All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[metz]

Dreamaurora:

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.

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.

[waiyean]

PhoBIA:

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?

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.
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.

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.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

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?

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.
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.

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.

[waiyean]

Dreamaurora:

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.

Which grade and which piece? Let me see if I can offer some advice.

2013-2014 grade 3 group C.

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Dreamaurora:

[quote=\"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.

Which grade and which piece? Let me see if I can offer some advice.

2013-2014 grade 3 group C.[/quote]You can choose the Juggler C6. The piece can be played without pedal and there is no harmonic interval of 7th or 8ve. The octave staccato jumps may need some practice but doable.

[waiyean]

Dreamaurora:

You can choose the Juggler C6. The piece can be played without pedal and there is no harmonic interval of 7th or 8ve. The octave staccato jumps may need some practice but doable.

Will try that, alternative will be to go for C2 with the pedal extender.

[jce]

Dreamaurora, yes, I am aware that it’s acceptable to miss out a note from the octaves for the lower grades but personally I find that something is missing in terms of sound. Just doesn’t sound as nice. For the lower grades it is possible to choose something that avoids big stretches so I work with these alternate pieces first. If really can’t find something suitable then no choice.

[lyhparent]

Hi,


I am looking for a piano teacher to teacher my 6 yrs old daughter (she is finishing her Yamaha JAC soon). Preferably in Pasir Ris or Tampines area. PM me ur ctc and charges.

Thks.

[sleepy]

Dreamaurora:

sleepy:

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!

Confirmed mission impossible for my dd2. She's still learning grade 5 at p2. Teacher is far from satisfied with her progress....

My only expectation of dd2 is she doesn't get kicked out by her piano teacher

It is my believe that teachers should respect and acknowledge the efforts that students had put in. Of course I have certain expectations of my students and I do push my students to achieve, but I have to acknowledge that well, their lives may not revolve around piano. Some students may be capable to put hours and hours practice to achieve that great result, whereas some students cannot do so because of their schedules or other commitments. So why chide students if they can't do so?

Anyway, sleepy, your dd2 doing g5 at p2 is already much faster than the majority of piano learning students. NAFA put completion of g5 at P2 and that is obviously exception to the norm. Yes, there are kids who finish g5 piano earlier than p2, but why set the benchmark to these exceptions? So I really do not know why your dd2's teacher is dissatisfied with the progress; I feel the teacher's mindset is probably a bit extreme. Personally, I will never say things like 'my students finish grade 8 by p4' to the students or parents. I said that it is ok to push students, but I will never turn piano learning into a rat race.

Teacher has very high expectations of all her students. My dd had to go through an audition before being accepted. Sort of like the learning lab but in the music industry. Hence, grade 5 by p2 or even earlier is actually norm to teacher.

Based on teacher's assessment of my dd, she believes my dd can achieve greater heights but at this point my dd is hardly anywhere near reaching her full potential. No complaints about teacher. I told my dd she has to pull up her socks.

[pirate]

I don’t understand this thing about finishing grade X by age Y. In the larger scheme of things, I don’t see how finishing, say grade 5 by age 8 and grade 8 by age 10 necessarily makes the child a better pianist than another that finishes grade 5 by age 9 and grade 8 by age 12. Who is to say that when they are both 21, who will be the better pianist? They are both very young.