Child wants to quit piano

[Double K]

Dear All,

Thanks for you advices…

My son was learing at Christofori abt 1 yr++, 30 mins once a week. but i think the timing was too short… and he was learning at home on the keyboard only coz i havent decide to buy piano yet coz too expensive… and furthermore not sure my son really interested on piano or not…
So any one can advise me that i supposed buy one piano for him and hire a piano tutor teach him at home is better learn at the Piano centre…

Seek all your advise!!

Thanks so mucH

[bzmum22]

Double K:

Dear All,

Thanks for you advices..

My son was learing at Christofori abt 1 yr++, 30 mins once a week. but i think the timing was too short.. and he was learning at home on the keyboard only coz i havent decide to buy piano yet coz too expensive.. and furthermore not sure my son really interested on piano or not..
So any one can advise me that i supposed buy one piano for him and hire a piano tutor teach him at home is better learn at the Piano centre..

Seek all your advise!!

Thanks so mucH

Dun hv to buy piano, a keyboard is ok to use to finish grade 1.
Teacher at piano centre or at home - both ok as long as teacher is patient and can motivate kid.
Impt is to practise what has been taught in piano centre back at home. Everyday 10-15 mins is enough. Even if cannot achieve practising everyday, at least practise for some days of the week. Piano lessons are usually short, betw 30 mins to 45 mins. So it is the practise at home that is crucial. Mummy can always negotiate with teacher to sit in the lesson so as to learn with the kid. Like that, you will be able to know if your kid play correctly or not at home...even if cannot read the notes, can also listen to the sound to tell if the correct note is played or not .

[Dreamaurora]

bzmum22:

Double K:

Dear All,

Thanks for you advices..

My son was learing at Christofori abt 1 yr++, 30 mins once a week. but i think the timing was too short.. and he was learning at home on the keyboard only coz i havent decide to buy piano yet coz too expensive.. and furthermore not sure my son really interested on piano or not..
So any one can advise me that i supposed buy one piano for him and hire a piano tutor teach him at home is better learn at the Piano centre..

Seek all your advise!!

Thanks so mucH

Dun hv to buy piano, a keyboard is ok to use to finish grade 1.
Teacher at piano centre or at home - both ok as long as teacher is patient and can motivate kid.
Impt is to practise what has been taught in piano centre back at home. Everyday 10-15 mins is enough. Even if cannot achieve practising everyday, at least practise for some days of the week. Piano lessons are usually short, betw 30 mins to 45 mins. So it is the practise at home that is crucial. Mummy can always negotiate with teacher to sit in the lesson so as to learn with the kid. Like that, you will be able to know if your kid play correctly or not at home...even if cannot read the notes, can also listen to the sound to tell if the correct note is played or not .

Will have to respectfully disagree with some points in this suggestion.

A keyboard is NOT OK to finish grade 1. A child should have access to a decent piano right from the very first lesson. Playing piano involves more than just hitting the right notes at the right time, need to develop good tone quality and touch sensitivity. That being said, it is possible to pass grade 1 with a keyboard as the examiner will still pass the candidate if the piece is complete, but merit or distinction is very unlikely.

Piano lessons minimum should be 45 minutes, ideally one hour long. Any lessons shorter than this risk omitting important stuff. Piano lessons not only about playing pieces. Need to go through scales, technique, aural, appreciation, and theory also.

10-15 minutes practice a day definitely not enough to progress, need at least 25 minutes per day for grade 1. As the grade progresses, the practice time should increase also. Need to practice even more if want to do well for exams. Most of my students who do well for exams practice in excess of one hour a day.

[peanut_butter]

Double K:

My son was learing at Christofori abt 1 yr++, 30 mins once a week. but i think the timing was too short..

May I throw in a few suggestions:

1. Extend to 1 hour lesson.
2. Enroll for group theory lesson so that the 30 min is used only for practical.
3. Request to sit in. That's not encouraged by your school but there's no harm asking if the room is big enough. That way, you could help him with the practice.
4. See if other schools offer 45 min lesson.

A keyboard is better substitute compared to nothing. It's OK for early beginners. Make sure the size of each key is right. The most important thing is the effort. If your son is progressing, upgrade to a piano soon. Otherwise, certain technics will be compromise and he may need to relearn them.

