Piano teacher in the north for 5 year old
- Thread starter mongs
- Start date
My son is 5 this year. He takes this http://www.yamaha.sg/Yamaha_Junior_Course.html, i prefer group learning instead of 1 to 1. Teacher is ok. And actually he is already taking yamaha music class every wk 1 lesson in his Kinderland preschool. This is just for him to enjoy more music.
I feel tat its still too early for him to gain special interests in any instrument.
Thanks Fun for sharing about your experience.
after contemplating for quite sometime and reading reviews by parents, we decided to start her on one-to-one piano with a private tutor.
She will be going for trial class the following weekend and hopefully if she likes the teacher, we will start her on lesson proper from Jan onwards. The teacher is an ex student of this piano teacher who stays in the east. This teacher who stays in the east has very good reviews from students and parents so hopefully her student will be as good as her. She will start with only 30mins lesson as kids her age will have very short attention span.
after contemplating for quite sometime and reading reviews by parents, we decided to start her on one-to-one piano with a private tutor.
She will be going for trial class the following weekend and hopefully if she likes the teacher, we will start her on lesson proper from Jan onwards. The teacher is an ex student of this piano teacher who stays in the east. This teacher who stays in the east has very good reviews from students and parents so hopefully her student will be as good as her. She will start with only 30mins lesson as kids her age will have very short attention span.
I know of an experienced private piano teacher, a kind and soft spoken lady. She is good with young children and very knowledgable too... well kids love her.
Her name is Su Lin hp:9030 4318 (note: I don't get commission for promoting her, just wanting to share.. as she is good)
Her name is Su Lin hp:9030 4318 (note: I don't get commission for promoting her, just wanting to share.. as she is good)
Hi all,
Just to update that my girl has been learning piano from a female teacher in Yishun. My girl likes her a lot and enjoys the class although she hates to practise. My girl is in P1 this year and will be preparing for the Grade 1 exam. A lot more practical songs to practice and theory to do. I used to pay $60 for 4x lessons, each session 30mins. Now that she is going for Grade 1, the teacher fee is now $130 for 4x, each session 1hr. However, the teacher normally teaches longer than 1 hr.
Sunday7, where is Su Lin staying?
Just to update that my girl has been learning piano from a female teacher in Yishun. My girl likes her a lot and enjoys the class although she hates to practise. My girl is in P1 this year and will be preparing for the Grade 1 exam. A lot more practical songs to practice and theory to do. I used to pay $60 for 4x lessons, each session 30mins. Now that she is going for Grade 1, the teacher fee is now $130 for 4x, each session 1hr. However, the teacher normally teaches longer than 1 hr.
Sunday7, where is Su Lin staying?
minigingerbread
New Member
Hi everybody, I would like to share something with you regarding piano lessons for young children. Most music schools and teachers will not tell you these, but I do wish parents to be more informed on how their money is spent, especially for non-musician parents.
Coming from a piano teacher's point of view, there is really no advantage in starting lessons for very young kids. I would say anytime before primary 1 makes no sense. Unless your kid is Beethoven or Mozart. Then they do not even need lessons in the first place.
Why? Because in learning music, you need to be able to first do basic counting, know what a 'steady speed' means, and a certain level of analytical skills. The problem with sending too young kids is that the teacher will just spend ages teaching them basic things over and over again, and the kids just do not understand. They do not have the mental capability yet. You are paying the teacher to do the same thing over a long period of time. This is not money well spent.
Secondly, young kids have extremely short attention span. In a 30 minute lesson, the kid is only paying attention for at most 10-15 min. For the rest of the time you pay, the teacher needs to try to get him to listen. Not money well spent.
It is a common misconception that the younger one starts, the higher the achievement. This is not true. Also, there is no such thing as fingers becoming too 'hard/inflexible' later in life to learn piano. Strong, well-trained fingers come from lots of practice, not born out of young hands.
In terms of maximizing 'returns on investment', private lessons beat group settings hands down. But if your priority is providing a playgroup for your child, the group setting might be a fun option. Just don't expect focused, quality musical coaching for your child.
I started piano lessons at age 12. I out-perform all my peers who started much earlier. Musical talent is inherited, not forced upon.
A great number of teachers out there offer long lessons (charging you by the hour), and push you to take exams grade by grade, year by year, so that they can charge you more year after year. Long lessons is not good for your child's musical development because most of the time, your child cannot pay full attention for the whole lesson. For grade 4 and under, 30 min lessons are enough. Grade 5-8, 45 min is enough (for private lessons). Also, having exams year after year actually deprives your child of exposure to learn more music. On average a student takes 1 year to prepare for an exam, and he/she only learns 3 songs per exam. Multiply that by 8 grades your child only knows 24 songs in his/her life. Doesn't make a competent musician. Music can only be learnt through lots of exposure. We Singaporean parents are too strongly influenced by the education system here that we think the only way to excellence is through multiple exams. This does not apply for music.
