All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[Dreamaurora]

sonsheep:

Thank you, peanut_butter.

I saw a few contacts from the list, but hesitated calling them... sigh. Mayb don't have courage for trial & error..
BTW have you tried engaging any teacher from the website before?

I know a few people who are SMTA members and they are pretty good teachers (they do not take in kids though so can't help you with that), but do take note that SMTA only assess the qualifications of the teachers and not actual teaching experience or capability of the teachers.

Unless you have friends among your circles who engage any of these teachers, you will have to trial and error if you want a really quality teacher. My suggestion would be to pay for a trial lesson or ask if you can sit in another student's lesson.

[Joann]

Hi,

Any recommendation for piano teacher who has proven track record and can teach children as young as 4 years old? We are stayin in east. Looking for one who can travel to our place, preferrably weekday around 4pm.pls kindly pm or sms me at 83283673. TIA.

[sonsheep]

Thanks Dreamaurora for replying.

BTW what is SMTA? (Pardon me…)
My elder boy went thru the YAMAHA JMC and now he’s in the ABRSM track.
i thought of giving younger boy a different experience/track, that’s why i’m keen to try out the Suzuki method. Actually i kind of like the YAMAHA method too, but sadly as he’s 6 this year, he’s too ‘old’ for JMC…

[ElleanaLiu]

Hi, I am a piano teacher with lots of experience and have my developed my own unique teaching methods that will definitely help all students with their progress. I have taught in music schools and my students have won the top student award. It is hard to tell if a teacher is good based on just conversations. Do contact me, Elleana at 96348538 so we can discuss and arrange for a paid trial lesson. I am sure that once your children have gone through the lessons, they will know the difference.

[Zzprincess]

hi, my daughter is 6yr old this year, and she is learning keyboard at yamaha music school. i would like to start her on individual lesson, however is it possible to start with keyboard as we do not have piano at home. How much are the lessons, can pm me at [email protected].


Thanks.

[Zzprincess]

hi, my daughter is 6yr old this year, and she is learning keyboard at yamaha music school. i would like to start her on individual lesson, however is it possible to start with keyboard as we do not have piano at home. How much are the lessons, can pm me at [email protected].


Thanks.

[Zzprincess]

hi, my daughter is 6yr old this year, and she is learning keyboard at yamaha music school. i would like to start her on individual lesson, however is it possible to start with keyboard as we do not have piano at home. How much are the lessons, can pm me at [email protected].


Thanks.

[Zzprincess]

hi, my daughter is 6yr old this year, and she is learning keyboard at yamaha music school. i would like to start her on individual lesson, however is it possible to start with keyboard as we do not have piano at home. How much are the lessons, can pm me at [email protected].


Thanks.

[Dreamaurora]

Zzprincess:

hi, my daughter is 6yr old this year, and she is learning keyboard at yamaha music school. i would like to start her on individual lesson, however is it possible to start with keyboard as we do not have piano at home. How much are the lessons, can pm me at [email protected].


Thanks.

I would recommend you save up money for a piano first and then go for piano lessons, or alternatively you can rent piano studios at music schools at hourly basis if you are not willing to commit. Digital piano is also a viable solution nowadays and you can get a decent one for $1K+.

Market rate for beginner lessons nowadays range from $25 - $60 per lesson (conducted at teacher's place) depending on the qualification and track record of the teacher. The more established and with proven track record may be more expensive, but generally students under them learn faster so you may actually save money in the long run. Cheaper and travelling ones tend to be new graduates or part time teachers, however you may luck out and get a good one but in general they are more average.

[Dreamaurora]

sonsheep:

Thanks Dreamaurora for replying.

BTW what is SMTA? (Pardon me...)
My elder boy went thru the YAMAHA JMC and now he's in the ABRSM track.
i thought of giving younger boy a different experience/track, that's why i'm keen to try out the Suzuki method. Actually i kind of like the YAMAHA method too, but sadly as he's 6 this year, he's too 'old' for JMC...

SMTA is Singapore Music Teacher Association. As long a teacher has a diploma and above, he/she can pay a yearly fee to be a member of the Association.

Eventually if your younger boy is interested in classical piano, he will be more in less in traditional classical piano track such as ABRSM or Trinity. So in essence only the starting experience may differ from your older boy. Since your boy is already 6 years old, he should be able to recognise shapes easily now and can comfortably start immediately on the traditional note-reading route.

Anyway, I do not like to pigeon-hole learning into different tracks that seem to be independent of each other. I think ultimately a good piano education need to be well-rounded, that means a pianist need to have equal ability in all the necessary pianist aspects. So focusing only on Suzuki will lead to a student being unable to sight read effectively and consequently shutting out a large part of piano repertoire. Focusing only on note-reading and neglecting ear training will produce students who are excellent note readers but unable to pick up tunes and improvise on them.