Teacher Dreamaurora - Piano Q&A

[Dreamaurora]

concerned_father:

Hi Dreamaurora,


Do you have any recommended books for pre-grade/grade-1 sight reading practice?

Normally the pieces in method books are sufficient to develop the sight-reading skill, unless your child learns the pieces by emulating the teacher.
Standard recommendation for grade 1 sight reading books will be either Joining the Dots or Right at Sight. There are other options such as Sight Reading Made Easy and Moving Forward, but they are not easily available in Singapore.

[buzzmario]

hi Dearmaurora.


do you still teach piano?

my kid just passed her grade 2. but the teacher dun seem to motivate the interest.

thanks

[buzzmario]

hi Dearmaurora.


do you still teach piano?

my kid just passed her grade 2. but the teacher dun seem to motivate the interest.

thanks

[Dreamaurora]

buzzmario:

hi Dearmaurora.


do you still teach piano?

my kid just passed her grade 2. but the teacher dun seem to motivate the interest.

thanks

Pmed you

[billymarsh123]

We have a good quality digital piano. We used to have a very old upright that was in fairly poor condition, and the digital is far far more lovely, I have to say. Also, the major benefit for our family is that it can be played late at night without disturbing the neighbours, either by using headphones, or turning down the volume. We live in a small 3 bed semi, and the reality is that we were really limited with the upright. Now we can tinker away all night to our hearts content.


I know there are loads do reasons why a good quality upright is better… But if your dd is just a beginner a digital piano (a good one) isn’t necessarily such a daft idea. My son plays several other instruments to a high level, and is happy tinkering on the digital.

Just wanted to present a different view. Are you going to chat with your dd’s teacher? I would think that’s the best thing to do…

[buzzmario]

sorry might be a sensitive question here. like to ask what is the rate for teaher that come over to the student house for an hour rate? is $60 for an hour too high for grade 2 to 4? thanks

[Dreamaurora]

buzzmario:

sorry might be a sensitive question here. like to ask what is the rate for teaher that come over to the student house for an hour rate? is $60 for an hour too high for grade 2 to 4? thanks

That will depend on the teacher's qualification, experience and reputation. For 60$ an hour for grade 2 I would expect a minimum of a full time music graduate with decent track record of entering students for exam.

Btw, you have not replied to my PM.

[Neosan60]

my ds2 is having psle nxt year and i am not sure if his weekly piano lesson should be discontinued and then continued after psle. i am thinking of continuing, until he is unable to cope with work load. will need advice when the time comes, just that i know a hiatus period is not good, plus ds2 is very good at piano. but to me, exam comes first.

[pirate]

I would think that would depend on whether he considers piano lessons and practice a break from studying. It’s not exactly healthy to be studying all the time, right?

[Dreamaurora]

Neosan60:

my ds2 is having psle nxt year and i am not sure if his weekly piano lesson should be discontinued and then continued after psle. i am thinking of continuing, until he is unable to cope with work load. will need advice when the time comes, just that i know a hiatus period is not good, plus ds2 is very good at piano. but to me, exam comes first.

Personally I would not advise stopping piano as your son may lose the momentum, though I think it is okay to take a break for up to two months during exam period. I had a student last time who took her grade 7 in her sec 4 O level year and managed to do well for both her piano without affecting her O preparation. Of course, if you are a bit apprehensive, you could perhaps reduce the frequency of lessons to once every 2 weeks and stop participation in exams or major concerts. But try to maintain a practice schedule; I'm sure your son would appreciate that he has something different to do every day other than studying for exam.