I was lucky to have an excellent teacher. I only set for exams for grades 3, 5, 7 and 8. In between she taught me to understand the different music styles, background of various music masters.
I have friends with grade 8 qualifications who can't play any songs other than their exam pieces. They can't even count beats properly, cannot understand how a song should be expressed at first look, can't play to the speed of a singer/choir. I am not joking. Because these are not the things in the typical exam syllabus. I consider them music failures.
I constantly reject students under 6, discourage them from taking exams unnecessarily, and will not lengthen their lessons just to charge them more money. Sadly many parents measure their kids' progress by piano exam grades, which actually has no bearing on his/her musical achievement. I understand why they do that because this is the only tangible milestone they can see, as most parents are non-musicians.
As a teacher myself, this is my very honest opinion coming from my and others' experience. I am not bashing other teachers and hope to offend no one. You may well disagree with me. I only wish to offer a different standpoint to what most parents hear/know. Of course there are always exceptions.
In general, engage a teacher only if he/she truly inspires your child to learn more about music. Reject those who constantly puts down your child, make him play out of fear, and make him dread facing piano lessons. Music should be fun to learn, intellectually stimulating, and not to be produced in a fearful, pressured manner.
Coming from a piano teacher's point of view, there is really no advantage in starting lessons for very young kids. I would say anytime before primary 1 makes no sense. Unless your kid is Beethoven or Mozart. Then they do not even need lessons in the first place.
Why? Because in learning music, you need to be able to first do basic counting, know what a 'steady speed' means, and a certain level of analytical skills. The problem with sending too young kids is that the teacher will just spend ages teaching them basic things over and over again, and the kids just do not understand. They do not have the mental capability yet. You are paying the teacher to do the same thing over a long period of time. This is not money well spent.
Secondly, young kids have extremely short attention span. In a 30 minute lesson, the kid is only paying attention for at most 10-15 min. For the rest of the time you pay, the teacher needs to try to get him to listen. Not money well spent.
It is a common misconception that the younger one starts, the higher the achievement. This is not true. Also, there is no such thing as fingers becoming too 'hard/inflexible' later in life to learn piano. Strong, well-trained fingers come from lots of practice, not born out of young hands.
In terms of maximizing 'returns on investment', private lessons beat group settings hands down. But if your priority is providing a playgroup for your child, the group setting might be a fun option. Just don't expect focused, quality musical coaching for your child.
I started piano lessons at age 12. I out-perform all my peers who started much earlier. Musical talent is inherited, not forced upon.
A great number of teachers out there offer long lessons (charging you by the hour), and push you to take exams grade by grade, year by year, so that they can charge you more year after year. Long lessons is not good for your child's musical development because most of the time, your child cannot pay full attention for the whole lesson. For grade 4 and under, 30 min lessons are enough. Grade 5-8, 45 min is enough (for private lessons). Also, having exams year after year actually deprives your child of exposure to learn more music. On average a student takes 1 year to prepare for an exam, and he/she only learns 3 songs per exam. Multiply that by 8 grades your child only knows 24 songs in his/her life. Doesn't make a competent musician. Music can only be learnt through lots of exposure. We Singaporean parents are too strongly influenced by the education system here that we think the only way to excellence is through multiple exams. This does not apply for music.
I was lucky to have an excellent teacher. I only set for exams for grades 3, 5, 7 and 8. In between she taught me to understand the different music styles, background of various music masters.
I have friends with grade 8 qualifications who can't play any songs other than their exam pieces. They can't even count beats properly, cannot understand how a song should be expressed at first look, can't play to the speed of a singer/choir. I am not joking. Because these are not the things in the typical exam syllabus. I consider them music failures.
I constantly reject students under 6, discourage them from taking exams unnecessarily, and will not lengthen their lessons just to charge them more money. Sadly many parents measure their kids' progress by piano exam grades, which actually has no bearing on his/her musical achievement. I understand why they do that because this is the only tangible milestone they can see, as most parents are non-musicians.
As a teacher myself, this is my very honest opinion coming from my and others' experience. I am not bashing other teachers and hope to offend no one. You may well disagree with me. I only wish to offer a different standpoint to what most parents hear/know. Of course there are always exceptions.
