my ds hardly seems to have any school work. Any idea how he should prepare for midyear exams? He’s in IP so not sure if getting question papers is relevant.

jce:

Electone style of playing is different from piano. There's much more in terms of tone production on the piano. Electone is more on the pop side. Learning both is not impossible but can be confusing. I had a student who came to me after years of electone and she had major problems with tone production and hand position. In the end, she managed to get over these but it did take a while.

Thanks jce. very useful to know this.

radiantmum:

RiaDell:

[quote=\"radiantmum\"]Yamaha teaches electone n provides electone accreditation.

thank you radiantmum and jce. Looks like with electone , yamaha it is.
How can you assess a child's aptitude electone or piano?Piano, no doubt, is a great instrument but i think my dd prefers electone.will it be wise to switch to piano? can she learn both? Any pointers for a clueless mom bearing in mind that getting the cert is something to get at her pace and there's no rush.

yes 'cos electone is yamaha's trademark. it's like orchestra playing by 1 person. go youtube and type electone to get a feel. Yamaha does invite international electone players (of course mostly Japanese) regularly here for concerts - you can check out their website.

most kids prefer electone 'cos of the wide range of sound varierty. electone lessons (from my DS experience) other than your standard piano ABRSM theory, sight reading, focuses a lot on improvisation and music arrangements. if your kid has a good hearing, it helps a great deal 'cos \"mixing & matching\" music will come more naturally to them.

as jce mentioned, techniques are different. piano focuses on touch. electone requires overall co-ordination ie both hands (play and to control rthymms etc) and legs (control expression pedals, vol etc) and emphasize on musical showmanship/expression. if u r looking at music producer kinda quality, I think electone players will have an edge 'cos of improvisation and arrangements capabilities.

piano is of course more mainstream. my kiasu mentality kept prodding DS to pick up piano concurrently - easier to earn own pocket money than electone :evil: not everyone has electone but piano is common in public places (at least you dont get empty looks when you say you learning electone). alas, he just cant sit still in front of the piano and till now still not keen to pick it up. no choice - can't force a cow to drink water.

I remembered asking the teacher then btw electone and piano, which will be better to start first. Was told piano will be better to pick up when the kids have finger strength later. and looking at the co-ordination level required of electone, if I would to choose again, I would still choose electone first then piano - - personal view of a parent only and not professional so dont stone me.

my ds yamaha teachers are all versatile and teaching in both electone and piano. so it is definitely possible to learn both but i suppose it's like with picking up any new instrument, you need to re-adapt and learn but definitely way easier than someone whom is not musically trained in the first place for sure. teachers are also important to get the fundamentals right ie fingering posture etc be it piano or electone.

I don't know how long the transition from electone to piano though. I thought i remembered his teacher told me 6 months if qualified electone player but pls dont trust my memory - may not do the teacher justice. jce, can advise from your experience?[/quote]thanks much for your insights radiantmum. I wanted a parent's perspective :=)) my dd is more like your son in terms of temperament. I think i must stick to electone. What level and age is your ds at? Is he doing a 1 to 1 or group lesson?

radiantmum:

Yamaha teaches electone n provides electone accreditation.

thank you radiantmum and jce. Looks like with electone , yamaha it is.
How can you assess a child's aptitude electone or piano?Piano, no doubt, is a great instrument but i think my dd prefers electone.will it be wise to switch to piano? can she learn both? Any pointers for a clueless mom bearing in mind that getting the cert is something to get at her pace and there's no rush.

There seem to be so many piano tutors around but no one teaching keyboard / electone. Can anyone recommend a place or a private tutor that can teach /prepare my 7 yo DD for ABRSM exams. :thankyou:

thankyou