Dreamaurora:

Unfortunately, the way many teachers teach are still very much pedantic i.e. exam repertoire focused. I do have to commend ABRSM and the other exam boards for including a more balanced and varied repertoire choice for their exam lists, but not many teachers are willing to teach outside their comfort zone e.g. I know of quite a few piano teachers who avoid assigning jazz pieces for their students. There is also a lack of appreciation and critical thinking of repertoire being learned. I have given masterclasses a few times now and common questions I always ask participating students is if they are aware the meaning of the titles of their pieces or the mood/character/story the pieces trying to convey. I can say roughly 95% of students could not answer these questions. So unfortunately, rote learning is still very prevalent among many teachers here and while undoubtedly some students will still be attracted to classical music, more students will find the process of acquiring repertoire dry and uninteresting.

Hi Dreamaurora,

Thanks for sharing. I'm quite surprised that rote learning has become so prevalent (even in music) compared to let's say 30 to 40 years back, where probably there is less awareness that rote is the way to succeed in our education system, less competitive pressures and therefore the existence of more spontaneity. Rote is definitely not the way to produce critical and creative thinkers.

Hi everyone, a little late in joining this thread. I have learnt both the piano and violin. The piano is easy to learn, but hard to master. The violin is hard to learn, but easy to master.


There is no perfect instrument to start with, and while music does have patterns like sequences, inversions and transpositions, let us remember that music is not a science comprised of just logical patterns, but an art which requires understanding and expressing emotions from the heart and intention of the composer, to translating them via psychomotor skills on the instrument. Just note prolonged exposure to violin practise may but not necessarily lead to injuries to the neck, shoulder and back, but don’t let this deter you from letting your child learn the violin if his/her interest is there as there are ways to prevent them. Would you stop your child from using the computer because it leads to injuries from prolonged use?

There is an abundance of "classical music for babies" and "Mozart for babies" CDs out there, most of which claim it improves the learning of infants. Most of the pieces are from the classical era (1750-1820) with a slight mix of impressionist pieces of Debussy. The rhythmic patterns such as those above and the more complex structure (compared to rock and pop) may possibly lead to improved logical and spatial reasoning. Many parents have rushed to drown their babies in such music because their friends told them to, blocking out other possible music training and appreciation.

I think a broader exposure to music is more important at an early age. Include other genres - jazz, the more expressive music from the Romantic era, and modern day pop, rock and R&B which have a greater emphasis on rhythm and dance. There is nothing wrong with disliking the piano and violin. We should perhaps aim to help the child discover his or her interest!