Too late to start learning piano at 7yrs old?
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waiyean:
Strange that an ex-NAFA teacher would say to start at age 3. Why do they take students only from 5 years old then?
No idea le. I suppose students would have some foundation before joining nafa.
Anyway, my dd already quit nafa. No chemistry with that assigned teacher.
By the way, that teacher could very well still be teaching in nafa. She is ex only to my dd
Now dd is learning from another nafa teacher as private student. -
sleepy:
5 years old is the prep class, don't suppose you need 2 years of foundation to attend a prep classwaiyean:
Strange that an ex-NAFA teacher would say to start at age 3. Why do they take students only from 5 years old then?
No idea le. I suppose students would have some foundation before joining nafa.
Anyway, my dd already quit nafa. No chemistry with that assigned teacher.
By the way, that teacher could very well still be teaching in nafa. She is ex only to my dd
Now dd is learning from another nafa teacher as private student.
Why did your DD leave NAFA instead of just switching teachers? Any advantages of learning from NAFA teacher as private student? -
waiyean:
My dd was not in prep class. She joined grade 1 at nafa directly at 6 yo.5 years old is the prep class, don't suppose you need 2 years of foundation to attend a prep class
Why did your DD leave NAFA instead of just switching teachers? Any advantages of learning from NAFA teacher as private student?
She didn't enjoy her learning experience in Nafa le. That 'fingers up high' thingy totally killed passions. Too much drilling on fingering techniques. It's not a bad thing to drill techniques but way too boring for a 6 yo kid. And she absolutely disliked that assigned nafa teacher. She asked to quit.
We supported her decision and suggested she continue learning from another nafa teacher instead, as a private student. At least existing teacher doesn't tell her to lift her 'fingers up high' :rotflmao: I suppose her progress could be faster if she persisted in nafa, following nafa syllabus. Or she could hate piano & give up totally. Either spectrum is possible.
As a private student, she has the flexibility to select pieces she enjoyed learning such as Christmas songs & classic pieces, not merely practising exam pieces & scales repeatedly. At this rate, she definitely won't be winning any national competitions but her learning experience is much more enjoyable so we're glad we listened to her. She is now learning grade 5 at 8 yo. -
sleepy:
No, what I meant was, they only take 5 years old for their prep class, and 6 years for grade 1. So, either way, it didn't seem to match the teacher's suggestion that 3 years old is the age to begin. Anyway, that doesn't matter.
My dd was not in prep class. She joined grade 1 at nafa directly at 6 yo.
She didn't enjoy her learning experience in Nafa le. That 'fingers up high' thingy totally killed passions. Too much drilling on fingering techniques. It's not a bad thing to drill techniques but way too boring for a 6 yo kid. And she absolutely disliked that assigned nafa teacher. She asked to quit.
We supported her decision and suggested she continue learning from another nafa teacher instead, as a private student. At least existing teacher doesn't tell her to lift her 'fingers up high' :rotflmao: I suppose her progress could be faster if she persisted in nafa, following nafa syllabus. Or she could hate piano & give up totally. Either spectrum is possible.
As a private student, she has the flexibility to select pieces she enjoyed learning such as Christmas songs & classic pieces, not merely practising exam pieces & scales repeatedly. At this rate, she definitely won't be winning any national competitions but her learning experience is much more enjoyable so we're glad we listened to her. She is now learning grade 5 at 8 yo.
Anyway, quite curious about this 'fingers up high\" technique. Is this what was described as \"finger tapping\" technique in another thread? Is this some kind of powerful technique that gives NAFA students the ability to win competitions, etc?
Well, if your dd is doing grade 5 at age 8, then it isn't different from what the NAFA students do, right? -
sleepy:
Easier mah, at least don't need to teach from do re mi - makes a high expecting teacher go senile.waiyean:
Strange that an ex-NAFA teacher would say to start at age 3. Why do they take students only from 5 years old then?
No idea le. I suppose students would have some foundation before joining nafa.
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concern2:
Easier mah, at least don't need to teach from do re mi - makes a high expecting teacher go senile.sleepy:
[quote=\"waiyean\"]Strange that an ex-NAFA teacher would say to start at age 3. Why do they take students only from 5 years old then?
No idea le. I suppose students would have some foundation before joining nafa.[/quote]
Just shows that NAFA has no confidence in their teachers' ability in handling 3 year olds, lah! Not all teachers can, wat. I have personally had a teacher whose bio states she is experienced in teaching children from 3yos for past 10+yrs. But she certainly did not show that in her interaction with my son. -
phankao:
Just shows that NAFA has no confidence in their teachers' ability in handling 3 year olds, lah! Not all teachers can, wat. I have personally had a teacher whose bio states she is experienced in teaching children from 3yos for past 10+yrs. But she certainly did not show that in her interaction with my son. Maybe it is different culture? :evil:
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concern2:
Sometimes, it's not just different culture. There are teachers who absolutely has no idea how to communicate with 3 years old. The language they use, the tone, their ability to explain concepts in a simple and interesting way...phankao:
Just shows that NAFA has no confidence in their teachers' ability in handling 3 year olds, lah! Not all teachers can, wat. I have personally had a teacher whose bio states she is experienced in teaching children from 3yos for past 10+yrs. But she certainly did not show that in her interaction with my son. Maybe it is different culture? :evil: -
[quote]The 5 year old however has to do boring drills because the hand span is limited and finger strength is not there. My conclusion is unless the child is very talented, 7 is a better age to start. [/quote]
I am very surprised to hear this. I think this has more to do with the teacher you are using rather than your child's age. There are good piano book series that my children started with at age 5, and instead of boring drills they teach through cute songs. I particularly like the Thompson series (starting with \"Teaching Little Fingers To Play\") though some very good teachers I've known prefer to start with the Alfred series, and then switch to the more advanced Thompson books as the child progresses. Both series start out with cute, simple songs straight from the beginning. If your teacher is boring your child, maybe you could mention these book series to her and see her reaction. If that doesn't help, then maybe you should look for another teacher.
On the original question of whether 7 is too old to start, some of the best piano teachers I've known refuse to start kids younger than 7. I worked very hard to get my oldest daughter's piano teacher to start working with my youngest daughter at age 5, and she only agreed because we were already good customers. In the U.S., at least, it is expected to start at 7 or later. -
vanyali:
[quote]The 5 year old however has to do boring drills because the hand span is limited and finger strength is not there. My conclusion is unless the child is very talented, 7 is a better age to start.
I am very surprised to hear this. I think this has more to do with the teacher you are using rather than your child's age. There are good piano book series that my children started with at age 5, and instead of boring drills they teach through cute songs. [/quote]LOL - I had to look through all the comments before I found that you'd lifted an old comment by \"ammonite\".
Yes, definitely more to do with the teacher. My littlest started before 3yo and although cute little finger exercises was part of the starting pieces, he also started straightaway with songs. He's now completed Suzuki Book 1 piano already after 1yr.
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