My beginners have half hour lessons and so do my grade 5 pupils.

I wonder if this makes sense, or if I should increse lesson lengths as pupils progress.

Sometimes I can't fit everything into 30 mins and I don't want to leave it for another whole week.

What do other teachers do?

I prefer longer lessons when working towards grade 5 or above. Half an hour is not enough time.

Generally, I give 30 mins. but I have, for young children (5yrs old), been asked for 20 mins to begin with.

If working up to exams I try to arrange 45minute lessons so everything can be covered.

I only teach the lower grades though.

My own lessons last 1 3/4 hours but I don't have them that often.

I have only ever had 20 minute lessons. I am not a teacher but I am now working towards grade 5/6 and I think that you do need slightly longer lessons from then onwards.

I have an hour lesson once every two weeks, although it always tend to go over that time. If I am approaching an exam I have 1 1/2 hours.

my piano lessons last 45 minutes, but up to grade 5 they lasted half an hour. My horn lesson lasts 1.5-2 hours a week. It should be an hour but my teacher is very generous!

I have half hour lessons, except for older singers, they last for an hour. If I have piano students doing the more advanced exams, I also recommend to them an hour.

Most of the lessons I give are 30 minutes; a few older students have always had 45, one has an hour.

I find half an hour needs a lot of careful planning if I am to cover everything in the run up to an exam. Even at the lower grades I find this is the case.

Certainly over about grade 3 I would like longer, and I often try to give slightly longer lessons in the last few weeks before an exam if possible.

Maggie

With the exception of one, my students have 30 min lessons. My exception has a 45 min lesson and this makes a huge difference - I am less likely to come away from this lesson with thoughts of missed points I wanted to cover, even if the lesson has taken a completely different turn than I had planned for. My own lessons are for 1 hour every two weeks and a workshop roughly once a month.

QUOTE (maggiemay @ Jun 14 2004, 02:43 PM)

I find half an hour needs a lot of careful planning if I am to cover everything in the run up to an exam. Even at the lower grades I find this is the case.

Nearly all of mine have 30 minutes; I agree that it can be hard to cover everything for grade 5 upwards, especially if we are doing grade 5 theory as well. I also teach in a state school, where most pupils have 20 minutes-this is fine as some are very young and I don't have anyone above a grade 1. I have 1 adult who has a fortnightly hour, but don't find that is as good for continuity. Ideally I'd like to say that grade 5 upwards should have an hour, but of course cost plays a part with some people. The quality of the practice makes such a difference though; I'd rather have an advanced student who practices properly with a shorter lesson, than spending half the lesson time of a longer lesson covering things they should have done at home.

30 minutes - still okay
45 minutes - just nice
1 hour - a bit too much for beginners
more than that - oh dear!

This really depends on what is involved in the lessons. There may be a 10 minutes break in the 1 hour lesson, and may depends on how much the student can absorbed.


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How I hope I can start my piano lessons soon,
JoyChoi Gal

Thanks for the replies.

Most teachers seem to boost lesson times when doing exams, which is probably the best way to work.

I have started giving an extra lesson a week in the fortnight before the exam.

Hi Amy,

I have 30 mins lessons once a week - but they do end up 3/4 hour

I tend to have an extra lesson the week before an exam (2 in a week) mainly for sight reading !!!

Do any of you teachers do a mock exam before the actual date ?

I've got my exam a week next Wed and I'm having lessons this Wed and Fri. I'm thinking of asking him to do a mock exam type thing with me.

Do you think it's a good idea ?

Fiona

QUOTE

Do any of you teachers do a mock exam before the actual date ? I've got my exam a week next Wed and I'm having lessons this Wed and Fri. I'm thinking of asking him to do a mock exam type thing with me. Do you think it's a good idea ?

Yes, I normally do. About two weeks before the date seems to work, but a week is ok too.
It's perhaps more useful for students who haven't done an exam before, in helping them get an idea of what to expect.

But it's also useful to help you identify any weak spots that could benefit from a bit of extra attention. Hope it goes well!

Maggie

Thanks Maggie.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Fiona

QUOTE (Fiona @ Jun 15 2004, 12:49 PM)

Do any of you teachers do a mock exam before the actual date ?

I do two. One I call a technical tryout. This tests all their scales etc sight reading, aural. Then I have a mock exam about two weeks before their exam. I schedule these tests about eight weeks before their exam so they have deadlines and don't leave things till the last minute. It works well.

I have started doing mock exams but I am a bit wary of getting pupil's hopes up so I try to mark low just in case.

Has anyone predicted the exact (or as near as) actual exam mark?

Perhaps if you're wary of giving marks (and rightly so!) you could do a mock exam but only give the comments rather than actually giving them a mark. I suspect that would still give the experience without too much pinning of hopes on certain marks. Maybe you could just give a 'pass' or 'fail' either overall or for each section if you want to scare someone into doing more work (or maybe that's a little too cruel ).

QUOTE

Has anyone predicted the exact (or as near as) actual exam mark?

I suppose I tend to mark down slightly, so as not to raise hopes too high.

They usually earn a few more marks by the time the real exam comes round - probably because it gives them an opportunity to focus on one or two areas that need extra work.

In most cases I'm quite happy to tell them the mark I think their performance on the day of the practice exam was worth !

If you are reluctant to give an actual mark, comments or just a pass or fail for each section are good ideas I think.
"I'm afraid you are going to fail your scales unless you give them some serious attention in the next two weeks" should concentrate the mind nicely

Maggie

QUOTE

"I'm afraid you are going to fail your scales unless you give them some serious attention in the next two weeks" should concentrate the mind nicely

I think scales are also so important because they set the tone for the exam (if you do them first). A pupil who has performed well in scales will have the confidence to do well in pieces, and will probably play better than a pupil who has made a hash of the scales.

I always try and do at least one mock exam (hopefully 2 if they are prone to anxiety) I sit in a different part of the room, looking serious and explain beforehand that I won't be giving them feedback during their playing as I normally do. I always mark their 'exam' and show them the Music Exam book and the marking criteria so they understand why they have gained the marks they have.
I tend to be a fairly strict marker and they almost always do better in the exam. I always stress that whatever happens during the 10minutes+ in the exam they must remember how well they can play and their performance on the day is only a snapshot of their abilities. Hopefully they will perform at their best but they mustn't forget the broader picture. If the mock has gone well I can remind them of this later if they are disappointed with what happens during the exam. I have always found this valuable preparation for the exam.

I am a mature student now doing Grade 5 and have recently changed to an hour lesson every other week. I find that much better - you can't fit everything into a half hour. It ll depends on the student though I think.

QUOTE (welmar @ Jun 18 2004, 07:20 AM)

I am a mature student now doing Grade 5 and have recently changed to an hour lesson every other week. I find that much better - you can't fit everything into a half hour. It ll depends on the student though I think.

I agree it very much depends on the student. If you are a highly motivated mature student then an hour fortnightly does mean you cover more in each lesson. The downside is the lack of continuity, and the fact that although each lesson is longer, in effect you are only getting half as many lessons as someone having a lesson every week. I think it can work if you're extra motivated and organised. The problem from the teacher's point of view is that a fortnightly hour means you have a redundant half hour every week, in effect- which isn't good use of time, if, like me, every slot is full and you have a waiting list. It also causes problems if a student misses a lesson for any reason- there is a longer gap between lessons. Interestingly, the last 2 people who I have had enquire about fortnightly slots have both said they don't have enough time to practice to have a lesson every week! It's obvious this isn't the case with yourself, but there are younger students who need the push of a lesson every week.