Teacher Dreamaurora - Piano Q&A

[Dreamaurora]

buzzmario:

hi Dearmaurora.


do you still teach piano?

my kid just passed her grade 2. but the teacher dun seem to motivate the interest.

thanks

Pmed you

[billymarsh123]

We have a good quality digital piano. We used to have a very old upright that was in fairly poor condition, and the digital is far far more lovely, I have to say. Also, the major benefit for our family is that it can be played late at night without disturbing the neighbours, either by using headphones, or turning down the volume. We live in a small 3 bed semi, and the reality is that we were really limited with the upright. Now we can tinker away all night to our hearts content.


I know there are loads do reasons why a good quality upright is better… But if your dd is just a beginner a digital piano (a good one) isn’t necessarily such a daft idea. My son plays several other instruments to a high level, and is happy tinkering on the digital.

Just wanted to present a different view. Are you going to chat with your dd’s teacher? I would think that’s the best thing to do…

[buzzmario]

sorry might be a sensitive question here. like to ask what is the rate for teaher that come over to the student house for an hour rate? is $60 for an hour too high for grade 2 to 4? thanks

[Dreamaurora]

buzzmario:

sorry might be a sensitive question here. like to ask what is the rate for teaher that come over to the student house for an hour rate? is $60 for an hour too high for grade 2 to 4? thanks

That will depend on the teacher's qualification, experience and reputation. For 60$ an hour for grade 2 I would expect a minimum of a full time music graduate with decent track record of entering students for exam.

Btw, you have not replied to my PM.

[Neosan60]

my ds2 is having psle nxt year and i am not sure if his weekly piano lesson should be discontinued and then continued after psle. i am thinking of continuing, until he is unable to cope with work load. will need advice when the time comes, just that i know a hiatus period is not good, plus ds2 is very good at piano. but to me, exam comes first.

[pirate]

I would think that would depend on whether he considers piano lessons and practice a break from studying. It’s not exactly healthy to be studying all the time, right?

[Dreamaurora]

Neosan60:

my ds2 is having psle nxt year and i am not sure if his weekly piano lesson should be discontinued and then continued after psle. i am thinking of continuing, until he is unable to cope with work load. will need advice when the time comes, just that i know a hiatus period is not good, plus ds2 is very good at piano. but to me, exam comes first.

Personally I would not advise stopping piano as your son may lose the momentum, though I think it is okay to take a break for up to two months during exam period. I had a student last time who took her grade 7 in her sec 4 O level year and managed to do well for both her piano without affecting her O preparation. Of course, if you are a bit apprehensive, you could perhaps reduce the frequency of lessons to once every 2 weeks and stop participation in exams or major concerts. But try to maintain a practice schedule; I'm sure your son would appreciate that he has something different to do every day other than studying for exam.

[jce]

Agree, momentum and discipline that has been built up need to continue otherwise it will be difficult to get back into the swing after a long break. It can be less intense, playing pieces that he’d enjoy, may it be pop, classical or jazz, or if he enjoys the technical exercises then go ahead, practice that (yes, I do know of those who enjoy technical exercises more than pieces!). Whatever it is, the practice will serve as an avenue for him to take a break, enjoy and do something else apart from revision.

[waiyean]

metz:

waiyean:

I did consider, but thought the age requirement for NAFA is 6. Do they audition kids who are 4+, turning 5? I posted some questions over the NAFA thread, but hasn't gotten any response so far.

Have you checked out nafa's website? For violin, minimum age requirement is 4 years old; for piano, it is 5. The next audition could be near oct/nov. When I last enquired, it was in Nov. Try calling them for more info.

Did you comb through the Nafa thread? A poster shed some light on the audition for those younger than 6.

Okay... my girl finally turned 5 a few months back, and I had made the decision to send her to NAFA starting next year.

Question is, how to break the news to her current teacher/school? Her current teacher is great, and my DD has been with the school since she was a baby. Sigh...

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Okay... my girl finally turned 5 a few months back, and I had made the decision to send her to NAFA starting next year.

Question is, how to break the news to her current teacher/school? Her current teacher is great, and my DD has been with the school since she was a baby. Sigh...

I would be honest to her current teacher. Any good teacher would invest considerable time and effort to teach a student; it is not just a mere business transaction. There are at least a couple instances over the years that parents just suddenly stopped the lessons with me via SMS citing lame reasons such as 'distance too far', 'schedule not convenient'. I tried to contact them again but attempts to contact them are ignored. I understand that sometimes a change of teacher is needed for various reasons, but I think at the very least parents should respect the efforts that teachers have put in into their children even if there are imperfections or flaws. Any good teachers have their students' best interests at heart and they will not actually mind if students change teacher because they aspire higher, but they do deserve to know the truth rather than being excommunicated from the students.

It really hurts when I teach a student with all my heart and then suddenly one day the student just disappear without any sufficient explanation. If there is any issues with my teaching whatsoever, I would actually more than happy to listen to feedbacks and try to adjust my teaching. That is why when parents enquire lessons with me because of unhappiness with current teacher, I always ask them to feedback and work out a solution with current teacher first instead of hastily looking for another teacher.