Hi everyone

I've just started learning the piano and am really enjoying it. I previously have attained Grade 7 in classical guitar so learning the bass clef is all a bit mind-blowing - though have a very patient teacher!

I did have one question. Where can I expect to be in, say, 1, 2 and then 3 years in terms of grade level? I realise this all depends on the individual but having been playing Grade 7 pieces on classical guitar it's incredibly frustrating to be now plonking out simple children's tunes! I'm told I have good natural ability and I'm practicing (fairly obsessively) for at least 1 hour a day at the moment.

Great forum - thanks in advance for any responses.

Segovia

Well, i feel that adults can learn much faster. Since, you already have grade 7 in guitar, it wouldn't be surpirsing if you can reach grade 5 or 6 standard within 2 years, especially if you are very self-motivated to play.

You don't have to play children tune, you can play simplified versions of popular classical music. Such scores are quite commonly available.

Have fun!

On average, a pupil progresses 1 grade per year, apart from the beginner years where it can take 2 or 3 years to reach grade 1 level. An adult starting from scratch can be the same, or faster. Someone who is older and can already play another instrument can progress yet faster but I would be more realistic and suggest maybe grade 3-4 in 2 years. (Then if you do reach geigespieler's estimate it'll be superb!) but don't be tempted to try to move too fast as you'll end up leaving a lot of gaps in your learning which may come back to haunt you later on. Be thorough!

This is a very important point which I'm sure you'll be at the advantage of understanding well due to your other instrumental experience. You effectively choose what grade level you want to play at by the difficulty of the repertoire you choose to play to a certain extent this isn't really the skill at all; how good you are does, however, depend on how much practice you've done and how much experience you have (amongst other things). Two people could both be 'grade 8' and working on repertoire at that level but one could be taking months and months just to be able to survive through each piece; where another can have it ready to begin polishing in a few weeks. That is where the ability differences appear. Don't focus too much of your 'how good you are' rating on what grade you have (I know it's tempting) but it's really all about how well you play what you're playing and how much work you have to put in to achieve that. Focus on getting better at playing and better at learning rather than what grade you can get to; the grades will then fall into place as a side effect . If you focus on going up the grades too quickly you're not practising learning in the same way as you ideally would so you won't learn to learn.

I find that adults do learn quite fast, especially if they already have a certain amount of musical knowlege. I taught and 68 year old lady from a beginner starting in March 2004 and she is taking Grade 3 in the next session (November).

David

I started the piano as a beginner last august and am now working on the grade 3 syllabus (although I haven't taken any exams - far too scary). I sing in a choir and played the trumpet when I was at school to grade 4 standard so I had a bit of a head start with reading music. I'm really pleased with my progress in a year - I would expect you would be able to progress much the same if not faster.