All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[corneyAmber]

Hi Happymum,


I teach 1-1. For group lessons, parents are required to form a group before coming to me.

Snowz, What kind of gr 5 score? Grade 5 sight reading books or exam pieces standard?

What is the quality of sight reading? With details like articulations, dynamics and style?

[piano_lessons]

ctct61t:

gajidouma:

Hi pianojazzy


Could you give some advice on... my child has been following Yamaha school programmes.. learning keyboard and piano... if I get her a 1-to-1 private piano tuitor, do I still let her continue with Yamaha lesson at the same time? Is engaging a private tuitor alone good enough?

In what age or what grade/level do you think would be more appropriate for a child to have private tution instead of group learning?

Base on my experience, the child is more suitable for taking 1-to-1 piano course over 5.5 years old, except the child got special interested in playing piano, otherwise parents will spend more effort on it.

If you take 1-to-1 private piano tuitor, the yamaha's keyboard learning is no need to be continued, but yamaha's music learning and playing is more fun compare to 1-to-1 piano learning.

I would say that it's all depends on the children themselves. You cannot generalise. For those who \"can sit\" perhaps 5.5 years old. But for those who are very active perhaps staying longer in group music is a better idea. And if you have the means, you can do both group and private lessons for your children.

Regards

[metz]

Another consideration I learnt is the finger strength. If a 4 year old (or younger) has strong fingers, it’s likely to be easier for him/her to learn piano.

[piano_lessons]

chamonix:

Another consideration I learnt is the finger strength. If a 4 year old (or younger) has strong fingers, it's likely to be easier for him/her to learn piano.

Yes, most piano lessons for younger children are using keyboard, which is light to press.
In fact, forcing him to play on acoustic piano on such young age can be detrimental. It may affect his touch and basic playing technique, like stiff or flat finger.

Regards,

[devina]

Since my daughter was 2, we found her very attuned to music. She can hum pop songs we hear on the radio barely after hearing it for more than 3 times. So when she turned 3, we signed her up for Music Wonderland with Yamaha Music School and she’s still there now, currently on book 2 and will be 5 years old this year.


While she is on book 1, we found that she lagged behind others in class because we don’t have any piano/keyboard at home so we decided to buy one.

Since buying the piano, she plays almost everyday. Although in class, teacher emphasise on team playing with parents, she tries to play the songs by herself using both hands. She can also sight-read C major scale notes 80% of the time.

I’m still not sure if she is really talented in music, but I’m wondering is there anything more that I can do as a parent to nurture her interest and find out if she is really talented.

Can anyone advise me on this?

[corneyAmber]

I would suggest to start her on 1-1. So that the teacher can focus what she is weak at and bring out her strong points instead of following everyone’s pace in a group. But of cos u can still put her in yamaha class for music appreciation.

[metz]

happymom:

Hi, Has anyone heard of this music school called Music for young children http://www.mycsingapore.com.sg/myc%20program.htm Their program introduce music composition for their students even for 3-4 yrs old kid, seem interesting, wonder at such young age, can they really compose music? Parents & teachers, appreciate comments about this school, program & teacher, good or bad comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

My gal attended the MYC Sunshine I program briefly. Overall, I would say the program is engaging and will aid in laying a strong foundation in the music learning journey. Teacher Angela has also been a wonderful teacher for us. But bear in mind, she does expect active involvement and diligence from both parents & kids.

Just a few personal thoughts on the Sunshine I program.

- Though engaging, I find the lessons rather repetitive for my gal and myself. (The other parents have no issue with the pace of the program).

- Home practices are strongly encouraged on a regular basis. (there's an activity bk to detail your practices weekly). Besides, active parental involvement in craftwork is also expected. This part is rather grueling for me. Lazy mommy

- Although the program attempts to introduce advance stuffs like difficult musical terms (piano, crescendo etc), crotchet and minim are taught as 'hop' and 'turtle' instead. That really amuses me.

