Question about piano lessons

[4ofus]

My son is 8. He loves music & is motivated to learn to play the piano. Now, I am not musical, but am dedicated to sitting in his lessons, taking notes, & helping him during his practices.

 

My question is....

 

on AVERAGE, how long does it take a child to progress through the primer level? Progress in general? I know it'll depend on practice quality & quantity but I feel lost at sea here. I'd like some big picture like..."if he practices x amount and hits these benchmarks along the way he'll be approx. at this level after 6 mos., 1 year, 2 yrs, 3 yrs...

 

Kind of like other activities/academics...I KNOW what we should be doing at any given time, so I know if I'm running ahead or behind average. Not that that's the be-all, end-all, it's just nice to know.

 

He took an intro to instruments/music/theory class from his teacher for 6 months & started direct piano instruction in January after Christmas break. So he's been in a 30 minute lesson a week for 8 weeks.

 

I also have a 9 yr old learning guitar. His timeline is the same. Same wonder about average progress.

[Tracy]

This is going to vary so widely that it would be really hard to say. Dd8 has been at it for about 6 months now. She had some piano lessons from me at ages 4-5yo. She is eager to get beyond the Primer level, and her teacher is indulging her with harder books. She works very hard on those, and does master them in time. However, the teacher keeps taking her back to the Primer because she is slow to learn how to read the music.

[Dmmetler]

It depends on the child and their prior experience, but usually I'd expect most kids to move on from Primer with reasonably solid skills within a year with fairly regular practice (for an 8 yr old, I'd try for 30 minutes at least 5x/week). Primer really focuses more on music reading, so if a child has prior experience (like kids coming into piano from group music classes which taught some theory), they may move faster through Primer, but then slow down at book 1 or book 2 when playing gets more complex, although an 8 yr old usually will stall less than a 6 yr old, just due to physical growth.

 

If you're using Faber, the Gold Star Performance series are effectively the Singapore IP for piano-a set of more complex pieces using the same skills-they're a good investment for the child who wants more, but isn't quite ready to move on yet.

[Tracy]

If you're using Faber, the Gold Star Performance series are effectively the Singapore IP for piano-a set of more complex pieces using the same skills-they're a good investment for the child who wants more, but isn't quite ready to move on yet.

 

 

This sounds perfect for dd8. If she is at the tail end of the Schaum Pre-A, would you recommend the Faber Gold Star Performance Primer, or Level 1?

[4ofus]

Thank you!

[JoyfullyNoisy]

As a professional piano teacher I'm excited to have an opportunity to help, yet am hesitant to jump in. :001_smile:

 

Let me preface this by saying that I have never taught out of the Schuam books, nor have I analyzed them thoroughly, so I can't recommend supplements that will be perfectly correlated. But I can do my best to answer your original questions.

 

In my most recent personal experience, a student can be led through a primer in a matter of weeks (I aim for about a chapter a week), but this, of course, can be dependent on many things.

You asked for average benchmarks, so I'll try to outline a few basic goals - these will vary by method used and the order in which they introduce new concepts and the age of the student. I'll answer according to what should be expected with careful practice of about 40 minutes a day 5/6 days a week beginning around age 8.

 

1. familiarity with the grand staff from bass C to treble C within 6 months.

2. complete familiarity with the grand staff (from low bass clef F to high treble G) by the end of the first year.

3. Technical proficiency - 5 finger scales (understanding how they're built is theory) clean and quick hands together by the end of the first year.

4. Hanon exercises (usually the first exercise - the first 1-5 for the most precocious) after about a year and a half.

5. Full scales, ascending and descending at about 2 years of dedicated study

 

At this point they're usually ready to begin some of the easier classics - early sonatinas, Kabalevsky pieces (what is considered level 2 out of 10 levels).

 

Here are some suggestions that I hope may be helpful:

 

If your 8 YO is having trouble solidifying reading notes, reviewing relevant flashcards together before practicing the day's assignment can be very helpful.

If you practice with him you can ask leading questions such as "What note does your right hand play first? What note does your left hand play first?"

 

Basically, aim for the nearest approximation of perfect execution the first time. This lessens the amount of practice needed to master a new piece. The best way to work toward this is by carefully observing the music before attempting to play it. Tapping the rhythm, naming the notes, etc.

 

Also, based on the way the brain learns and the way the body learns, it's ideal to practice 2 times a day (the same routine each time) - once in the morning for the brain, once within 4 hours of bedtime for the body.

 

If you would like to take an active role in helping him master note reading, you can visit susanparadis.com (this is a goldmine!) and find worksheets and games to use. Also check out thepluckypianista.blogspot.com and colorinmypiano.com .

 

Best of luck to you!

[4ofus]

As a professional piano teacher I'm excited to have an opportunity to help, yet am hesitant to jump in. :001_smile:

 

Let me preface this by saying that I have never taught out of the Schuam books, nor have I analyzed them thoroughly, so I can't recommend supplements that will be perfectly correlated. But I can do my best to answer your original questions.

 

In my most recent personal experience, a student can be led through a primer in a matter of weeks (I aim for about a chapter a week), but this, of course, can be dependent on many things.

You asked for average benchmarks, so I'll try to outline a few basic goals - these will vary by method used and the order in which they introduce new concepts and the age of the student. I'll answer according to what should be expected with careful practice of about 40 minutes a day 5/6 days a week beginning around age 8.

 

1. familiarity with the grand staff from bass C to treble C within 6 months.

2. complete familiarity with the grand staff (from low bass clef F to high treble G) by the end of the first year.

3. Technical proficiency - 5 finger scales (understanding how they're built is theory) clean and quick hands together by the end of the first year.

4. Hanon exercises (usually the first exercise - the first 1-5 for the most precocious) after about a year and a half.

5. Full scales, ascending and descending at about 2 years of dedicated study

 

At this point they're usually ready to begin some of the easier classics - early sonatinas, Kabalevsky pieces (what is considered level 2 out of 10 levels).

 

Here are some suggestions that I hope may be helpful:

 

If your 8 YO is having trouble solidifying reading notes, reviewing relevant flashcards together before practicing the day's assignment can be very helpful.

If you practice with him you can ask leading questions such as "What note does your right hand play first? What note does your left hand play first?"

 

Basically, aim for the nearest approximation of perfect execution the first time. This lessens the amount of practice needed to master a new piece. The best way to work toward this is by carefully observing the music before attempting to play it. Tapping the rhythm, naming the notes, etc.

 

Also, based on the way the brain learns and the way the body learns, it's ideal to practice 2 times a day (the same routine each time) - once in the morning for the brain, once within 4 hours of bedtime for the body.

 

If you would like to take an active role in helping him master note reading, you can visit susanparadis.com (this is a goldmine!) and find worksheets and games to use. Also check out thepluckypianista.blogspot.com and colorinmypiano.com .

 

Best of luck to you!

 

 

Thank you so much!!!

 

He is in Alfred Primer C with some F&F mixed in. I appreciate SO MUCH the benchmarks~that is exactly the sort of thing MY brain needs :). I will keep them in mind as he works. Thanks also for the practice time suggestions & the 'why' behind it. I also will check out the websites you mention. THANK YOU!

[jhschool]

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