Frequently Asked Questions

It’s equal important for piano students to participate in performance besides learning

When should a kid start learning piano?

It depends on the growth of the kid’s learning ability and finger muscle, if any one of them is not well grown, it is not suitable to start learning. Girls can start learning at age 4.5 to 5 while boys start at 5 in most of the cases.

Do beginner students need professional piano teachers?

Certainly. From the past experience, many transferred students need to learn from the basic in gesture, finger shape, sight reading (reading notes) and music knowledge. It wasted both parents and student’s money and time. A good beginning is half the battle, it is therefore highly recommended to choose professional teachers with good experience to start learning.

What are the approaches of learning piano for beginner students?

Before learning note reading, beginner students should start learning the correct gesture, eye-fingers coordination, musical sense, rhythmic sense and aural. As music is a kind of language, students should first master the aural and speaking skills before the reading skill. At the beginning, students are therefore required to sing with letter names, to listen and to do rhythmic exercise with metronome. From past experience, the learning outcome of using new teaching method is much better than the traditional method by using “middle C” in the first lesson. Many transferred students have difficulty in notes reading, rhythm and musical sense due to improper or lack of training in the beginner stage.

Do piano students have to take piano exams?

Not necessarily so. In fact, many students learning piano abroad didn’t take any piano exams. The important factors for learning piano is to adopt a self-initiative, interest-driven approach and continue practice to make steady progress to your target level.

When should a student take piano exam?

There is not a rigid time frame for student to take piano exams. If students have learnt piano for some time, and in order to gain recognition and test their level of achievement, they may take an exam. Through preparation of different examination pieces – scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and aural tests, and comment from examiners after the exam, students can get good chances of learning. It’s incorrect to apply for an exam in advance or pre-setting a target exam grade before learning. This wrong attitude of getting the cart before the horse is not recommended.

What should a piano beginner student note?

1. To prepare a piano at home within the first 6 months of learning.

2. Students are not encouraged to use digital or electric piano for practice.Their sense of touching and sound are totally different. In case an acoustic piano is not acquired at home, you can practice it in a piano studio.

3. Parents should accompany their kids for learning and schedule for them a practice timetable. Students should practice at least 3 times per week if daily practice is impracticable. Solely relying on a weekly lesson from the teacher without practice is certainly inadequate to make good progress. More hardworking parents, better learning results.

4. Do not attempt to set target exam grade in the first few years. It is necessary to follow the teacher’s advice before planning to take any exam. As a matter of fact, it is essential for students to do the basics well before taking an exam.

5. It is a tough and difficult task to master a musical instrument, students should practice it daily or at least four times per week if they have not enough time. Busy in work or playing are not good excuse for stopping or reducing the time of practice.