All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[metz]

pirate:

Getting motivated to learn to play the tunes is one thing, but getting motivated to play the tunes to the standard required for exams is another. I have no problem getting DD to be motivated enough to learn new tunes. But getting her to practise the same 3 exam pieces over and over again until all the little details are considered to be 'mastered' is quite another.

She would rather be playing the other 6 pieces in the ABRSM book or exploring the pieces in the ABRSM book one grade higher. You know, all those other things that are available for her to explore but are not formally taught in lessons.

How to motivate a young child to practise Hanon? I could get away with Czerny because she thinks they are pieces and not merely exercises.

My feel is that she is bored playing the same exam pieces over and over again. My worry is that if I push her too hard to polish up those 3 pieces, one of these days she is going to lose interest in exploring on her own. It would be ironic if choosing exam pieces end up being the kiss of death for those pieces. Anybody has any idea how to overcome that boredom?

Though my kids do not take exams, I do expect them to meet their teachers' fastidious expectations as much as possible. However, from my kids' experience, I noticed playing the pieces over and over again may not necessary be helpful and productive. Instead, I would request them to identify their problem areas and fix them progressively. Here are some guides from a violin website http://www.violinonline.com/practicetips.htm, but it is equally effective for piano practices for my kids :

1. Practice with Purpose

Have one or more focused goals each time you practice. At the beginning of practice sessions, ask yourself, \"What do I want to accomplish today? Do I want to polish a piece? Slowly learn part of a new piece, play with heightened musicality, or fix some problem spots?\" As you practice, your focus may change as you continue to analyze your playing with questions such as: \"Am I playing in tune? Is the rhythm correct? What parts of the piece need work?\"

2.Problem-solving

One of the most effective ways to make a piece sound better is to pinpoint the difficult passages in the piece and then work on one small section at a time. Don’t reinforce mistakes by repeating them. Identify what the problem is, then determine how you will fix it. Play the notes of a problem spot very slowly, one note at a time, until you are playing with the proper rhythm, fingering, and notes. Once it sounds correct, play that small section over and over, gradually picking up speed until that segment of music is up to tempo. It's always simpler to begin at a slow tempo and increase your speed rather than go back and correct new errors.

3. Problem spot tips

At times, it may be useful to record yourself (audio or video) to pinpoint problem spots. If you’re having difficulty with a fast passage, it often helps to play a small section first very slowly, then experiment with rhythmic variations. For example, if the small section you’ve identified as a problem spot contains four measures of sixteenth notes, instead of playing them all at the same tempo, try: long-short-long-short-long-short-long. Then, reverse the sequence and play the passage: short-long-short-long-short-long-short. Another practice technique for fast passages is to to quickly repeat each note two, three or four times (e.g. d-d-d-d-a-a-a-a-c-c-c-c—almost as if you were playing a bowed tremolo on the same note).

4.Musicality

Are you expressing yourself through your music, or are you mechanically repeating notes from a printed page? Musicality, the ability to interpret a piece with feeling, is what distinguishes the performance of a fine musician from that of an automated, boring performer. Need ideas? First, try following printed directions such as dynamics, style of playing, and the tempo or speed at which the music should be played. You can gain additional interpretive insight by listening to recordings of the same piece played by different performers and by researching the history of the composer or the era in which the music was composed. Then, experiment! Try different phrasing or explore variations in tone production, style, and intensity. Memorizing a piece also may assist you in achieving freedom of expression. Once you know a piece so well that you are \"free\" from the music, you may find it easier to interpret music on your own.

5. Fun time

At the end of each practice session, it's always fun to sit back, relax, and enjoy playing straight through the piece. The progress made during \"problem spot\" practicing can be reinforced, and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment hearing changes you’ve made in the full context of the piece.

For Hanon, I recalled my son playing the exercises in various dynamics and rhythms as described by the other posters. For the same exercise, he would also play legato/loud with one hand and staccato/soft with the other. He kind of enjoyed those exercises as he saw the notes as patterns to play around with.

[waiyean]

Imami:

Weayean and bhchng are the “been through already” parents. Their kids have already established the interest and are already on track, taking lessons etc. My case is a little premature, I am not even sure if my kid is interested, which is why Jedamum offered an suggestion.

All of you meant well :grphug:

Haha, I am just a parent of a very young girl, started on a musical journey, with a long road ahead. Sharing some viewpoints based on what worked and what didn't. Cannot be considered as a \"been through already\" parent.

[metz]

Imami:

I am actually very happy to read (sorry, couldnt remember who posted that) about how one parent said she/he was not interested to put the kid through piano exam, just wanted the teacher to teach the kid to play pieces that he/she wanted. I think this is what I want. Whether my kid would eventually pursue piano exams or not is not very important, at least at this point in time. If he likes piano enough and wants to pursue further, I am sure we can make it happen (i.e. letting him go for grading and etc). But first, we need to establish his interest in music.

Actually, all I hope for is to introduce at least one musical instrument to him. If it is drum, so be it. Likewise for violin or whatever. Piano is chosen because it seems to be the most popular instrument among beginner.

Wanna to say I'm the one, but to be fair, there are quite a number who share the same belief and have voiced out their thoughts. One parent even bought an upright piano which cost around the same as a COE for his young son. So yes, welcome to the club.

