All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Dreamaurora]

Imami:

Hello folks who teaches piano lessons/ plays the piano, why is this kind of kind so cheap - http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/449183/7648508.html?1350298068


If I sign my kid up at cristofori's little Mozart classes and pay one shot for the full course (2 levels x 4 terms), I would get this piano as part of the deal. Any comments folks?

Is this good enough or will a key board serves as well?

I tried this particular \"piano\" before in one of my friends' house because her daughter is in Little Mozart.

This is definitely not a piano.

It is just a keyboard in a fancy furniture like packaging. The keys are not weighted at all and well, it sounds like an electronic keyboard. If the purpose is just for Little Mozart or JMC, it is probably sufficient. But if planning to go further to the graded exams, at the bare minimum will need to get a properly weighted digital piano or a 2nd hand acoustic.

[Dreamaurora]

karenmok:

[quote=\"waiyean] Go for individual lessons, doesn't matter whether private or in a music school. You can arrange for a trial class to see if the teacher clicks with your daughter. Quality of teachers in schools can vary a bit, but most should be able to teach your daughter to play some songs and go through the exams if needed.

Thanks. Any feedback on which school is more economic/flexible in terms of lost classes if the child is unwell or travelling? Also is it possible to switch from one school to another without losing out on the previous education?[/quote][/quote]

Bear in mind that music schools are not schools in the traditional sense. You are just basically getting the same individual lessons that private teachers provide in a more centralised location. Personally, I am a believer that a child should have the same teacher from beginner to at least the completion of grade 8. So IMO the best solution is to go for a good private one right from the very beginning (or study with the owners of the music schools); this may be costly and require more commitment but of course you pay for the quality. But of many parents choose the lesser options because they are afraid the children may get disinterested or financial concerns. Then they will search for better teachers after they find the initial teachers lacking.

[Dreamaurora]

thmejlfm:

Hi!


Looking for one piano teacher to teach my daughters, age: 11, grade: 4, and age: 8, grade 2. Prefer a female teacher and willing to come to student's place (Kallang area).

Previous teacher because of personal reason, has to stop teaching my daughters.

Need some contacts from parent here.

Thank you :?: :?: :thankyou:

Edited. Sorry, supposed to be typed in a PM instead.

[fatbeary]

Imami:

Woah... Thanks folk. Didn't expect my post to generate so many response. I was still thinking that I was so silly to post that, sure Kenna some snide remarks.


I seriously hope my child would pick up music, doesn't matter which instrument so long as he enjoy and it suits him. I read up the whole 90+ pages in this thread and a few others and decided I would buy a brand new yamaha for him to start off. Yes, a bit insane but it shows how serious I am about it.

Then one day, We passed by millennia and we stopped to admire a kawai piano in the piano shop. Haiyo.... Thunder strike wor... Son said didn't like piano! I guessed he said it in jest but it dawned on me that he could have other interest. If I could match personality to musical instrument, I would think he's a drum person.

So well, my purse remained zipped since then. I approached one piano teacher here to coach my child. I told him my situation - no piano. The first thing he said was must hv piano. So no goal lor...

Most piano teachers would say that without a piano, the child won't be able to learn/attend piano classes. It is preferred that the child has a piano at home to practise on, but I have a lot of students under me who don't have a piano at home. Without a piano, it will slow down the process of learning but they can always learn more on theory to understand the concepts first.

Maybe you can let your child take up a few piano classes to see if he likes piano or music in general!

[waiyean]

fatbeary:

Most piano teachers would say that without a piano, the child won't be able to learn/attend piano classes. It is preferred that the child has a piano at home to practise on, but I have a lot of students under me who don't have a piano at home. Without a piano, it will slow down the process of learning but they can always learn more on theory to understand the concepts first.

Maybe you can let your child take up a few piano classes to see if he likes piano or music in general!

Don't wait too long to get a proper piano. Have seen some parents hold off on the purchase to \"wait and see\" if there's interest. The child can't play at home and naturally progress slowly, and soon lose interest due to lack of motivation. It is a self fulfilling prophesy... The lack of interest in the child is due to the parent's lack of support and confidence. Face it... Most child will only enjoy doing something that they are good at.

[Dreamaurora]

fatbeary:

Imami:

Woah... Thanks folk. Didn't expect my post to generate so many response. I was still thinking that I was so silly to post that, sure Kenna some snide remarks.


I seriously hope my child would pick up music, doesn't matter which instrument so long as he enjoy and it suits him. I read up the whole 90+ pages in this thread and a few others and decided I would buy a brand new yamaha for him to start off. Yes, a bit insane but it shows how serious I am about it.

Then one day, We passed by millennia and we stopped to admire a kawai piano in the piano shop. Haiyo.... Thunder strike wor... Son said didn't like piano! I guessed he said it in jest but it dawned on me that he could have other interest. If I could match personality to musical instrument, I would think he's a drum person.

So well, my purse remained zipped since then. I approached one piano teacher here to coach my child. I told him my situation - no piano. The first thing he said was must hv piano. So no goal lor...

