Monday, February 2, 2009

Progress on Piano

The 4yo just had his 10th piano lesson last week. Each lesson of 30 min. 

His teacher seems really pleased with his progress. According to her, most kids who start piano lessons at age 4 need between 18 - 24 months from their first lesson before they are ready for Grade 1 exams. 

She thinks at the rate that he is progressing, he will only need 10 months (since first lesson) to be fully prepared.

It was such a pleasant surprise as he doesn't practise much during the week. And even on days when he does, he may be diligent for 15 min max before requesting to return to his toys. 

While it is great to learn the positive assessment, I'm not planning to hasten him or change our routine. For now, we shall continue our daily routine as before, giving priority to homeschooling, his other interests like art and Lego and lots of free play. Piano practice shall remain as 15 min block thrice a week, unless of course he wishes otherwise. 

5 comments:

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M said...

Can u share how much it costs per 30min block? :) Which textbks does the teacher use?

M's making such fast progress!

DG said...

$155/mth for supposedly 4 lessons in the beginning. After a few months when the teacher deems the child to be ready for performance, one of the 4 lessons will be replaced with a Piano performance class which isn't a lesson. Also the school has lots of holidays which we have to pay for. So in some months, there may be only 1 or 2 lessons! Like in Dec, parents paid a month fee for only 1 lesson!

He just changed books. Before was Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book - Level A. Now, it is Piano Lesson Made Easy.

M said...

He's gifted, I borrowed that Alfred Bk A from Rachel and Girl only finished it about Aug-2008? Girl had hard time matching the tempo to that of the CD (particularly "Christopher Columbus").

Think R's Ryan finished that book Oct-2007.

Ur M's definitely gifted, well u already know that! :)

I'm still undecided on the tests ... the piano classes are costly and I'm not quite sure where they are really going, yikes. Maybe if I cld see a "target" goal eg. prepare for maybe the practical (rather than the theory) Grade 1 at whatever months down the road.

DG said...

Haha thanks! Not sure about the giftedness as it seems too early to say. It is only the teacher's estimate but it all depends on M in the end.

I agree w the cost of lessons. But it depends on your obj. If you and A are ok setting a goal, like an exam to work towards, then why not. For us now, I am not even thinking of any exams for him since he only has 10 lessons so far. We just want him to learn and enjoy it. Hopefully his interest will see him through for a long time more.

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