Dear all,

We want to share this joyful moment with all of you.

Well done to all...what did your son have to say about it? And what does he enjoy most about piano? (Or about music in general?)

Congratulations! You should consider sending your son to the junior programme at HKAPA!

Congratulations! That is fantastic news! Any idea what he wants to do next?

Congratulations! That is fantastic news! Any idea what he wants to do next?
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Thanks to all of you!

We are going to apply the junior programme of Hong Kong APA. This is our next milestone. We know that it is not easy to achieve but I shall share more time with my son. That is the only thing I can do.

My word! That's fantastic, I almost fainted when I saw his age!

When did he start learning?

I hope he enjoys his music though. Music is more than just pressing through a series of milestones.

WOW that's a really great achievement!
congrats to you and your son!

That is fantastic. I hope he gets a place where you want him to go and I hope he loves.
Dora

Admirable modesty, bravo.

Thanks for your comment.
My son loves music very much. Without interesting in music, he cannot pass this exam. However, we need to let him know it is impossible to achieve his target without hardworking.

As a parent, we should set some milestones for him every half year or year. That is much easy for them to understand what they should do. They have play time and they have practice time. We shall keep encourage him not matter whether he achieve his goal or not.

We should spend our time on them and not just spend money on them. Most of the parents (some of my friends) only spend money on their kids. Pay the lesson fee and without concerning what their kids learn and their kids want. When their kids failed, they just complaint the teacher.

I understand that most of parents in this forum concern their kids otherwise we shall not be here to share our ideas. Hope all you and your kids happy and success.






He started at 4 1/2.

I think that a father has the right idea in spending more time with his boy. I agree that parents are less likely to blame teachers or harbour crazy expectations when they see the day-to-day learning process close up. My husband's attitudes to school grades changed a lot after he started helping our sons learn characters and maths himself!

It can be difficult though...my relatives think I push my kids too hard (western thinking), while our neighbors think my kids have a shockingly easy life (eastern thinking)! So I can imagine how UK forum people see our way of life here in east Asia.

In Japan, I could never claim "talent" for my child, but it's OK to say "he works hard" (even if he doesn't!)...while in NZ, if I said my sons worked very hard, people might be dialling child welfare. I guess people want much the same things for their kids, whatever buzzwords our society likes to use.

When my older son Airman told younger son Viohazard that he needed "hard work 80% of the time but not 100% of the time", I thought that was quite a good approach. Hard work breeds strength, but a little failure and time-wasting creates flexibility!

A father, can you tell us about the Hong Kong APA junior course? I'm interested to know what is going on in my part of the world!

And who's to say anyway whether one culture or another is right/wrong, better/worse - they're just different. I must admit I was taken aback when I saw the title of this thread, so I read a father's previous thread from a couple of years ago when his son passed G5 at the age of 6. According to that thread, it seems that the little boy practised for only about 15 minutes a day, so he must also be very talented. I don't know how long he practised for in order to get G8 two years later, but it's an awesome result. In this country, childhood is view differently by many people, not just in respect of music but in many aspects of society. Nevertheless, your son got his result within the framework of *your* culture, a father, not the UK's culture, so many congratulations to him!

I suspect it might be about the same as the average Uk child spends on their games console.

I can't judge a father for his son't situation, it's an amazing achievement, no doubt there is a price. I suspect what that will be remains to be seen into the future, it may not be negative. I do think though children are better employed with a balance but I'd rather they were busy with music, art or sport than confined to the lounge/bedroom on theit computer or games console, which seems to be accepted in our society.

I agree that it's not until we see what is really involved for ourselves that we can appreciate what our children do achieve and can understand what they don't.

I like Airman's advice





with all of this.


and I'm really sorry, but when I first saw the title I thought it was a hoax I glad it isn't

I like a father's attitude toward his son's piano studies: setting realistic goal + hard work = success

I think for young children, it's very important to set a series of milestones. When they are able to play well for others, their confidence increases and they will enjoy playing more and more. Of course, the milestones don't have be be exams. They can be recitals or informal performances.

I am also delighted to hear that a father's son became more and more interested in music after passing his Grade 5 two years ago.

Well done to your little boy. A wonderful achievement for you all to enjoy.

And you are a poet. But you don't realise that!

Congratulations, who is your son's teacher?
Eleanor Wong?




Congratulations, who is your son's teacher?
Eleanor Wong?

Congratulation ! you must be so proud of your son. May I ask how old was your son when he took his theory grade 5 ?

My daughter needs to take her Theory grade 5 this year but I think she will struggle because of her age. The problem is for her understanding the question seems harder than answering them. Can you please tell me how did you help your son to pass his theory and did he find it difficult ?

I learned the piano 20 years ago but I have never taken any exams and I have never study theory. I have been teaching my daughter to play the piano since she was 4 but I just don’t have a clue how to help her with theory. Do you think it’s a good idea for me to learn theory myself then teach her or do you think it would be better to find a teacher for her? I have a feeling she will find it easier if I teach her myself but the thought of having lesson at my age is a bit scary:)

Congratulations to your son! To be at a young age and to pass an insturment (especially piano) at that standard must show him to be truelly talented! Well done to your son and I hope he keeps his playing going!

Ow. I thought i was good at music!
That's very impreeive!
Congratulations to both you and him- that must have taken some hard work!
Celebration time maybe?

MM

Congratulations! Could you share your son's experience about how he is so successful! Eg. piano teacher, learning materials, etc.