All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers
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Dreamaurora:
Does single note playing apply only to octaves, or can it be done on 7th as well? Daughter has done lots of finger stretching technical exercises, but still have difficulties playing the 7th intervals comfortably. At grade 3 and above, will points be deducted for single note playing?
According to Vanessa Latarche, for lower grades examiners do accept single note playing (lower notes for LH and upper notes for RH) if young kids cannot stretch the octaves. For higher grades, rearrangement of notes is acceptable as long the harmonic outline is preserved e.g. instead of c1-c2 can play g1-c2 or e1-c2. -
waiyean:
7th interval is unfortunately a bit tricky as omitting 7th note of a chord changes its quality. But you can still rearrange the notes e.g instead of c-b, can play e-b instead.
Does single note playing apply only to octaves, or can it be done on 7th as well? Daughter has done lots of finger stretching technical exercises, but still have difficulties playing the 7th intervals comfortably. At grade 3 and above, will points be deducted for single note playing?Dreamaurora:
According to Vanessa Latarche, for lower grades examiners do accept single note playing (lower notes for LH and upper notes for RH) if young kids cannot stretch the octaves. For higher grades, rearrangement of notes is acceptable as long the harmonic outline is preserved e.g. instead of c1-c2 can play g1-c2 or e1-c2.
For higher grades, I think try to refrain from single note playing as basically it is kind of considered 'cheating' as the technical difficulties of some pieces are drastically reduced if you simplify the octaves and chords. So try to pick pieces that require minimum adjustments or allow for the octaves or chords to be spread. -
waiyean:
Can you choose pieces that don't require your girl to stretch beyond what she can? There are 6 pieces in each set, try to find something.
Does single note playing apply only to octaves, or can it be done on 7th as well? Daughter has done lots of finger stretching technical exercises, but still have difficulties playing the 7th intervals comfortably. At grade 3 and above, will points be deducted for single note playing?Dreamaurora:
According to Vanessa Latarche, for lower grades examiners do accept single note playing (lower notes for LH and upper notes for RH) if young kids cannot stretch the octaves. For higher grades, rearrangement of notes is acceptable as long the harmonic outline is preserved e.g. instead of c1-c2 can play g1-c2 or e1-c2.
Another alternative is to spread it. However, the music context must be correct. Which note/notes to omit depends on the harmony in context. If after omitting, the harmonic language is lost, then the interpretion is deem flawed. -
Dreamaurora:
My bad for telling only part of the story. Well, it was during our discussion on my son's progress that the remark sprang up. However, things are not as what you thought. I appreciate your concern. My son is currently working on some grade 7 material as well other technics drills. If he could dedicate at least 2 hours of daily practice, he would have made much better progress. But, as what jce has brought up, the piano teacher also commented that the local school life is a great obstacle to such effort. Besides, she understands my son has violin commitments too. We were just commenting that a kid could progress much faster if he could dedicate at least 2 hours daily to the instrument at his level.
Before advising on how much work a student should put in, there needs to be a clarification on what are the immediate goals. So one can't just say more hard work. If say, your son's teacher say need to practice at least 2 hours daily, he will need to be aware of the reasoning and the goals that require this amount of practice. The amount of practice needed to complete grade 5 within half a year definitely differs as compared to amount of practice needed to complete grade 5 within one year. Beside that have to consider the students' learning speed and other commitments as well. For example, to demand a student who is taking PSLE to practice 2 hours a day would be probably an extremely tall order. -
sleepy:
Perhaps the parents have music background? The P3 daughter of my sister's piano teacher has completed her grade 8 early this year. I won't be surprised if she has started on her diploma.
I always wonder how others managed to cope with intensive instrument practice and school workload. Keep hearing from dd2's piano teacher that her other students completed grade 8 by p4. One or two even started diploma in upper primary! -
chamonix:
The point I was trying to make is that a lot of teachers just make the remark work harder or practice more to have better progress without actually spelling out what the better progress is. Though obviously there will be an increase in learning speed corresponding to increase of practice time, there needs to be a clear clarification of the kind of progress that more practice entails rather than vague 'more practice, more progress'. Now I do not know if your son's teacher has spelled out them, but for me generally I will try to spell out what is possible with more practice. Also important is how to put those extra practice time to good use. So for example I can say this to my student: if you practice 2 hours instead one hour now we could probably make it for an earlier exam slots in February. And beside exam pieces, you can learn 2 extra pieces of your choice alongside as well.