Most piano teachers would say that without a piano, the child won't be able to learn/attend piano classes. It is preferred that the child has a piano at home to practise on, but I have a lot of students under me who don't have a piano at home. Without a piano, it will slow down the process of learning but they can always learn more on theory to understand the concepts first.

Maybe you can let your child take up a few piano classes to see if he likes piano or music in general!

There is a good reason why a lot of teachers insist on having a proper instrument before starting individual piano lessons. Without a piano, the child will not be able to experiment and create sounds, making the learning experience a passive one. And like what you said, of course the progress will be very slow. So I urge parents to look at it from another angle, with a proper teacher and instrument, your child will actually learn and go through the 'grades' faster. Sure, significantly more money may be spent initially, but in the long run you might actually save more money.

I know that many parents want to scrimp money because they are afraid their kids will get disinterested. If the parents expect their kids to be serious and passionate about piano, they themselves must be passionate about it. So not giving proper lessons and instruments seem contradictory and counter productive. So yes, for my studio, I will not start lessons proper until an instrument is procured.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

fatbeary:

Most piano teachers would say that without a piano, the child won't be able to learn/attend piano classes. It is preferred that the child has a piano at home to practise on, but I have a lot of students under me who don't have a piano at home. Without a piano, it will slow down the process of learning but they can always learn more on theory to understand the concepts first.

Maybe you can let your child take up a few piano classes to see if he likes piano or music in general!

Don't wait too long to get a proper piano. Have seen some parents hold off on the purchase to \"wait and see\" if there's interest. The child can't play at home and naturally progress slowly, and soon lose interest due to lack of motivation. It is a self fulfilling prophesy... The lack of interest in the child is due to the parent's lack of support and confidence. Face it... Most child will only enjoy doing something that they are good at.

Yeah, no piano may lose motivation. But anyway, it is indeed possible to start piano lessons without piano first. Some music schools offer piano studio rental at quite cheap rate. This is what I did last time when I started learning piano also. I did not have piano last time when I started lesson, so I just rented a studio for one hour everyday at Cristofori last time until I eventually got my own cheap 2nd hand piano.

[waiyean]

Dreamaurora:

Yeah, no piano may lose motivation. But anyway, it is indeed possible to start piano lessons without piano first. Some music schools offer piano studio rental at quite cheap rate. This is what I did last time when I started learning piano also. I did not have piano last time when I started lesson, so I just rented a studio for one hour everyday at Cristofori last time until I eventually got my own cheap 2nd hand piano.

Yes, that's definitely possible. Renting a studio one hour everyday is as good as having a piano. What I was trying to say is that parental support is very important for the child. It is a commitment, both in terms of time and money. Half-heartedness and adopting a wait and see attitude is not going to help the child much. Like what you mentioned in the previous post, how to expect child to be passionate about music when the parent is not?

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Dreamaurora:

Yeah, no piano may lose motivation. But anyway, it is indeed possible to start piano lessons without piano first. Some music schools offer piano studio rental at quite cheap rate. This is what I did last time when I started learning piano also. I did not have piano last time when I started lesson, so I just rented a studio for one hour everyday at Cristofori last time until I eventually got my own cheap 2nd hand piano.

Yes, that's definitely possible. Renting a studio one hour everyday is as good as having a piano. What I was trying to say is that parental support is very important for the child. It is a commitment, both in terms of time and money. Half-heartedness and adopting a wait and see attitude is not going to help the child much. Like what you mentioned in the previous post, how to expect child to be passionate about music when the parent is not?

Yeah, parent's commitment is important. And it seems a lot of parents expect that it's the teacher's responsibilty to keep the child motivated. In fact responsibility actually goes both ways. The teacher should be able to communicate to the kids on the same level and create engaging lessons that expose the kids to piano comfortably. Parents should be interested in the lessons and assist in practice as often as possible. They should also provide the best resources money can buy. That's why I do not understand why some teachers and music schools do not allow parents to observe lessons. From my experience, students whose parents sit in lessons and assist practicing at home progress astronomically faster than students whose parents do not.

That being said, I did not have my parent's support at all when I started learning piano. In fact my parents actively discouraged me, saying things like 'you are simply untalented' or 'learning piano is a waste of time'. I only had a 3rd hand $1600 Young Chang piano to practice up to my grade 8, and there were times I simply had to self teach myself because no money for lessons. But I soldiered on until the completion of my full time study in NAFA. So yes, it is also possible without parent support to make it, but unlike others, I loved piano very very much even before learning piano. I would go to piano recitals by myself, buy CDs and scores (even though I did not know how to read them). So pretty much I decided I was going to make music my profession when I started learning piano.

[phankao]

Dreamaurora:

Some music schools offer piano studio rental at quite cheap rate. This is what I did last time when I started learning piano also. I did not have piano last time when I started lesson, so I just rented a studio for one hour everyday at Cristofori last time until I eventually got my own cheap 2nd hand piano.

Hmmm... you can also be a thick-skinned mom and nicely ask a neighbour with piano to let your child practise for 20mins everyday. haha! That's what my mom did for me last time! She only finally bought me a piano a year later, I think. And only bc teacher found a relatively cheaper 3rd-hand one.