speaking, teachers that teach from home/studio are more qualified and experienced compared to those that travel or work in music schools. Nonetheless, you may luck out and find a dedicated teacher at the start of his/her career who is willing to travel to your place. It is safe to say the most established teachers in Singapore do not travel to students’ home.

- A good teacher will have a structured plan to approach his/her student’s progression. Discuss with the prospective teacher his/her lesson plans, expected grade progression, etc. Many teachers are often clueless on how to advance a student’s ability and also ill-equipped to prepare an actual music exam. Remember, an exam is more than just playing pieces/songs. There are other components such as scales, sight reading, aural, or viva voce. A good piano teacher would have a thorough plan to go through these regularly so his/her students will be all-rounded.

- A good teacher will also try to organise more activities beside the usual weekly piano lessons. Masterclasses, duet classes, concerts, are some of the activities that will be very beneficial for the students. One of the best ways to assess the teacher’s capabilities would be attend one of these events. If a teacher has a student concert/masterclass, you can politely ask to attend. Most of the time they will oblige and you can see for yourself how the students are playing

- On matters of qualifications, it is hard to determine the teaching abilities of the teachers from the certifications he/she has. Note that there are even teachers with degree/master qualifications who are clueless about the art of teaching. Having a certificate simply means you are certified that you are capable to perform at that level. The only exception is if the certification is of teaching nature e.g. DipABRSM in Teaching. The exam boards are quite strict in awarding these teaching diplomas and generally speaking teachers having these teaching certifications are quite safe to get.

[totsboy]

Dreamaurora:

I think it may be beneficial for all parents in this forum to have a guideline on how to evaluate a prospective piano teacher for your children. I am writing this as a piano teacher myself. I had my own shares of good and not so good teachers and let me share with you some pointers. Hope these will help:


- The most important quality that a piano teacher must have is that he/she MUST love music and teaching. There are many teachers out there who just teach for the sake of earning some extra pocket money. And there are even those qualified ones who treat the whole teaching thing as just a way to make money. The students will only be motivated and inspired by a teacher who loves piano music. How to find out from the teacher? Discuss on his/her favourite piano music and whether he/she is still practicing piano. Also, if possible request the teacher to play for you. A passionate pianist will always be happy to entertain this request.

- Generally speaking, teachers that teach from home/studio are more qualified and experienced compared to those that travel or work in music schools. Nonetheless, you may luck out and find a dedicated teacher at the start of his/her career who is willing to travel to your place. It is safe to say the most established teachers in Singapore do not travel to students' home.

- A good teacher will have a structured plan to approach his/her student's progression. Discuss with the prospective teacher his/her lesson plans, expected grade progression, etc. Many teachers are often clueless on how to advance a student's ability and also ill-equipped to prepare an actual music exam. Remember, an exam is more than just playing pieces/songs. There are other components such as scales, sight reading, aural, or viva voce. A good piano teacher would have a thorough plan to go through these regularly so his/her students will be all-rounded.

- A good teacher will also try to organise more activities beside the usual weekly piano lessons. Masterclasses, duet classes, concerts, are some of the activities that will be very beneficial for the students. One of the best ways to assess the teacher's capabilities would be attend one of these events. If a teacher has a student concert/masterclass, you can politely ask to attend. Most of the time they will oblige and you can see for yourself how the students are playing

- On matters of qualifications, it is hard to determine the teaching abilities of the teachers from the certifications he/she has. Note that there are even teachers with degree/master qualifications who are clueless about the art of teaching. Having a certificate simply means you are certified that you are capable to perform at that level. The only exception is if the certification is of teaching nature e.g. DipABRSM in Teaching. The exam boards are quite strict in awarding these teaching diplomas and generally speaking teachers having these teaching certifications are quite safe to get.

Well said! I am glad I found a good piano teacher of this calibre too.

[markfch]

My ds’s piano teacher has G.L.C.M., L.L.C.M., A.L.C.M., A.L.A.M. as her credentials. What do they mean? Thanks.

[Dreamaurora]

markfch:

My ds's piano teacher has G.L.C.M., L.L.C.M., A.L.C.M., A.L.A.M. as her credentials. What do they mean? Thanks.

They are London College of Music certification. GLCM and ALAM I am not sure, but ALCM and LLCM referts to their performance diplomas.

[markfch]

Dreamaurora:

markfch:

My ds's piano teacher has G.L.C.M., L.L.C.M., A.L.C.M., A.L.A.M. as her credentials. What do they mean? Thanks.

They are London College of Music certification. GLCM and ALAM I am not sure, but ALCM and LLCM referts to their performance diplomas.

I got the answer for GLCM; it stands for Graduate of LCM. Thanks for your info.