[phankao]

chamonix:

This morning, I asked my daughter what prompted her to practise on her own when she was just 4 years old. She said she liked the tunes that the teacher taught her very much and wanted to be able to play them herself. Perhaps, one way of getting the children motivated is to start them on tunes they like or familiar with.

That was the reason why I preferred my boy to start off with actual songs that he's familiar with. That's why he's a suzuki student. hah. No tuneless exercises. Just the twinkle variations alone are already such great exercises, especially if the teacher knows how to make use of them for practising different techniques.

[phankao]

Dreamaurora:

So as a teacher, I need to be very skillful in introducing the details gradually in a comfortable pace, especially if the students are very young. I need to make sure they can actually hear 'inside' the details I want them to make before asking them to do it; and they must be convinced that the details are necessary to make the pieces sound better. A wise teacher once said to me: You can only play what you can hear. I also will not push the kids to execute details beyond their capabilities. Some teachers just force feed the details just to squeeze those extra last marks without consideration whatsoever for the students. Even the students can play those details, do they understand the reasonings behind them?

I must say that as a parent home coach, I often get overwhelmed. Just the last couple of months alone, I felt like telling the teacher to give less on the list to work at home, since my boy so young -just turned 4yo. Like last week, she completed teaching him 3 songs, and both with LH together. But my seemingly uncoordinated boy - would somehow appear to be so for the 1st half of the week, and then miraculously manage to get it by just 2 or 3 days before the next lesson, and then I'd not mention to the teacher once again. Oh well ... but still a huge headache for the 1st 2/3rds of the week!

[phankao]

chamonix:

Imami:

I am actually very happy to read (sorry, couldnt remember who posted that) about how one parent said she/he was not interested to put the kid through piano exam, just wanted the teacher to teach the kid to play pieces that he/she wanted. I think this is what I want. Whether my kid would eventually pursue piano exams or not is not very important, at least at this point in time. If he likes piano enough and wants to pursue further, I am sure we can make it happen (i.e. letting him go for grading and etc). But first, we need to establish his interest in music. .

Wanna to say I'm the one, but to be fair, there are quite a number who share the same belief and have voiced out their thoughts. One parent even bought an upright piano which cost around the same as a COE for his young son. So yes, welcome to the club.

I'm not against exams, but I do not see any need to just focus on them as long as we know the child is capable.

Just some weeks ago, my son's violin teacher asked if I would like to send my son for exam as she would be preparing the rest in his monthly group class for exam - he's the youngest in the group (actually he's already gone thru the entire exam syllabus)... my response was \"er no, thank you - LOL. I think we'll leave him to take a higher grade exam at a later date\". My older kids' response was also like \"waste time, lah!!!\". haha. Not like we don't have to pay for the exams.

[Dreamaurora]

phankao:

Dreamaurora:

So as a teacher, I need to be very skillful in introducing the details gradually in a comfortable pace, especially if the students are very young. I need to make sure they can actually hear 'inside' the details I want them to make before asking them to do it; and they must be convinced that the details are necessary to make the pieces sound better. A wise teacher once said to me: You can only play what you can hear. I also will not push the kids to execute details beyond their capabilities. Some teachers just force feed the details just to squeeze those extra last marks without consideration whatsoever for the students. Even the students can play those details, do they understand the reasonings behind them?

I must say that as a parent home coach, I often get overwhelmed. Just the last couple of months alone, I felt like telling the teacher to give less on the list to work at home, since my boy so young -just turned 4yo. Like last week, she completed teaching him 3 songs, and both with LH together. But my seemingly uncoordinated boy - would somehow appear to be so for the 1st half of the week, and then miraculously manage to get it by just 2 or 3 days before the next lesson, and then I'd not mention to the teacher once again. Oh well ... but still a huge headache for the 1st 2/3rds of the week!

Yup, sometimes no need to try so hard. There were so many countless times that no matter how much I try to work on a passage in a practice session, I just couldn't do it despite already analysing the problem and working out a solution. Then a few days or weeks later suddenly everything just clicks together.

[maomao]

Hi, I am looking for a piano teacher in Pasir ris area , either she can comes to my place or I can go to her studio. Importantly, must be patient, good with children and knows how to motivate a kid to learn.

[phankao]

Dreamaurora:

phankao:

I must say that as a parent home coach, I often get overwhelmed. Just the last couple of months alone, I felt like telling the teacher to give less on the list to work at home, since my boy so young -just turned 4yo. Like last week, she completed teaching him 3 songs, and both with LH together. But my seemingly uncoordinated boy - would somehow appear to be so for the 1st half of the week, and then miraculously manage to get it by just 2 or 3 days before the next lesson, and then I'd not mention to the teacher once again. Oh well ... but still a huge headache for the 1st 2/3rds of the week!

Yup, sometimes no need to try so hard. There were so many countless times that no matter how much I try to work on a passage in a practice session, I just couldn't do it despite already analysing the problem and working out a solution. Then a few days or weeks later suddenly everything just clicks together.

I am so often a doubting parent. The teacher has more confidence in my son than I do!

[Yazhini]

jeslinc:

Dear all, like to introduce my dd 's teacher who is residing in woodlands. She is firm and loves children, she also teaches some students of grade 8 level (heard from her).


May pm me if interested.

Can you pm me the teacher contact details.