Child wants to quit piano

[jedamum]

peanut-butter,

thanks for the input!

[Dreamaurora]

violin_lover:

I disgaree again. Yamaha is particular about the phrase \"exam model\". At Yamaha, not all pianos are \"exam model\". Most of the kids who studied under the piano teacher score distinction and not all of them using piano as expensive as U1. For the teacher, I prefer not to disclose the name as based on the guideline of the forum (i.e. no advertising). Anymore, she has no bandwidth to take in any more student.

Dreamaurora:

[quote=\"violin_lover\"]I disagree with the statement \" a bare minimum of an exam model piano like U1 is required.\". I have a lower end Yamaha piano. As long as it is \"exam model\", it is fine. This is according to my kid piano teacher (a very famous piano educator who has frequent performances, master degree holder from renowned UK university)

Pls note that a U1 piano (made in Japan, not Indonesia) cost around 5 digits.

I passed my grade 5 with merit using a very beat up 2nd hand Young Chang piano costing 1K+. And recently one of my adult students passed grade 7 using only a Clavinova. But is this the ideal situation? Hardly no. Hence my insistence on my students to acquire a proper piano like U1 if budget allows. Need not necessarily be brand new, a good condition 2nd hand model will suffice. 'Exam model' is a phrase thrown too freely nowadays to sell pianos.

And may I know who is this teacher? J. Koh?

[/quote]Hence you just state the reason why 'exam model' is such a vague word to be used. I prefer to just categorise pianos as good or bad, so normally I will try to accompany piano shopping with students so they are not swayed by salesmen or fancy terms. A non exam model can sound good just as likely as an exam model piano may sound not worth its price. You can PM me the name, I just want to know who my competitions are.

[sleepy]

Dreamaurora:

A good analogy of not having a good piano will be like racing an F1 competition with a F2 or F3 car. You will still get to the finish line, but no chance of winning of whatsoever.

I like your analogy

I told dh buying a good piano is not the highest cost. Teachers fees are!
$200 x 12 months = $2400 per annum. Haven't even factor in fees increase in higher grades. And a child typically needs numerous years to reach grade 8 & beyond. So if prepared to spend so much on fees, not logical to buy an underperforming piano :scratchhead:

[violin_lover]

Hmmm since when did I " state the reason why ‘exam model’ is such a vague word to be used"? I mention that yamaha took the words "exam model" seriously…pls read the post properly. I don’t want parents to discourage kids from learning piano just because of the wrong impression of someone saying "a bare minimum of U1 is required" (which cost around 5 digits). Only NAFA did that. I pull my kids off from NAFA. But I have to admit that most piano teachers outside are not NAFA teacher’s caliber (exclude my kid current teacher :-D)

[sleepy]

violin_lover:

I pull my kids off from NAFA. But I have to admit that most piano teachers outside are not NAFA teacher's caliber (exclude my kid current teacher :-D)

Ditto :hi5:


Nafa caliber... er, not sure how to ascertain Nafa teacher's calibre since my dd only had one impression of her ex-Nafa teacher - very fierce !!! :rotflmao:

[Dreamaurora]

violin_lover:

Hmmm since when did I \" state the reason why 'exam model' is such a vague word to be used\"? I mention that yamaha took the words \"exam model\" seriously......pls read the post properly. I don't want parents to discourage kids from learning piano just because of the wrong impression of someone saying \"a bare minimum of U1 is required\" (which cost around 5 digits). Only NAFA did that. I pull my kids off from NAFA. But I have to admit that most piano teachers outside are not NAFA teacher's caliber (exclude my kid current teacher :-D)

As in you said your teacher's students scoring distinction even with pianos cheaper than U1. I recommend U1 because it is a good benchmark for a piano that can serve a student up to grade 8 and slightly beyond, but of course this should be taken as recommendation of piano quality, not about the price. NAFA's studios are populated with U1s and I practiced on them when I was studying there (the grand piano studios were not available all the time). Anyway, like what I said it is possible to get pianos that are non 'exam model' that can sound good as well. In fact last time when I was piano shopping, I frequently found second hand pianos from lesser known brands that sound almost as good as U1 for around 3-4K.

NAFA's SYT's teaching methods are very efficient and get the job done. I am quite aware of how they run things there (I am on good term with Fang Yuan but I never taught there before) and also incorporate some of their methods in my teaching.

