Teacher Dreamaurora - Piano Q&A

[waiyean]

Freshbaby:

Hi can some 1 recommend whether is it best to start learning piano for a 4 yr old in a group class or 1-1 class. Can anyone recommend a gd piano school for beginners ?

Hi, has the child attended any music appreciation classes previously? If not, then best to start in a group class. There are a lot of fun activities to learn the basics such as rhythm, pitch and notes reading, and conducted in a group environment. a child will find that more enjoyable compared to 1 to 1 lessons. Most child that age also lacks the ability to focus long enough to benefit from a 1 to 1 lesson too.

However, if the child already has been through some appreciation classes, and wants to do some serious piano learning, then 1 to 1 lessons are much better. You get full attention of the teacher, and can progress as fast as the child is capable of.

[Chattyirena]

I agree that fun and enjoyment of music is really important for young children, particularly pre-schoolers. Fun is a motivator for interest and persistance in the subject matter. Hence, a well structured program with an interesting variety of topics would be better - be it in group or individual classes.


Hence, if you can find a private music teacher to provide fun lessons while imparting musical concepts and techniques to your preschooler, then it would be great. If not, I would recommend going for classes in established schools like Yamaha, for a start, before moving on to a private teacher when the child is more ready for it.

[windows]

Quick qn: do your piano teachers tell the students the background or story of the pieces before asking them to play?

[ShappyShap]

windows:

Quick qn: do your piano teachers tell the students the background or story of the pieces before asking them to play?

My girl piano teacher does. Although my girl is only 7yo and is definitely clueless abt music background and stuff, she is still able to relate to me like Bach went blind at his later life and so on. Her teacher talks some fun facts abt the piece, the composer and what are the interesting things to look out for that pique her interest.

Though the teacher did mentioned to me that though she tries to explain the story behind the songs, she can only say that much before the kids get bored if she gets too technical. So I guess a little information is better than nothing??

[Dreamaurora]

windows:

Quick qn: do your piano teachers tell the students the background or story of the pieces before asking them to play?

My philosophy on this is that eventually students must be able to arrive at their own interpretations of the pieces with minimal guidance. I encourage my students to read up on the composers, the background of the pieces, find out the meanings of the titles and the performance markings, compare recordings, etc. Personally I won't spoon feed the story or information to my students, but I will provide starting points such as books or articles to read, how to act out a passage or make a story.

[jce]

For the higher grades, yes, it is generally helpful to put the piece into context. Lower grades, probably only explain what the title of the piece is encouraging the player to portray, eg minuet, mazurka, waltz are all dances so need to play with a certain lilt, lightness etc.

[Dreamaurora]

jce:

For the higher grades, yes, it is generally helpful to put the piece into context. Lower grades, probably only explain what the title of the piece is encouraging the player to portray, eg minuet, mazurka, waltz are all dances so need to play with a certain lilt, lightness etc.

Tragically many higher grade pianists I come across have very poor grasp of styles and performance practices. Many also don't bother to research further about their pieces; I even encountered grade 8 pianists who did not know the titles of the pieces they were playing (only knew the number). I guess it's the Singapore culture. I ask my students a lot of questions in lessons and was met often with blank stares initially.

[pianobabe]

Hi Dreamaurora,

Which grand piano will you recommend, Kawai rx2 or Yamaha C2? My child likes RX2 but the teacher preferred C2. Is RX2 good enough to train on when the child has to go for piano competitions? We are deciding between these two models.

[Dreamaurora]

pianobabe:

Hi Dreamaurora,

Which grand piano will you recommend, Kawai rx2 or Yamaha C2? My child likes RX2 but the teacher preferred C2. Is RX2 good enough to train on when the child has to go for piano competitions? We are deciding between these two models.

Get whatever your child prefers. Don't worry hether the piano is suitable for competitions. Both the pianos are good and capable to realise fine variations of techniques. Even within each model there can be a significant variations of tone quality; I played two RX1s that sounded quite different.

[pianobabe]

Thanks for your input. I am quite reluctant to give up my study room for a grand piano. Do you think K8 is good enough for diploma and competitions, even if we can also relent and get a grand?