All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[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.

[metz]

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.

The question I have in mind is what will happen to these children after grade 8? Especially those who accomplished the grades even earlier? Go on to diploma, then music degree? Competitions? Where they do end up in music eventually?

But one thing I can't deny is the accomplishments will look good for DSA.

[jce]

Yes, finishing grade 8 at age 8 doesn’t make the child a better pianist than another who finishes the same grade at age 12 or 15 or 21! But on paper it sure looks impressive.


Those who finish grade 8 on a "high note" (ie with very good results) are likely to go on to Dip and don’t forget, there are 3 stages of Dip. Each one requires a lot more than the one before. It is a very, very steep ascent. Those who pursue a music degree or even fellowship (highest level of Dip) should have a passion in music.

[yernying]

Hi.I am ABRSM Diploma holder in teaching and performing with 12 years teaching experienced.I am able to teach from beginner to grade 8.I am willing to conduct the lesson in your house which only in North area.please contact me at 90252089.thanks

[Dreamaurora]

Maybe this will sound incredulous to a lot of parents, but not all parents send their kids to music lessons for the purpose of developing their appreciation for the finer things in life.


Let me explain now why the prospect of accomplishing high grades or diplomas at early age is an attractive one to many parents. Let’s assume for the sake of discussion that these students follow NAFA system that promises grade 8 by 11 and L Diplomas by 16; the students might also participate and win prizes in competitions. In this country that practices meritocracy, every advantage counts, and that includes non-academics ones. If grade 8 is achieved before completion of primary school, it will provide some advantages when applying to sec schools using DSA. A sec 1 student with grade 8 can prove to be very useful in assisting music-related activities in school e.g. providing accompaniments to music CCAs, helping to teach theory to band members, etc.

Diplomas and competition prizes will prove useful when applying to tertiary institutions or securing that prized scholarships. Achievements in music are extremely valued because of the amount of self-discipline and commitment required to achieve them. Hence they help to differentiate students further when all academic achievements are equal. All these ideally will need to be completed latest by 16 years old as normally A level preparation is tough and students will want to basically devote most of their time to it. Hence the mad rush that some students are subjected to.

It is an equally attractive proposition to teachers as well. Like it or not, a teacher’s ability to teach is partly judged by his/her track record in producing exam results and competition winners. Sure, parents may just be looking for teachers who can motivate and communicate well with students, but they still want to make sure that the teachers can deliver the goods if necessary right? One thing I learn in this field is that a lot of teachers crave recognition more than money. And I have to be honest that includes me as well.

Now, what I have described often creates a dilemma. Arguably, these teachers who are focused on results have stellar teaching technique and have established systems and networks that allow students to achieve amazing progress, but studying under them will require a lot of commitments and there will be intense pressure to meet expectations. Not to mention, the students may get extremely demoralised if expectations are not met or worse, if their teachers kick them out. Students whose parents have agendas are usually the more capable ones and their parents are willing to work extra hard alongside them to achieve that result; basically the recipes needed to achieve the results that can boost a teacher’s reputation. But this may comes at a cost of pushing the students too much that they lose interest in the instrument despite actually being very proficient at it. Some parents may also not take kindly when the expected progress is not achieved.

So, as a teacher, it is indeed a tempting proposition to become one of those teachers. I do have great respects and admirations for these teachers; they are truly devoted to their crafts and continually improving themselves albeit their motivations for doing so maybe questionable. But of course I ask myself if I want to be like them; accepting only the best because I only want the best results for that recognition. Some of you might have remembered my adventure of entering 6 year olds K2 kids for grade 5. On hindsight, I realised my motivation for doing that was not right and it goes against the spirit of why I enter this profession in the first place. I enter this profession not because of money or fame; it’s because I want to impart the same love that I have towards piano to others. I am sure many teachers have the same thought as mine.

I have to say, the most joyful moments of my career do not come from my students doing well for exams. I feel most happy when seeing my students enjoying their time in lessons and being passionate about music themselves. Whether my students are gifted children or beginning adults do not matter; whether they can achieve distinctions or win prizes also do not matter. What I wish is that they view my lessons as a journey to discover more about themselves and music. And I feel that is what matters at the end of the day.

[sleepy]

Dreamaurora:

Maybe this will sound incredulous to a lot of parents, but not all parents send their kids to music lessons for the purpose of developing their appreciation for the finer things in life.