[peanut_butter]

Dreamaurora:

A keyboard is NOT OK to finish grade 1. A child should have access to a decent piano right from the very first lesson. Playing piano involves more than just hitting the right notes at the right time, need to develop good tone quality and touch sensitivity. That being said, it is possible to pass grade 1 with a keyboard as the examiner will still pass the candidate if the piece is complete, but merit or distinction is very unlikely.

It's possible to score well (at the lower grades at least), practicing on a keyboard. It dependents a lot on the student's ability to pick up, digest and duplicate the feel on the acoustic while s/he has access to the piano at the lesson.

[Dreamaurora]

peanut_butter:

Dreamaurora:

A keyboard is NOT OK to finish grade 1. A child should have access to a decent piano right from the very first lesson. Playing piano involves more than just hitting the right notes at the right time, need to develop good tone quality and touch sensitivity. That being said, it is possible to pass grade 1 with a keyboard as the examiner will still pass the candidate if the piece is complete, but merit or distinction is very unlikely.

It's possible to score well (at the lower grades at least), practicing on a keyboard. It dependents a lot on the student's ability to pick up, digest and duplicate the feel on the acoustic while s/he has access to the piano at the lesson.

Like what you said, it is possible but I would rather students to be as prepared as possible for exam. But there are consequences of not using proper piano. Pieces like for example Grade 1's Camptown Races will sound ok even played on a keyboard, but certain pieces that require more shaping for e.g. Grade 1 B2 (A Story from Long Ago) will certainly need to be avoided as students would not be able to practice the phrasing at home if they don't have the piano. I also find that last time when I taught students without proper piano it is much harder to develop good hand shapes since the keyboards are light and hence they can produce decent sound no matter what shape their hands are.

[jedamum]

peanut_butter:

Double K:

My son was learing at Christofori abt 1 yr++, 30 mins once a week. but i think the timing was too short..

May I throw in a few suggestions:

1. Extend to 1 hour lesson.
2. Enroll for group theory lesson so that the 30 min is used only for practical.
3. Request to sit in. That's not encouraged by your school but there's no harm asking if the room is big enough. That way, you could help him with the practice.
4. See if other schools offer 45 min lesson.

A keyboard is better substitute compared to nothing. It's OK for early beginners. Make sure the size of each key is right. The most important thing is the effort. If your son is progressing, upgrade to a piano soon. Otherwise, certain technics will be compromise and he may need to relearn them.

peanut_butter,
yes, for parents who don't have deep pockets, a keyboard is better than nothing. i just want a chance for ds2 to learn piano. i missed the chance for ds1 and 'fought' to give ds2 a chance (yes, to this day, there are still people who think that boys should not play piano :roll: ). the dad is now slowly bought over and also trying to pick up a bit of simple 'playing-by-ear', all thanks to by ds2's enthusiasm in playing and a keyboard we loan from a relative. he is still reluctant to invest in a piano (he said playing piano is for fun, not to become a pianist, so why need to buy piano. :skeptical: ) unless ds2 stayed on course for another 2 years.

btw, is a 88key keyboard any difference from one that has lesser keys. the one we had at our place supposed to have 'weighted keys'. does that help?

TQ.

[jce]

weighted keys do make a slight difference but keyboards just do not respond like acoustic pianos to variants of touch and weight. That’s why there is an emphasis on getting a piano rather than a keyboard if one is to embark on the journey of learning

[jedamum]

jce:

weighted keys do make a slight difference but keyboards just do not respond like acoustic pianos to variants of touch and weight. That's why there is an emphasis on getting a piano rather than a keyboard if one is to embark on the journey of learning

thanks jce.

[Dreamaurora]

jce:

weighted keys do make a slight difference but keyboards just do not respond like acoustic pianos to variants of touch and weight. That's why there is an emphasis on getting a piano rather than a keyboard if one is to embark on the journey of learning

I second what jce said. That being said, I feel if parents are not sure they are willing to invest money on quality lessons and pianos, they can send the kids to appreciation classes first like Yamaha's JMC to see the kids' interest level. For this purpose, a 88 key weighted keyboard should be sufficient. But the moment the child switch to individual lessons and express interest in taking exams, a bare minimum of an exam model piano like U1 is required. If budget is really tight, at least a second hand Clavinova can be procured. But then if budget is really tight, you can't afford good teachers anyway and so kind of defeat the purpose.