All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[phankao]

Dreamaurora:

The skull method sounds interesting, too bad I got no more children guinea pigs to try them on. Majority of my students are teenagers and adults

I'm not sure my 12yo would find that skull method motivating at all! He'd probably turn his nose up at it, I'm afraid. We don't have a problem with him practising, only the intensity/duration - very lazy.

And I think my 3yo would not understand that system at all! haha.

I did withhold \"rewards\" from the 3yo for not being focussed when he'd promised to, so he doesn't understand that part. I've managed to get him to walk a long distance when he's tired by dangling a packet of ribena sweets in front of him! And then I tease him that he's like a donkey with a carrot dangled in front - bad me. HAHA! But he finds the analogy very amusing.

[phankao]

ccgoh:

My kids cry too when they do not practice their violin hard enough and they know they will get it from the teacher but they still want to learn so I am not stopping the class but I do get a bit worried when I see them come out of class red-eyed. Is this normal for violin teachers or lessons?

This part I do not understand. So WHY do they not practise as expected?

If however, they do make a goal to improve certain areas and these are met during the week's practices and they had practised regularly, I'd mention to the teacher.

Even for my 3yo, if there are areas that I felt he had tried, but difficult to attain, I'd write it in the notebook so the teacher would read it (instead of me telling the teacher verbally, which could be embarassing to the child).

[sandunes]

Some kids cried, not because being scolded by the teacher, but because of their personality. So u need to find out the cause of crying.


My dd used to cry too during music lessons when she was younger. She always gets very emotional during classes. She was very fortunate that she had two very patient teachers then. One even allow for an extra of 15-30 mins for her to \"settle down and manage her feelings\" without extra charges! She only stopped when she was abt 9yo.

Now at 14yo, she is still playing both instruments.

[sleepy]

Dreamaurora:

P.s. Personally I think music lessons should not be associated with fear and suffering.

Absolutely agreed

[phankao]

sleepy:

Dreamaurora:

P.s. Personally I think music lessons should not be associated with fear and suffering.

Absolutely agreed

:goodpost:

[sleepy]

Dreamaurora:

And sometimes even results do not tell the entire story. I am sure many of us have heard horror stories of stellar students who won competitions and gotten grade 8 distinctions or diplomas but swore off piano for the rest of their lives thanks to hothousing by their teachers and parents.

This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. More important to me that my kids do not give up learning. I feel that motivation is very important to sustain learning journey.

My dd is learning grade 4 at 7 years old. Not exactly fabulous progress if were to benmark against her expected progress if stayed on in nafa. And some said we're not stretching her to her full potential.
However, she's motivated & enjoys learning more so than ever. Good enough for me. My expectation isn't sky high

[metz]

ccgoh:

My kids cry too when they do not practice their violin hard enough and they know they will get it from the teacher but they still want to learn so I am not stopping the class but I do get a bit worried when I see them come out of class red-eyed. Is this normal for violin teachers or lessons?

No, I don't think it is normal for kids to cry during lessons.

For me, I'll assess the situation critically. Firstly, is the teacher's strictness a result of his knowledge of the child's capability? Does the teacher explain to the student his actions? In my case, the teacher does both. In fact, he became more encouraging towards my son over time. Secondly, has the child (and parent) put in enough effort? If not, he/she is 'lucky' to have a teacher who gets upset over it. I'll be more worried if the teacher does not.

That said, parents really have to monitor the situation and judge for themselves. If the teacher's strictness is a result of making things easier for himself/herself, then it's time to reconsider another teacher.

For my kids, they had a month of lessons with a teacher who was much more lenient and forgiving. Yet still, they chose to consider training under their strict teacher instead.

[metz]

sandunes:

Some kids cried, not because being scolded by the teacher, but because of their personality. So u need to find out the cause of crying.

:

That is so true. At times, it's also because the kids can't take scoldings or slightly harsher words/tone at all. One of my kids' piano teacher had such an experience before. And she's not even the strict type.

[metz]

sleepy:

Dreamaurora:

And sometimes even results do not tell the entire story. I am sure many of us have heard horror stories of stellar students who won competitions and gotten grade 8 distinctions or diplomas but swore off piano for the rest of their lives thanks to hothousing by their teachers and parents.

This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. More important to me that my kids do not give up learning. I feel that motivation is very important to sustain learning journey.

My dd is learning grade 4 at 7 years old. Not exactly fabulous progress if were to benmark against her expected progress if stayed on in nafa. And some said we're not stretching her to her full potential.
However, she's motivated & enjoys learning more so than ever. Good enough for me. My expectation isn't sky high

It could be that. Or it could be that the kids had no interests to begin with.

A friend's son belongs to this category. He was selected for Nafa violin when he was a preschooler. But his mother soon gave up because he has no interest in violin. Instead, he chose to learn electric guitar on his own (mother wasn't supportive) and formed his own band in secondary school.

[sleepy]

chamonix:

parents really have to monitor the situation and judge for themselves. If the teacher's strictness is a result of making things easier for himself/herself, then it's time to reconsider another teacher.

Another possible reason why some teachers are so strict could be due to music school's KPI.
I guess it can be very competitive among music schools too, every school is eager to produce a success story for marketing purpose.

Nafa produced many competition winners. I also recalled seeing a Yamaha music school quarter page advertisement when one of its students won a prize in a piano competition. It's indeed persuasive marketing