All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers
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chamonix:
If you are able to find one that works well with your kids and charges reasonably, and you are happy with their progress, then there's no need to look elsewhere.sleepy:
String teachers are usually charging by the hour regardless of grade so I shall save that sort of fees for diploma, if my dd intends to pursue diploma. Quite doubtful though :evil:
I shall remain happy with my elder boy's SSO teacher whose charges have not changed much in the past 5 years that he's been under him - below S$100/hr. Furthermore it's now covered by grant. *Count Blessings*.... -
sweet jann:
I had engaged 'Yernying' i.e teacher Agnes last month. She's the 4th piano teacher for both my kids. All along, I'd based on the first teacher's assessment that my girl (10 yrs old) is in piano grade 4 and my boy (6 yrs old) is heading grade 1. I opted for a combination of exam cum 'play for fun' piano pieces but realised that the previous teachers focus much more on 'play for fun' piano teaching and teach them according to the piano level i.e grade 4 and 1 based on what I told them. However, was not comfortableyernying:
I am a female piano teacher stay in woodlands.I have Abrsm Diploma in teaching n performance,I had 12 years teaching experienced.I able travel to your house for the lesson.
Cos I had many grade8 students graduate soon,I hope to get some new students nearby my house to replace the slot.Welcome trial lesson too. anyone is interested,pls sms me at 90252089.thx
with the teaching style of 2nd and 3rd teacher as there's not much feedback and my kids seem to be heading without direction even though I know they are quite musically incline.
I was so glad that I had engaged 'Yernying' - Teacher Agnes as the moment she assess my kids, she told me that my girl can be prepared for Grade 6
and my boy Grade 2. My girl's theory is much lack of guidance by previous teachers and if she would have progress to a much
higher grade and better techniques if taught well. I was impressed by her
truthfulness and Agnes gave me a lot of information on piano direction for
children.
May I have Teacher Agnes contract no. SMS me at 97768210
Agnes played pieces very well and is interactive and feedback to me the first few sessions on pointers to guide my kids. She even showed me the different playing techniques that will produce different piano 'feel'. I love teacher who gives feedback coz then I know how to help my kids improve. She is the only one who fully utilize the metrometer. At times, she used her own tape recording to let my kids hear their playing. I was very impress by such effort.
Today, I heard her explaining to my boy the story of an exam piece, for him to understand on expression when playing. My boy was fascinated and this is the type of teacher I've been looking for as all these were never heard of from the previous teachers. Usually they will just tell me ok or need to practise more.
I believe my kids will excel under Agnes guidance as she is indeed dedicated, experience and communicate with parent. After experiencing 4 teachers, I have a good idea of what makes a good piano teacher. Would highly recommend Agnes. -
chamonix:
Oh, I thought the child doing diploma already.
Judging by the charges, the teacher must, of course, be of a different calibre from SSO performers. This kid is pretty talented, plays violin and piano, going for grade 8 for both next year and sings as well.
Alexander Souptel (SSO concertmaster) charges around that, if I'm not mistaken. So do most of the teachers at the Conservatory. The private studio that he teaches at - the other teachers also charge fairly high fees. Even the beginner teachers at that studio charge S$50/half hr. My youngest was there for a short while, but I was not comfortable with the teaching method and switched to a local suzuki-trained teacher which we are happy with. -
Hi
Can I teacher Agnes contract no.
Email me: xiaoguaiguaijnye@gmail.com -
Below are her profile (I copied this from her ‘advertisement’):-
Agnes - 90252089
Abrsm Diploma in teaching n performance
12 years teaching experienced.
Able travel to your house for the lesson.
Had taught many grade8 students graduate
Trial lesson welcome -
sweet jann:
I SMS her and she didn't reply my SMS.Below are her profile (I copied this from her 'advertisement'):-
Agnes - 90252089
Abrsm Diploma in teaching n performance
12 years teaching experienced.
Able travel to your house for the lesson.
Had taught many grade8 students graduate
Trial lesson welcome -
guaiguai:
[/quote]Maybe she's teaching piano now.