- Although kids practice on digital pianos/keyboards, they are to use fingers 2, 3, & 4 to play the keys. On top of that, they are not taught to play with their fingers curled in the proper way. (The reason given is that young kids do not have the strength yet to play the keys in the proper way.) Well, I'm just uncomfortable with that.


Other than that, I feel the Sunshine program is great for young kids and parents (esp if they do not have any music knowledge). If your gal is turning 4 years old soon, you might want to check with MYC if it's possible to place her in Sunshine II instead of Sunshine I.

[piano_lessons]

devina:

Since my daughter was 2, we found her very attuned to music. She can hum pop songs we hear on the radio barely after hearing it for more than 3 times. So when she turned 3, we signed her up for Music Wonderland with Yamaha Music School and she's still there now, currently on book 2 and will be 5 years old this year.


While she is on book 1, we found that she lagged behind others in class because we don't have any piano/keyboard at home so we decided to buy one.

Since buying the piano, she plays almost everyday. Although in class, teacher emphasise on team playing with parents, she tries to play the songs by herself using both hands. She can also sight-read C major scale notes 80% of the time.

I'm still not sure if she is really talented in music, but I'm wondering is there anything more that I can do as a parent to nurture her interest and find out if she is really talented.

Can anyone advise me on this?

Yes, I agree with pianojazzy to a certain extent. In my personal opinion, if you have the means , give her chance to both private and group lessons, if not keep her in group lesson, it's more fun and thus keeping her interest in music. Private piano lessons can be mundane to some children (this depends on the teacher also)

It is very uncertain and difficult to gauge how musically inclined she is at a very young age. But I can see that she is very interested in music.

My advice is to introduce to her a few more advanced classical songs, like turkish march, fur elise (not hard core classical yet), see whether she likes and enjoys it.
Regards,

[piano_lessons]

chamonix:

Hi,


My gal attended the MYC Sunshine I program briefly. Overall, I would say the program is engaging and will aid in laying a strong foundation in the music learning journey. Teacher Angela has also been a wonderful teacher for us. But bear in mind, she does expect active involvement and diligence from both parents & kids.

Just a few personal thoughts on the Sunshine I program.

- Though engaging, I find the lessons rather repetitive for my gal and myself. (The other parents have no issue with the pace of the program).

- Home practices are strongly encouraged on a regular basis. (there's an activity bk to detail your practices weekly). Besides, active parental involvement in craftwork is also expected. This part is rather grueling for me. Lazy mommy

- Although the program attempts to introduce advance stuffs like difficult musical terms (piano, crescendo etc), crotchet and minim are taught as 'hop' and 'turtle' instead. That really amuses me.

- Although kids practice on digital pianos/keyboards, they are to use fingers 2, 3, & 4 to play the keys. On top of that, they are not taught to play with their fingers curled in the proper way. (The reason given is that young kids do not have the strength yet to play the keys in the proper way.) Well, I'm just uncomfortable with that.


Other than that, I feel the Sunshine program is great for young kids and parents (esp if they do not have any music knowledge). If your gal is turning 4 years old soon, you might want to check with MYC if it's possible to place her in Sunshine II instead of Sunshine I.

Personally I feel that young children should use keyboard, just like what yamaha do (they use electone). Habit of playing with flat finger is not recommended for higher playing and can be very difficult to change later on.

[metz]

Hi devina,


My son started with JMC at 4 years old. However, half way through Book 2, I felt the pace was kinda slow for us. As such, we quitted the course. He started on 1-1 lessons around oct last year (5+) and is progressing well. We are very happy with his teacher as she introduces interesting songs for him to learn (He started with Lina Ng Piano Lessons Made Easy bk 1 but it wasn’t very engaging for him. Now, he’s using 2 different books concurrently - John Thompson & Lelia Fletcher).

If you can find a good piano teacher that can connect with your daughter, it would be good for her music development. Check with the potential piano teacher his or her teaching styles, and if there’s any solfege/pitch training, the kind of books that will be introduced to sustain interests etc. Also, share with them your requirements /expectations.

Good luck!