All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers
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sacredmusicals:
Wow. That is one insane background. You are either very talented or very determined. Respect.[/quote] :rotflmao: Well, musicians have to be a little mad right? In any case, I don't think I am talented lah. I still have long way to go, my musical journey is just starting.
I am actually a 1st gen PR, so I did not serve NS. I started learning piano for fun when I was studying Multimedia in Polytechnic when I was 17. I paid for lessons in a music school that shall remain nameless, because the teachers were mediocre so I ended up self-teaching myself most of the time. By the time I was 18 I passed my grade 5 ABRSM and by 19 I passed my grade 7 ABRSM and grade 5 theory. I then attempted to take ATCL by myself (Yeah I know, I was mad and naive) within one year after passing my grade 7 and expectedly failed miserably.Dreamaurora:
[quote=\"sacredmusicals\"]To dreamaurora, I am just curious. If you said you entered NAFA at 22, that means it is 5 years after you started learning piano. After minus 2 years ns, so that leaves you with 3 years of piano study before NAFA. How did you manage to get your grade 8 within such a short time?
Oh by the way, your piano trios are nice. You should compose more of that stuff, can sell to mediacorps.
I then sort of slowed down for 2 years after I graduated from Polytechnic because I needed to work full time to earn a living. But then I decided that I wanted to make music my life and applied for NAFA. I did not have grade 8 then because of my foolish ATCL adventure but I explained my situation to NAFA and they let me audition. After a 2nd audition (they asked me to reaudition because they were not sure the first time). They accepted me but I had to pay the full course fee because I was not good enough to get any grant. It was then in my first year NAFA that I finally took and passed my grade 8 ABRSM.
I hope this explains everything. I am really grateful to NAFA for taking a chance in me. A lot of people already wrote me off even before I started NAFA. Not easy being adult beginner in piano and then trying to become a full time musician. And thank you for your compliments about the trios. -
My dd is learning grade 5 piano now. Really appreciate it if any parent could kindly recommend a gd piano teacher for her. We stay in Simei. Pls pm me. Thank you very much.
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peanut_butter:
When I was learning piano, my teacher who had Lrsm teaching charged me 10 $ per grade per 45 minute lessons at her house. Grade 1 will be 10$ and grade 8 will be 80$. But this fee she charged quite some time back and I guess should be more expensive now.Hi Dreamaurora, Out of curiosity, is the piano fee suppose to be lower in Western SIngapore? At $25/h for grade 1, it’s much cheaper than the budget music centers here.
Thanks.
looking at the fee that teachers like dreamaurora charges now, I do not know whether it is a good or bad thing. Good in a sense now that parents do not need to spend a bomb for decent lessons by qualified teachers, but bad for the teachers in general because the fee will keep going down and the career will be less attractive financially. -
sacredmusicals:
In the early 70s, my used exam-standard piano was S$400. Explains the fees teachers charge many years ago?
When I was learning piano, my teacher who had Lrsm teaching charged me 10 $ per grade per 45 minute lessons at her house. Grade 1 will be 10$ and grade 8 will be 80$. But this fee she charged quite some time back and I guess should be more expensive now.. -
There is a wide spectrum of charges. All boils down to qualification, experience. A music degree from a renowned conservatoire will be different from a mediocre conservatoire and again different from a university, established and the newbies.
Apart from these, the teacher plays a part too. Some are “thick-skin” enough to charge more than what they are worth… -
jce:
True, but dremaurora undoubtedly undercharge for his credential. And he actually put down his charges in black and white at his website. As far as i know, very few private teacher does this. I am afraid this will set a precedent because potential students may use his chart as an indication for current market rate.There is a wide spectrum of charges. All boils down to qualification, experience. A music degree from a renowned conservatoire will be different from a mediocre conservatoire and again different from a university, established and the newbies.
Apart from these, the teacher plays a part too. Some are \"thick-skin\" enough to charge more than what they are worth... -
Dreamaurora:
Your route taken to where you are today is indeed a respectful one. I applaud your determination and admired your deep love for music. Wen Bin is one of your trios.
Not easy being adult beginner in piano and then trying to become a full time musician. And thank you for your compliments about the trios. -
sacredmusicals:
True, but dremaurora undoubtedly undercharge for his credential. And he actually put down his charges in black and white at his website. As far as i know, very few private teacher does this. I am afraid this will set a precedent because potential students may use his chart as an indication for current market rate.
His studio will be packed within a year. Potential students have to seek elsewhere. They will realise the market rate is much higher. -
dasalo:
Wen Bin played the cello for my composition. He was quite an excellent cellist. We did wish we had more time to rehearse the trios (we last minute inserted the first trio), that was why the performance you see in the Youtube was quite rough. I also played trio with another two excellent string players in NAFA, Wendy Lim and Minjin. I had quite a few memorable performances in NAFA, but too bad I did not record them down. :sad:
Your route taken to where you are today is indeed a respectful one. I applaud your determination and admired your deep love for music. Wen Bin is one of your trios.Dreamaurora:
Not easy being adult beginner in piano and then trying to become a full time musician. And thank you for your compliments about the trios.
Anyway, thanks. Last time I got quite depressed because everything seemed so difficult for me. But I guess it made me appreciate music more. Maybe in hindsight starting late is actually an advantage. -
looking for piano teacher for my 2 kids (learning grd 2), staying in Seng Kang, prefer Sat morning. pls Pm me, thank you very much.