In general, engage a teacher only if he/she truly inspires your child to learn more about music. Reject those who constantly puts down your child, make him play out of fear, and make him dread facing piano lessons. Music should be fun to learn, intellectually stimulating, and not to be produced in a fearful, pressured manner.
elesoopiano
New Member
Hi dear mommies!
Are you all looking for a professional and experienced piano teacher? I'd be happy to help out
Hello!
I am a graduate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney with a Bachelor Degree of Music Studies (Performance) majoring in Piano. I specialize in preparing students for the ABRSM examinations or even piano at leisure basis for (Beginners, Intermediates, Advanced, Refreshers.)
I also tailor my lessons for the individual in preparing them for the right repertoire to grow their techniques. I specialise in teaching Sight-Reading, Aural as well as Theory.
I am willing to travel to the student's premises at their convenience.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any enquiries!
Regards,
Eleanor
http://elesoopiano.wix.com/home
[email protected]
(M): 91782971
Are you all looking for a professional and experienced piano teacher? I'd be happy to help out
I am a graduate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney with a Bachelor Degree of Music Studies (Performance) majoring in Piano. I specialize in preparing students for the ABRSM examinations or even piano at leisure basis for (Beginners, Intermediates, Advanced, Refreshers.)
I also tailor my lessons for the individual in preparing them for the right repertoire to grow their techniques. I specialise in teaching Sight-Reading, Aural as well as Theory.
I am willing to travel to the student's premises at their convenience.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any enquiries!
Regards,
Eleanor
http://elesoopiano.wix.com/home
[email protected]
(M): 91782971
hi miniginger,
Thank you for sharing...
kindly PM me, my kid is 5 now but I am on the lookout for an inspiring piano teacher who can handle young children and make them eager to play the piano. I do hope she can learn the piano and love it for life in 2 years to come. My hubby wish I get the kids to pursue this with leisure in mind...not another pressure for them...:/
Thank you for sharing...
kindly PM me, my kid is 5 now but I am on the lookout for an inspiring piano teacher who can handle young children and make them eager to play the piano. I do hope she can learn the piano and love it for life in 2 years to come. My hubby wish I get the kids to pursue this with leisure in mind...not another pressure for them...:/
babyink
Member
Miniginger totally agree with you...singapore is really pressure cooker , cookie cutter society. Our little ones are being stressed and moulded from young age due to peer preesure faced by parents...sigh.
Not just music but same for everything else. Now little ones are expected to read n write from as young as 3 or 4 years old. The honest PDs and child educators are discouraging these practices but sadly they are not getting enough attention...sigh.
We should learn more from the scandinavian countries, they really know how to educate...kids are not pushed to start academic before 8 years and by this, I mean sitting down to learn read n write in a classroom setting.
If you attend a classroom for 10 year olds there, you will be shocked how condusive their classes are organized, students are asking and debating answers from books! They absorb so much more in the first 2 years of school, they are ready at that age to enter an amazing world of learning.
And are they behind us? No. Most of the top scientist , researchers, inventors comes from these countries. Their sustem allows them to nurture their creativity.
Unlike our kids here struggle to draw the line between real play and real learning since young....they are forced to do both and masters of none. very sad...sorry for the long post...
Just getting increasingly disappointed with the education system here
Not just music but same for everything else. Now little ones are expected to read n write from as young as 3 or 4 years old. The honest PDs and child educators are discouraging these practices but sadly they are not getting enough attention...sigh.
We should learn more from the scandinavian countries, they really know how to educate...kids are not pushed to start academic before 8 years and by this, I mean sitting down to learn read n write in a classroom setting.
If you attend a classroom for 10 year olds there, you will be shocked how condusive their classes are organized, students are asking and debating answers from books! They absorb so much more in the first 2 years of school, they are ready at that age to enter an amazing world of learning.
And are they behind us? No. Most of the top scientist , researchers, inventors comes from these countries. Their sustem allows them to nurture their creativity.
Unlike our kids here struggle to draw the line between real play and real learning since young....they are forced to do both and masters of none. very sad...sorry for the long post...
Just getting increasingly disappointed with the education system here
fogandflower
New Member
totally agree with Minigingerbread, can u PM me? will u visit student home to teach? Anyone has minigingerbread's contact? TIA
littletong
New Member
just read all thread from you ,and i personly strongly agreed with minigingerbread. firstly i am not good at music and even can;t read any stave. i want to my girl to learn and want my girl can play piano, but i think i couldn;t give her any advise except stress/ pressure. i have a very stupid question, if i have my girl to learn how to play, must i buy piano for her? it is very big expense and i am not sure if she must like and must continue. any good idea and opinion ?