Where to go ? Options

[xumiking]

Hello everybody,

My 8-year old daughter has just completed Piano Grade 4 (practice) with a distinction grade, having successfully completed the previous 3 grades, all at distinction level.

I wouldn't like to get into the "she has talent" stuff as yet, as I do recognize that it may be a bit too early to judge, however I do feel that the least I can do is to try and help her in the best of my abilities to unleash whatever potential she may have in the best way possible. And, not being a music expert myself, I of course rely on the guidance offered by her tutor, whom, I must admit, does an excellent job.

My concern, however, is that I feel that she is being trained too hard "for the exam". In other words, whilst it is OK to manage oneself through a study program aimed for the exam, I feel that I should expose her to a wider scope of learning - technique, general music appreciation in a broader context, etc. I personally feel that there is little value in learning explicitly for the examination, without having an appreciation of the music you are learning, and mastering the skill in a broader context.

I want to make sure she understands that learning the piano is not only about exams - it is a much richer and permanent experience!

I was thinking of taking her to specialized classes in the Summer, but frankly, I wouldn't know where and when to start. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Yoshifumu]

Hello everybody,

My 8-year old daughter has just completed Piano Grade 4 (practice) with a distinction grade, having successfully completed the previous 3 grades, all at distinction level.

I wouldn't like to get into the "she has talent" stuff as yet, as I do recognize that it may be a bit too early to judge, however I do feel that the least I can do is to try and help her in the best of my abilities to unleash whatever potential she may have in the best way possible. And, not being a music expert myself, I of course rely on the guidance offered by her tutor, whom, I must admit, does an excellent job.

My concern, however, is that I feel that she is being trained too hard "for the exam". In other words, whilst it is OK to manage oneself through a study program aimed for the exam, I feel that I should expose her to a wider scope of learning - technique, general music appreciation in a broader context, etc. I personally feel that there is little value in learning explicitly for the examination, without having an appreciation of the music you are learning, and mastering the skill in a broader context.

I want to make sure she understands that learning the piano is not only about exams - it is a much richer and permanent experience!

I was thinking of taking her to specialized classes in the Summer, but frankly, I wouldn't know where and when to start. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I reckon as she gets older she'll appreciate the difference on her own, although being trained solely for exams is never nice. I'm hoping the tutor does get her to practice material outside of exam based stuff for a significant amount of time in comparison to exam based practice?

Either way as g5 is the next one she's going to be needing to take g5 theory/musicianship/jazz. It might be a nice idea to suggest to the teacher for her to take g5 musicianship? It's based on understanding how music works on a practical level, allowing for her to make improvisations etc. and I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Of course if she's been working for g5 theory, it will take a while for her to catch up with musicianship.


Apart from that there is a wealth of summer schools and workshops around for musical children that can help her to explore music outside of her lessons. That will depend on where you live though! Google around to see if you can find anything.


Other than that, taking kids to concerts is always a nice way to get them to appreciate music in its simple beauty, not just as notes on a piece of paper that you have to learn.

[dolce@piano]

Is your daughter happy and enjoying playing ?

If so, I wouldn't worry too much - she's very young and at the rate she's going she'll be a very good pianist in a couple fo years time and able to play with others, to accompany or experiment with jazz or whatever.

If she's not happy, and doing it under duress, then that's another thing.

Does she learn other music outside of exam music ? Does she play in end-of-term concerts ?

Would she like to learn another instrument ? Maybe just a 'fun' one ? i.e. it could be a serious instrument but one where you don't expect the same level of practice and the aim is just to experiment and enjoy.

But, also, do speak to her teacher - he/she will probably be very helpful and happy to listen and respind to your concerns.

[xumiking]

@Yoshifumu,
@dolce@piano

Many thanks for your replies.

Yes, my feeling is that she enjoys playing the piano, not so much when it comes to the exam per se (which is understandable), which is precisely why I would like to take her mind off the idea that what she's doing is only for exam purposes.

I like both the idea of encouraging the teacher to focus on G5 musicianship, as well as trying to play another instrument for fun. I'm also trying to make sure she gets opportunities to play in concerts such as the ones they organize at school, etc., and because of her grades, she also gets a chance to play in the distinction concerts they do locally.

@Yoshifumu - assuming that I can do UK, what could be of interest in the summer, even if it is only for a short stay (1-2 weeks) please?

[sbhoa]

assuming that I can do UK, what could be of interest in the summer, even if it is only for a short stay (1-2 weeks) please?

Chetham's Summer Schoolmight be worth checking out.

Maybe talk to her teacher about expanding her repertoire generally instead of thinking of the next exam. Hopefully this happens between exams anyway but you could suggest that she just learns without another exam for at least the whole year. At 8 years old letting her playing mature through just playing lots of things will be good anyway and if she continues to progress as she has done so far she can always take the next exam at whatever level she is at when the time feels right to do so. It isn't necessary to take all (or any) grades to become a good player.

[xumiking]

assuming that I can do UK, what could be of interest in the summer, even if it is only for a short stay (1-2 weeks) please?

Chetham's Summer Schoolmight be worth checking out.

Maybe talk to her teacher about expanding her repertoire generally instead of thinking of the next exam. Hopefully this happens between exams anyway but you could suggest that she just learns without another exam for at least the whole year. At 8 years old letting her playing mature through just playing lots of things will be good anyway and if she continues to progress as she has done so far she can always take the next exam at whatever level she is at when the time feels right to do so. It isn't necessary to take all (or any) grades to become a good player.

Great stuff! - thank you.

[notmusimum]

assuming that I can do UK, what could be of interest in the summer, even if it is only for a short stay (1-2 weeks) please?

Chetham's Summer Schoolmight be worth checking out.

Maybe talk to her teacher about expanding her repertoire generally instead of thinking of the next exam. Hopefully this happens between exams anyway but you could suggest that she just learns without another exam for at least the whole year. At 8 years old letting her playing mature through just playing lots of things will be good anyway and if she continues to progress as she has done so far she can always take the next exam at whatever level she is at when the time feels right to do so. It isn't necessary to take all (or any) grades to become a good player.

You beat me to it!!

We know one of the tutors on this course and he's a great guy if your daughter wants to try some Jazz.

[Swell Box]

To date our son has only ever taken G2 organ, at which he got a Distinction, together with GCSE/A-level music performance exams.

After G2 and GCSE both he and we felt that contantly working towards exams was spoiling his enjoyment of music, and was actually slowing down his progress, as his tutor will not contemplate entering any student for an exam unless she can be sure they will get a Distinction. (She also belives that students should only progress by one grade at a time, which inevitavbly slows things down somewhat.)

Instead, we all agreed that he should 'work through' the grades one by one, thereby developing techniques in a logical order whilst not wasting time actually taking exams, which can always be taken at a later date when confidence and technique has been developed.

SB