Let me explain now why the prospect of accomplishing high grades or diplomas at early age is an attractive one to many parents. Let's assume for the sake of discussion that these students follow NAFA system that promises grade 8 by 11 and L Diplomas by 16; the students might also participate and win prizes in competitions. In this country that practices meritocracy, every advantage counts, and that includes non-academics ones. If grade 8 is achieved before completion of primary school, it will provide some advantages when applying to sec schools using DSA. A sec 1 student with grade 8 can prove to be very useful in assisting music-related activities in school e.g. providing accompaniments to music CCAs, helping to teach theory to band members, etc.

Diplomas and competition prizes will prove useful when applying to tertiary institutions or securing that prized scholarships. Achievements in music are extremely valued because of the amount of self-discipline and commitment required to achieve them. Hence they help to differentiate students further when all academic achievements are equal. All these ideally will need to be completed latest by 16 years old as normally A level preparation is tough and students will want to basically devote most of their time to it. Hence the mad rush that some students are subjected to.

It is an equally attractive proposition to teachers as well. Like it or not, a teacher's ability to teach is partly judged by his/her track record in producing exam results and competition winners. Sure, parents may just be looking for teachers who can motivate and communicate well with students, but they still want to make sure that the teachers can deliver the goods if necessary right? One thing I learn in this field is that a lot of teachers crave recognition more than money. And I have to be honest that includes me as well.

Now, what I have described often creates a dilemma. Arguably, these teachers who are focused on results have stellar teaching technique and have established systems and networks that allow students to achieve amazing progress, but studying under them will require a lot of commitments and there will be intense pressure to meet expectations. Not to mention, the students may get extremely demoralised if expectations are not met or worse, if their teachers kick them out. Students whose parents have agendas are usually the more capable ones and their parents are willing to work extra hard alongside them to achieve that result; basically the recipes needed to achieve the results that can boost a teacher's reputation. But this may comes at a cost of pushing the students too much that they lose interest in the instrument despite actually being very proficient at it. Some parents may also not take kindly when the expected progress is not achieved.

So, as a teacher, it is indeed a tempting proposition to become one of those teachers. I do have great respects and admirations for these teachers; they are truly devoted to their crafts and continually improving themselves albeit their motivations for doing so maybe questionable. But of course I ask myself if I want to be like them; accepting only the best because I only want the best results for that recognition. Some of you might have remembered my adventure of entering 6 year olds K2 kids for grade 5. On hindsight, I realised my motivation for doing that was not right and it goes against the spirit of why I enter this profession in the first place. I enter this profession not because of money or fame; it's because I want to impart the same love that I have towards piano to others. I am sure many teachers have the same thought as mine.

I have to say, the most joyful moments of my career do not come from my students doing well for exams. I feel most happy when seeing my students enjoying their time in lessons and being passionate about music themselves. Whether my students are gifted children or beginning adults do not matter; whether they can achieve distinctions or win prizes also do not matter. What I wish is that they view my lessons as a journey to discover more about themselves and music. And I feel that is what matters at the end of the day.

I suppose I can safely say that all parents wish to help their children to develop full potential if they identify any particular interests or strenghts in their children, be it Maths Olympiad, music or even sports. Don't think we should call that 'agenda' :scratchhead:

We sent dd2 to seimpi group lesson for immersion. Didn't expect her to make it to Nafa. We heard about Nafa and signed her up for audition, only around $20 audition fee anyway. Well, she got in, didn't like the nafa teacher assigned to her & the intense environment in nafa , quit nafa and switched over to a private teacher. Has been with that private teacher ever since.

I can only say my dd2 exceeded our original intention which was merely immersion. Since she seems to take on to learning piano rather easily, I guess why not? As her parents, I believe we should not short change her. At the very least, we should find her an appropriate teacher to help her reach her full potential. I have zero music background so can't do much to help her except offering my words of encouragement and of course paying the fees

I believe chemistry between students and teachers are of utmost important. I never hesitate to switch teachers till I find the right one. dd2 is with her 5th piano teacher and dd1 with her 3rd string teacher.

Don't think track record is my only selection criteria. dd1's string teacher has minimum track record, being a fresh grad with merely 2 private students. Yet I can see the chemistry despites teacher's lack of track record.

With zero track record, realistically speaking, string teacher can't reject any students. But that doesn't mean I short change the teacher. I'm paying the exact same fees for both music teachers - piano teacher with stellar track record vs string teacher with zero track record other than a degree cert. The only difference is string teacher travelled to our home.