I had engaged 'Yernying' i.e teacher Agnes last month. She's the 4th piano teacher for both my kids. All along, I'd based on the first teacher's assessment that my girl (10 yrs old) is in piano grade 4 and my boy (6 yrs old) is heading grade 1. I opted for a combination of exam cum 'play for fun' piano pieces but realised that the previous teachers focus much more on 'play for fun' piano teaching and teach them according to the piano level i.e grade 4 and 1 based on what I told them. However, was not comfortablesweet jann:
[quote=\"yernying\"]I am a female piano teacher stay in woodlands.I have Abrsm Diploma in teaching n performance,I had 12 years teaching experienced.I able travel to your house for the lesson.
Cos I had many grade8 students graduate soon,I hope to get some new students nearby my house to replace the slot.Welcome trial lesson too. anyone is interested,pls sms me at 90252089.thx
with the teaching style of 2nd and 3rd teacher as there's not much feedback and my kids seem to be heading without direction even though I know they are quite musically incline.
I was so glad that I had engaged 'Yernying' - Teacher Agnes as the moment she assess my kids, she told me that my girl can be prepared for Grade 6
and my boy Grade 2. My girl's theory is much lack of guidance by previous teachers and if she would have progress to a much
higher grade and better techniques if taught well. I was impressed by her
truthfulness and Agnes gave me a lot of information on piano direction for
children.
May I have Teacher Agnes contract no. SMS me at 97768210
Agnes played pieces very well and is interactive and feedback to me the first few sessions on pointers to guide my kids. She even showed me the different playing techniques that will produce different piano 'feel'. I love teacher who gives feedback coz then I know how to help my kids improve. She is the only one who fully utilize the metrometer. At times, she used her own tape recording to let my kids hear their playing. I was very impress by such effort.
Today, I heard her explaining to my boy the story of an exam piece, for him to understand on expression when playing. My boy was fascinated and this is the type of teacher I've been looking for as all these were never heard of from the previous teachers. Usually they will just tell me ok or need to practise more.
I believe my kids will excel under Agnes guidance as she is indeed dedicated, experience and communicate with parent. After experiencing 4 teachers, I have a good idea of what makes a good piano teacher. Would highly recommend Agnes. -
phankao:
Oh, I thought the child doing diploma already.chamonix:
Judging by the charges, the teacher must, of course, be of a different calibre from SSO performers. This kid is pretty talented, plays violin and piano, going for grade 8 for both next year and sings as well.
Alexander Souptel (SSO concertmaster) charges around that, if I'm not mistaken. So do most of the teachers at the Conservatory. The private studio that he teaches at - the other teachers also charge fairly high fees. Even the beginner teachers at that studio charge S$50/half hr. My youngest was there for a short while, but I was not comfortable with the teaching method and switched to a local suzuki-trained teacher which we are happy with.
He would have if he didn't have so much on his plate. He acted in a okto drama, took part in a musical play as one of the leads, singing competitions and fashion 'catwalks'. Not sure if there is more. Btw, he's taking PSLE next year.
His teacher is not from the conservatory. Anyway, fees don't necessary correlate to good teachers or guarantee good progress. My kid's first violin teacher charged only $30/half hour but he is really good. For piano, we are still with his previous teacher who charges reasonably. Both are no big shots but have chemistry with my children and taught them well. -
chamonix:
One thing though, parents must be prepared that the kids' progress might be slower since the kids are the ones in charge. My daughter is one fine example. She is sensitive to music, has good ears, and remembers the scores surprisingly fast (but is weaker at sight reading). Unfortunately, she is not making the progress teachers are expecting. She is not as focused as her brother. But instead of harping on it, I deem it as part and parcel of growing up. Recently, she played a piece for her classmates in school. It was well received by them and a few even requested her to teach them. That kind of motivated her to take on a more serious attitude .
Personally I think there needs to be a balance between letting students setting their own pace and pushing them to greater heights. Adopting extreme attitude towards either one will cause some issues in learning. Too lax, the student may progress too slow and after a while lose the momentum. Pushing students too much will cause them to burn out and that is not good also.