[bzmum22]

Dreamaurora:

bzmum22:

[quote=\"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.[/quote]Well, we've been there and done that without a U1 piano and not practising at least 25 mins a day for grade 1 .
I'm a mummy with a kid learning piano, not a teacher and definitely not musically trained. My expectation on my kid is that she learns to play and enjoys playing...passing grade 1 exams or not is not that important. We took the exam to just have a taste of what piano exams are like 'cos she is free of the stresses of our formal education now....and I would say it is not a v gd experience 'cos I'm more stressed up than my kid :rotflmao: . So no more exams, at least for next yr. My instructions to the teacher is she will teach her whatever is necessary for the next grade but we will not take the exam.
Double K,
What you need depends on what is your expectation for your kid. If you want your kid to really excel in this, then you will have to take Dreamaurora's suggestions.
But if your expectation is just for your kid to learn to play an instrument and enjoy playing it, then a more moderated approach will probably be the way to go.
Like you, I also struggle with the questions that you have, and also hv the budget constraints. If I've taken D's suggestions, then we wld not have come this far. My hubby wld have killed this dream long ago 'cos he wld hv calculated the ROI and deem it a non-investment. And if I insisted that my kid practise every day for 25 mins regardless whether she is in the mood or not, or if I'm busy/tired from work or not to sit with her for her practice, then I would probably hv high blood pressure today .
But having said all this, there will come a point in time when I know that my kid will need to hv a proper piano and practise more intensely in order to continue.
Just sharing my experience as a mummy with a kid learning piano, so plse dun bombard me.

[jedamum]

bzmum22:

My hubby wld have killed this dream long ago 'cos he wld hv calculated the ROI and deem it a non-investment. .

thanks for sharing!

[Dreamaurora]

Personally I think if taking an exam is negative experience for both the parent and child, then the planning must had been really poor. But sometimes this can’t be avoid. When I worked in music school last time, I had to enter students for exams because the parents or the school admin insisted. Some parents want to see results and of course the school want to increase the fees of the students. In the end it was a very draining experience for the students and me. Worse, the parents scolded me for bad planning. But I could not tell them that the school admin forced me to enter them. This is one of the main reasons why I decided to go full private.

[phankao]

bzmum22:

Well, we've been there and done that without a U1 piano and not practising at least 25 mins a day for grade 1 .
I'm a mummy with a kid learning piano, not a teacher and definitely not musically trained. My expectation on my kid is that she learns to play and enjoys playing...passing grade 1 exams or not is not that important. We took the exam to just have a taste of what piano exams are like 'cos she is free of the stresses of our formal education now....and I would say it is not a v gd experience 'cos I'm more stressed up than my kid :rotflmao: . So no more exams, at least for next yr. My instructions to the teacher is she will teach her whatever is necessary for the next grade but we will not take the exam.
Double K,
What you need depends on what is your expectation for your kid. If you want your kid to really excel in this, then you will have to take Dreamaurora's suggestions.
But if your expectation is just for your kid to learn to play an instrument and enjoy playing it, then a more moderated approach will probably be the way to go.
Like you, I also struggle with the questions that you have, and also hv the budget constraints. If I've taken D's suggestions, then we wld not have come this far. My hubby wld have killed this dream long ago 'cos he wld hv calculated the ROI and deem it a non-investment. And if I insisted that my kid practise every day for 25 mins regardless whether she is in the mood or not, or if I'm busy/tired from work or not to sit with her for her practice, then I would probably hv high blood pressure today .
But having said all this, there will come a point in time when I know that my kid will need to hv a proper piano and practise more intensely in order to continue.
Just sharing my experience as a mummy with a kid learning piano, so plse dun bombard me.

Ah. I never had an exam model piano when I was learning piano. I probably didn't practise 25mins everyday either, but I can't say I'm a very good pianist either - just that when it comes to exams, I wouldn't want to embarass myself or my teacher. I managed those distinctions for high grades too.

I think these days, kids have it better - can rent the exam studio to practise before exam. If you can afford it, can rent it a few times even. In my time (in the mid-70s to mid-80s), this option to rent and practise on the exam piano was not an option. We still managed while practising on our lousy pianos. I only changed my piano when I was working and had the money to buy my own. Oh well, same went for a lot of other things, eg. driving lessons, unlike my friends who had their things/lessons mother-father sponsored.

I must say though that - a proper piano is still better to have and practise on than a digital piano or an electronic keyboard, even if it has weighted or touch-sensitive keys. It's just NOT the same. Oh well, maybe if I practise frequently on a digital piano, I'd get used to the touch, but I personally feel that digital pianos have an unpredictable touch. So it's best to still just have a proper piano. If you can afford it, get an exam model, but if not, a lower-end piano that plays nicely works too!