However, I think it's totally worth it, with the teacher correcting all her wrong postures and bad habits (not corrected by previous 2 string teachers!), buidling her foundation all over again and and dd1 has since progressed from a shaky grade 3 (that slaughtering sound triggered me to switch teacher!) to currently learning grade 7 scales and (mostly) playing beautifully on her cello

I think learning music is a form of relaxation for my dd2 despites her teacher's high expectation. She played piano on the morning of her school exams because she was so bored from revising Chinese and Maths and said she wanted to wind down by playing piano. So I think this is an extremely positive outcome from my perspective

I'm not so concerned about DSA portfolio (yet). My kids are much stronger in academic than music anyway. And I think as far as posting to secondary schools are concerned, academic result is primarily the admission criteria, everything else is just nice to have

[jce]

"Wind down by playing piano" (or any other instrument), wow, how many of us teachers and parents would love to hear that from their student/child! Each child is different, what makes one child tick may not do the same for another child. The teacher must therefore be sensitive enough to find that. So rapport between student and teacher is important. But of course the responsibility doesn’t lie on one side. The student plays a part too. He/She needs to do the learning part. It is only when the child can play the piece (ie go beyond the technicality of things) that enjoyment can kick in.

[sleepy]

jce:

\"Wind down by playing piano\" (or any other instrument), wow, how many of us teachers and parents would love to hear that from their student/child! Each child is different, what makes one child tick may not do the same for another child. The teacher must therefore be sensitive enough to find that. So rapport between student and teacher is important. But of course the responsibility doesn't lie on one side. The student plays a part too. He/She needs to do the learning part. It is only when the child can play the piece (ie go beyond the technicality of things) that enjoyment can kick in.

Certainly agreed.

Between dd2's previous nafa teacher & current private teacher, I believe both teachers are probably comparable in terms of technical know how and experience. Both have equally high expectations of their students too.

However, current teacher knows how to tame my dd2. dd2 is in awe of her current teacher & totally 心服口服 vs her previous nafa teacher who only succeeded in dampening joy & passion in learning music.

That's why I said chemistry between students and teachers is of utmost importance.

[pirate]

Dreamaurora:

Let me explain now why the prospect of accomplishing high grades or diplomas at early age is an attractive one to many parents. Let's assume for the sake of discussion that these students follow NAFA system that promises grade 8 by 11 and L Diplomas by 16; the students might also participate and win prizes in competitions. In this country that practices meritocracy, every advantage counts, and that includes non-academics ones. If grade 8 is achieved before completion of primary school, it will provide some advantages when applying to sec schools using DSA. A sec 1 student with grade 8 can prove to be very useful in assisting music-related activities in school e.g. providing accompaniments to music CCAs, helping to teach theory to band members, etc.

Yah. But I am asking what's the difference between a child that completes grade 8 by 10 and one that completes grade 8 by 11? Does it reflect anything more than perhaps the fact that the first child started lessons 6 months or a year earlier than the second child?

Would not an extra, say 6 months making sure that a young child has a strong technical foundation be considered well-spent instead of rushing through that 1 grade just for the bragging rights of having completed grade 8 one year earlier?

[Dreamaurora]

pirate:

Dreamaurora:

Let me explain now why the prospect of accomplishing high grades or diplomas at early age is an attractive one to many parents. Let's assume for the sake of discussion that these students follow NAFA system that promises grade 8 by 11 and L Diplomas by 16; the students might also participate and win prizes in competitions. In this country that practices meritocracy, every advantage counts, and that includes non-academics ones. If grade 8 is achieved before completion of primary school, it will provide some advantages when applying to sec schools using DSA. A sec 1 student with grade 8 can prove to be very useful in assisting music-related activities in school e.g. providing accompaniments to music CCAs, helping to teach theory to band members, etc.

Yah. But I am asking what's the difference between a child that completes grade 8 by 10 and one that completes grade 8 by 11? Does it reflect anything more than perhaps the fact that the first child started lessons 6 months or a year earlier than the second child?

Would not an extra, say 6 months making sure that a young child has a strong technical foundation be considered well-spent instead of rushing through that 1 grade just for the bragging rights of having completed grade 8 one year earlier?

Actually, the age does not really matter. I think a student's progress and overall proficiency are determined by a number of factors:
- Teacher's teaching technique and method
- Student's amount of practice and how efficient he/she is in practicing
- Student's natural ability to learn and interpret music
- Parental support and assistance

So a 10 years old taking grade 8 who has a a fantastic teacher, practices efficiently for up to 2 or 3 hours a day, and reasonably 'talented' could possibly be more proficient and well-trained than an older child who has less than ideal factors supporting his/her piano study.

Unfortunately, some teachers cut corners in order to accelerate the grades. This can range from small things such as neglecting some components such as sight reading or aural to actually skipping the requirement for an intermediary grade. This normally causes a lot of problems further down the road and even let's say a student who is trained in this way manages to pass grade 8, he/she may find that many aspects of his learning lacking.