NAFA School of Young Talents - Discussion

[dennisl]

Hi Appletree, Is there any way you use to motivate you child to practice 2 to 3 hrs of piano everyday ? That sounds a big commitment of time for you and your son. I have problem in asking my daughter to even practice one hr per day…

[metz]

For those who are interested in the Nafa Gifted Young Pianists course, kindly note the following dates -


Audition date : 22nd November

Registration: 2nd to 13th November

Although the program is designed for 6 - 8 years old, they do encourage kids above 5 years old to try for the audition. For this program, (as I have been told by Nafa), the child is expected to take ABRSM exam grade 1 in P1, grade 3 in P2 and grade 5 in P3. So, if you find your child musical and loves playing piano, you might want to consider the Nafa program for him/her. But do bear in mind, discipline and hard work (from both parent and child) come as a requirement for this program.

[metz]

Hi Picolo,


I totally agree with Pianojazzy. There's no hard and fast rules on the progress.

If the child is naturally talented in music, the progress can be as fast as a bullet train. My kids' piano teacher has such a musically gifted student. He did grade 1 exam last year, grade 3 exam this year and is preparing to take grade 5 exam next year. He's a P1 student. Though the mother was advised to enroll the child in Nafa, she refused. She cited that the course would be too demanding on her child and may kill the interest instead. (But looks like he's progressing much faster than what Nafa program offers.)

On the whole, my piano teacher does not support grade skipping unless the kid shows extreme giftedness. She has encountered students who skipped grades but the skill in playing is totally lacking.

One thing to note is that some students might have skipped the exams but not the piano grades. Meaning the child may cover all the skills and practices for the various grades but may not necessary take all the grade exams. For instance, I have been advised by a friend to let my kids learn without taking exams. If necessary, I should just send them for grade 5 exam when they are ready. And there are others who did grade 1 exam, covered grade 2 but skipped exam and took grade 3 exam on the third year etc (pianojazzy mentioned this sometime ago) .
[quote]However, I know of 2 parents with other piano teachers who commented that their kids are only learning piano for about 1 - 1.5 years and they are already attempting Gr 2 - 3 exams pieces. To these parents, Gr 1 and 2 are too easy and kids should progress faster. [/quote]A few possibilities...

- the kids are musical and hardworking
- very hands-on parents with good music background
- erm, according to my kids' piano teacher, there are some students that do only exam pieces.
[quote]I know of another parent whom daughter has been in Yahama for many years (about 4 yr?) and only did Gr 1 this year. According to her, Yahama believes that every grade is impt and they do not encourage skipping graded exams. [/quote]Let me guess, her daughter did the Yamaha Junior Course? This course touches more on music appreciation and electrone and lasts for 4 years. Perhaps that's why she did grade 1 exam only after so many years.

[metz]

Picolo:

. My son has been learning to play piano for 2 years and recently got a distinction in ABRSM Gr 1.

Congratulations! :celebrate:

[clarabella]

Just to add on to the SYT discussion. The expectation is that the internal/external exams must be passed with flying colours. Otherwise your child can bid farewell to his place in the course.

Also, for piano, if your child has already been taught to ‘tap’, it will aid in the audition.

From what I have observed, many kids who have been well trained in techniques can still get in even if they are not endowed with mind-boggling talent. But many of them will struggle mightily to cope with the expectations. Those who have true talent will find it easier, naturally.

Lastly, there are kids who can reach Grade 3 by the end of K2, if they get in the program by the time they are in K1.

[Picolo]

chamonix:

Picolo:

. My son has been learning to play piano for 2 years and recently got a distinction in ABRSM Gr 1.

Congratulations! :celebrate:

Thanks, chamonix. It is a morale booster to him and now he has less resistence to practise piano. He enjoys piano practice more after he got the results, though he still prefers spending hours on reading and science everyday...

Thanks to pianojazzy, AppleTree and chamonix for your insights. Sorry to AppleTree cos I kind of hijack your thread...

pianojazzy:

Hi Picolo,

Dun be too confused. All these are very common. It depends on individual. I have students who can play gr 4 exam pieces at the age of 5. But i also have students who learnt of 3 yrs but yet to take exams.

What determine these is the child's attitude, parental support, amount of practise and lastly talent.

Look at my child,

1) the child's attitude - DS1 has good attitude and he is a fast learner. However, for him, piano is not in his priority list.

2) parental support - I need a lot of pushing from the piano teacher too, so, I am also not the conscientious type of parent who will make sure that my kid practise everyday.

3) amount of practice - in comparison to others, DS1 hardly practise...

4) lastly, talent- nil.

DS1 does not mind learning piano so long as it does not take up too much of his time, ie. more than 3 hours a week. I am ok with it so long as he can meet the teacher's expectations with little practice. When I feel kancheong, I make him practise more

Thanks to AppleTree and chamonix for explaining to me in details.
[quote][quote][quote]However, I know of 2 parents with other piano teachers who commented that their kids are only learning piano for about 1 - 1.5 years and they are already attempting Gr 2 - 3 exams pieces. To these parents, Gr 1 and 2 are too easy and kids should progress faster. [/quote]A few possibilities...

- the kids are musical and hardworking
- very hands-on parents with good music background
- erm, according to my kids' piano teacher, there are some students that do only exam pieces. [/quote]

chamonix:

Chamonix, one of them is very talented (as commented by a NAFA teacher) and the mother can afford to spend at least 2 hours practising with the boy. Though the mother has no music background, she is able to guide her boy very well.

The other kid is a fast learner, and good in academic results and gymnastics, but I don't know her and her family well enough to comment on the rest of the points.
[quote]Let me guess, her daughter did the Yamaha Junior Course? This course touches more on music appreciation and electrone and lasts for 4 years. Perhaps that's why she did grade 1 exam only after so many years.

[/quote][/quote]

Yes you are right :lol: If I have to spend 4 years on a junior course, my interest would sure dwindle.

[AppleTree]

Hi Dennisl, going back to your question about how I managed to make my son practices for so many hours a day… I think mainly its because of the work assigned by his teacher. His teacher will tell us which songs to practise during the week and how many times each day. So by the time all is done, it will be 2/3hours. But this is including the time he gets down to have a drink, go washroom etc… But in general, it will be a good 1 and 1/2hours on the piano. …Kids are very smart and are usually "afraid" of their teacher. They will usually do what they teacher tell them. Maybe you can sync up with the teacher on this, and let her tell your child his/her homework.

[dennisl]

Thanks Appletree ! Last week I saw a TV program with 2 NAFA SYT students playing piano and violin. The boy who plays piano is 9 yrs old and the girl who plays violin is 8 yrs old I think. The host asked the boy how much time he practices the piano daily, the boys said 2 to 4 hours per day :shock: . Sounds this is like the norm in NAFA SYT.... and you really have to pay the price to excel in a musical instrument.

[AppleTree]

Hi Dennisl, I can't help but agree with you (despite the fact that I am getting tired of sitting in front of the piano already ) ... But even for an amateur like me, I can see the difference in his playing skills and improvement. So I will continue to hang in there for now...

[watmekiasu]

What I find most amazing is how these kids manage to find and concentrate for 2 - 4 hours on one activity, each day. My dd practices for about 1 hr, 3-4 times a week and even those 1 hr practices are filled with 101 interruptions in between. It’s a good thing she has finished her Grade 8 exam cos I can’t imagine what it would be like when the school ratches it up from P4 onwards.