Every student no matter their age or capabilities does have that innate desire to do well. In an active hobby such as playing a music instrument, chess, racing, etc being able to achieve something plays a large part in maintaining motivation. So teachers and parents need to carefully keep that desire to achieve something burning. Being able to enjoy music and play pieces they like are of course important as well, but without any sense of achievements students may find their interests waning. It is OKAY to push students if necessary; sometimes students may not realise what they can achieve unless they actually try to push themselves.
We can expect the students to work hard to achieve, but it will be much more effective if the students themselves want to achieve themselves. For example, I am currently teaching this 8 year old boy who did well for grade 3 this year August. He relish challenges and wanted to attempt grade 5 next February, which of course I oblige after I assess his capability and work ethic. He loves music, but it is his desire to do well that gives him self-discipline and willingness to improve himself. In fact, his mother noted that nowadays he practices automatically. This example is of course exception to the norm, but it highlights what is possible when the students take the responsibilities of their learnings themselves. Even if students want to take their time to the next level, we still need to set goals for them to achieve along the way e.g. performing in a student concert, internal assessments.
As for whether to dangle carrots or not. One thing we have to acknowledge that not all aspects of learning piano are fun e.g. learning scales and finger exercises. And even perfecting pieces they enjoy may get very tedious. Not all children have the ability to keep their sights on the long term goals; so for some cases especially children below 7 some carrots may be necessary. Even if no carrots are being dangled, acknowledge that learning piano is a very tough activity and reward them accordingly. For example, you can bring the kids out to a nice dinner after a successful performance. -
Dreamaurora,
After going through your post a couple of times, realisation suddenly struck me like a twenty pound sledgehammer - you are sharing your view as a music teacher!
Thanks for the sharing. It is the part I left unspoken. What you mentioned would be something I keep a lookout for in a music teacher. A teacher who is able to track a student's progress, help set goals, challenge and motivate him/her to greater heights, besides imparting music knowledge.
The route I have chosen for my kids differs from the norm. In fact, my current violin teacher notices that I am different from the normal parents. During our first lesson, she asked me what I hoped my kids could achieve with her. Literally translated, what grade did I wish my kids to achieve with her. Frankly, I told her the truth, from beginner and we shall see how they progress. The important thing would be good fundamentals. I have no desire for them to learn for exams. Rather, my objective is for them to have a good music education/training that will allow them to play the songs they want decently.
I am not sure if this route is suitable for all children. For one, my son loves music and has been the one who requested for violin lessons. He already has in mind the songs he wants to learn and play (nope, he doesn't go by grade). His piano teacher played him some diploma level songs (which he loves) and told him she wished that he would be playing those pieces one day. When he first started violin recently, it was terrible. But along the way, he didn't give up. His violin teacher challenged him and he delivered so far. In fact, his violin teacher mentioned he could be playing 1st violin next year in the music school's orchestra. (Btw, he enjoys playing in a group.) All these fuelled him to put in additional effort and hard work. Teachers are really crucial in this area.
Perhaps, one can see those acts and encouragement as 'carrots'? But really, to me, it's like studying. I wish for my kids to study because they enjoy soaking knowledge, learning new things. Definitely not just studying for exams. Likewise, music, I wish for my kids to learn because they enjoy playing (and playing well). They have to find it rewarding themselves to want to do it. To quote my son's words, he wants to learn beyond diploma because he wants to play the pieces he likes to his heart's content.
As for pushing or not pushing to their limits, I have always struggled within myself. But looking at my daughter, I think I may have made a right decision. Till now, she has not decided which music instrument she truly likes. Recently, she has been selected by the school choir through an audition. Her teacher told me she has a talent in singing. She likes dancing too. So, which area should I push her to her limits? It would be a very difficult decision for me to make on her behalf. I did ask her if she wanted to give up on her music instruments and focus on her singing. (No joke, she has to spend about 2 hours (after school) twice a week in school for choir.) She didn't want to give up any. My mantra to her is that she has to continue to put in time for practice if she wants to continue with the lessons.
Certainly, I agree with you whole-heartedly that learning music instruments (in fact, anything) can be tough and tiring at times. I do acknowledge their efforts and hard work. Fortunately, my kids are rather low maintenance as they require only hugs and lots of hugs.
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