All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[ngl2010]

Dreamaurora:

ngl2010:

My son has been with his current Grade 8 teacher since the starting time he plays piano. So, changing teacher will be a very scary experience for him and me. We are so used to the current teacher's style. However, life must go on...

What do you think about learning Jazz Piano? Is it something less stressful than taking diploma? I just want him to enjoy playing piano. Use it for relaxation. He likes jazz pieces better than classical pieces.

Jazz piano at a high level is equally as demanding as classical piano. I have a friend who converts from classical to jazz and he said he practices around 3-4 hours a day. A lot of time are spent practicing patterns and vamps in all different keys; improvisation contrary to popular belief is not making things up on the spot.

But for your son, a little bit of jazz may provide a nice detour and improve his breadth of understanding. A lot of complaints are leveraged against classical learners for not being able to play more recent repertoire well. I have seen many ABRSM piano students unable to capture the mood and essence of jazz piano pieces if they choose to play one for their exams. Basic to intermediate jazz are quite easy if your son has strong theory background so definitely no harm picking it up.

If your son loves playing jazz pieces, have him look at some of the printed jazz pieces/standards available for classical piano learners. Some of the popular ones include Gershwin's Preludes and his song transcriptions, Confrey's Kitten on the Keys, Waller's Alligator Crawl, Kapustin's compositions, etc. On the easier side have various pieces by Christopher Norton, Pam Wedgwood, Bill Evans, and Mike Cornick.

Thank you for the advice. My son had played a few of Gershwin's pieces and he enjoyed it

I will ask him to try the pieces you mentioned above. Thank you.
:thankyou:

[ngl2010]

What teacher’s qualifications should I look for if my son wants to learn jazz piano?


Is there any centre specializing in jazz?

[jce]

There’s Jazz Piano School @ Selegie; Yamaha offers pop/jazz courses and also Northwood. Or freelance jazz pianists who teach improvisation.

[ngl2010]

jce:

There's Jazz Piano School @ Selegie; Yamaha offers pop/jazz courses and also Northwood. Or freelance jazz pianists who teach improvisation.

Thank you, jce. We will take a look at these centres. We hope we can get a good teacher

[peanut_butter]

Can try ypur luck at PlayByEar at Buggis too. They specialise in pop n Jazz and have a structured way to teach. But you may be put on a waiting list if you want an evening slot.

[Rossae]

Hello. I’m a piano teacher who have been a sales person at PianoMaster which sells Hailun pianos exclusively. I live around Yio Chu Kang/Seng Kang/ Serangoon area. Have taught students aged 6-46 years old.


I have came across many students coming to the piano shop to try the pianos and there is usually a distinct difference between music school students and private teacher students. Many music schools that I know of employ teachers that are not even 18, and are not local, meaning they are from Malaysia, Indonesia etc.

Music School students whether it is a 1 to 1 or group session the students lack actual sight reading skills and the curvature of the fingers are more often than not wrong. They are flat and musical expression is not fully explored to their full potential. On the other hand, students who have experience with good private teachers have the correct hand posture and musical expression is often much better.

I went for 2 years of music school at yamaha when i was 5,6 years old before converting to private teachers and deeply regretted not changing earlier or even starting with private teachers. There were many wrong things taught and there not much focus on individual performance and development.

Contact me through pm if you would like a walk through for pianos and private piano teacher Vs Music school.

[Rossae]

Hello, I’m a female piano teacher living in Yio Chu Kang/ Seng kang area. Will be available to go for house visits. Have experience teaching 6-46 years old. Currently teaching adults as well. Hold a Diploma in London College of Music.


Will be glad to give you more details, feel free to contact me at 91706853.

[peanut_butter]

123qwesz:

Do visit my site at http://www.gabrielyeong.com

Thanks for the candy crush tips.

[waiyean]

Rossae:

Music School students whether it is a 1 to 1 or group session the students lack actual sight reading skills and the curvature of the fingers are more often than not wrong. They are flat and musical expression is not fully explored to their full potential.

Wow, that's a rather sweeping statement. Can that be said of all students, or only to music school students?[quote]On the other hand, students who have experience with good private teachers have the correct hand posture and musical expression is often much better.[/quote]So, does most students with private teachers have good teachers?
Your message seems to imply that students with private teachers are superior than music school students. You may or may not be right, but I'm not sure you can generalize that from your observation of students who tries out Hailun pianos at PianoMaster.

[phankao]

waiyean:

Rossae:

Music School students whether it is a 1 to 1 or group session the students lack actual sight reading skills and the curvature of the fingers are more often than not wrong. They are flat and musical expression is not fully explored to their full potential.

Wow, that's a rather sweeping statement. Can that be said of all students, or only to music school students?[quote]On the other hand, students who have experience with good private teachers have the correct hand posture and musical expression is often much better.

So, does most students with private teachers have good teachers?
Your message seems to imply that students with private teachers are superior than music school students. You may or may not be right, but I'm not sure you can generalize that from your observation of students who tries out Hailun pianos at PianoMaster.[/quote]I'm very sure that my son's teacher from a music school is very good if not better than some private teachers. Likewise, I'm very sure that my other children's private teachers are good too!

I'm sure I'm a good judge of teachers with my experience too.