My bad for telling only part of the story. Well, it was during our discussion on my son's progress that the remark sprang up. However, things are not as what you thought. I appreciate your concern. My son is currently working on some grade 7 material as well other technics drills. If he could dedicate at least 2 hours of daily practice, he would have made much better progress. But, as what jce has brought up, the piano teacher also commented that the local school life is a great obstacle to such effort. Besides, she understands my son has violin commitments too. We were just commenting that a kid could progress much faster if he could dedicate at least 2 hours daily to the instrument at his level.Dreamaurora:
Before advising on how much work a student should put in, there needs to be a clarification on what are the immediate goals. So one can't just say more hard work. If say, your son's teacher say need to practice at least 2 hours daily, he will need to be aware of the reasoning and the goals that require this amount of practice. The amount of practice needed to complete grade 5 within half a year definitely differs as compared to amount of practice needed to complete grade 5 within one year. Beside that have to consider the students' learning speed and other commitments as well. For example, to demand a student who is taking PSLE to practice 2 hours a day would be probably an extremely tall order. -
Dreamaurora:
I would say my son's piano teacher functions in a very different way from you. As I have mentioned several times, learning for the sake of taking exams is never our main goal. Let's just leave it as it is cos every teacher has their own style of teaching. With her twenty years of experience and track records, I'm pretty comfortable with her. Otherwise, I would have sent my kids to a ex-NAFA teacher.
The point I was trying to make is that a lot of teachers just make the remark work harder or practice more to have better progress without actually spelling out what the better progress is. Though obviously there will be an increase in learning speed corresponding to increase of practice time, there needs to be a clear clarification of the kind of progress that more practice entails rather than vague 'more practice, more progress'. Now I do not know if your son's teacher has spelled out them, but for me generally I will try to spell out what is possible with more practice. Also important is how to put those extra practice time to good use. So for example I can say this to my student: if you practice 2 hours instead one hour now we could probably make it for an earlier exam slots in February. And beside exam pieces, you can learn 2 extra pieces of your choice alongside as well. -
PhoBIA:
I have the 6 pieces, it's either stretching 7th, or using the pedal extender. Good thing is there's still 4 months to go before the exam.
Can you choose pieces that don't require your girl to stretch beyond what she can? There are 6 pieces in each set, try to find something.waiyean:
Does single note playing apply only to octaves, or can it be done on 7th as well? Daughter has done lots of finger stretching technical exercises, but still have difficulties playing the 7th intervals comfortably. At grade 3 and above, will points be deducted for single note playing?
Another alternative is to spread it. However, the music context must be correct. Which note/notes to omit depends on the harmony in context. If after omitting, the harmonic language is lost, then the interpretion is deem flawed. -
waiyean:
I have the 6 pieces, it's either stretching 7th, or using the pedal extender. Good thing is there's still 4 months to go before the exam.[/quote]Which grade and which piece? Let me see if I can offer some advice.
Can you choose pieces that don't require your girl to stretch beyond what she can? There are 6 pieces in each set, try to find something.PhoBIA:
[quote=\"waiyean\"]
Does single note playing apply only to octaves, or can it be done on 7th as well? Daughter has done lots of finger stretching technical exercises, but still have difficulties playing the 7th intervals comfortably. At grade 3 and above, will points be deducted for single note playing?
Another alternative is to spread it. However, the music context must be correct. Which note/notes to omit depends on the harmony in context. If after omitting, the harmonic language is lost, then the interpretion is deem flawed. -
Dreamaurora:
2013-2014 grade 3 group C.
Which grade and which piece? Let me see if I can offer some advice.waiyean:
I have the 6 pieces, it's either stretching 7th, or using the pedal extender. Good thing is there's still 4 months to go before the exam.
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