Should we let her give up?

A break may help, sometimes kids just start too young, have a couple of years off and then come back to it. Either way I would take a break from grades. Look for some of the 'very easy piano' books there are some good Disney ones. Be careful though some of the 'easy piano' are more suitable for grade 2+.

Theres a series of books/sheet music called 'big note' that she should find very approachable, too easy tbh but she probably needs that. She needs something that she can play very quickly and boost her confidence and enjoyment.

I hope this makes sense, I'm over tired and have had wine but am a piano teacher who seems to mop up many reluctant practicers, one of my early conversions is taking grade 8 next year.

Yes, let her focus on her singing for now 1 she's only little and school and singing are plenty. If shem issues the piano you have one, she will know enough to play and you can give her the option of a teacher of her own rather than sisters later on

How long has she been learning the piano for? What book does she use?

I’m hoping to do my grade one piano next year. What helped me was asking the teacher for advice on how to incorporate my personal learning style into the lessons.

Also I took a 4 week break from learning the piano over the summer holidays as well. That helped remind me why I wanted to do it in the first place.

Ask her if she prefers to have another teacher. Forget about taking piano exams. Just concentrate on getting the basic skills for now and then see what happens next. You might reconsider later on but for now you should offer her a chance to find a effective method.

Piano lessons need to be fun. Not a chore. One of my biggest weaknesses is lack of persistence. I dropped my writing lessons after several years because it was boring after a while. I was constantly working on the same thing over and over during the lesson.

It was hard work.

Get to Grade 1 so she has proof of her hard work and a certificate. Then discuss what she wants to do.

What does she like singing? What does she listen to? Might she be interested in guitar to sing to or just focusing on her singing? Does she like to write her own songs? Does she like to dance?

I don't think it's right ot make her keep doing piano just because her very different sister likes it.

Really sorry to sound negative. It's just you said you're not musical, I play myself and know lots of music teachers and they all think that going from exam to exam like this is a really bad idea. So I thought you ought to be warned this isn't the normal way of learning an instrument. If other musicians recommend her she must have something going for her; if other parents do, it may just be because they see the exam progress like you.
Can I make a different suggestion? You could ask DD2 if she'd like to try learning with a different teacher and not take exams for now. It seems a shame to just give up when she's seen so little of the fun side of piano. See how she gets on and how her musical skills progress. You might just be converted, but at least you'd be giving DD2 a chance to find a method that suits her better.

Brass players may disagree but I do think it's something that can go quickly if you have a knack for it. For sure if he's got to grade 6 in two years it's unlikely he's actually sat all the exams. Sure your teacher is a lovely person. I'm afraid I wouldn't really describe that as proper music teaching and would be concerned your DD's aren't learning enough other music to actually become competent pianists. I'm a tad concerned about DS's teacher from that perspective but at least they have 6 months off exam music. Exams are supposed to be a check that you've reached a certain standard, not a teaching syllabus in themselves.

It does vary somewhat by instrument, I believe - the first grades are harder on stringed instruments than on wind instruments, as I understand it. However, if 'preparing for each exam' is taking 9 months of every year playing, then that could be delaying progress. So if a child is capable of playing Grade 1 standard pieces well, but then spends 9 months preparing 'the exam pieces', then those 9 months could be spent on a range of pieces that would help them to reach a higher standard faster. On the other hand, if the exam pieces are being used as the only teaching tool 'to get the child to Grade 1 standard', then not taking so many exams (you really don't have to do them all one after the other) won't accelerate progress, but might make the process of getting to each standard MUCH more interesting, because the teaching can be done with a much wider repertoire.

The only possible excuse for playing the exam pieces for so long with such a short break would be if each is worked on alongside a large range of 'shorter term' pieces - so she has say 3 pieces on the go at once, only one of which is an exam piece, then moves on to next exam piece alongside a rotating set of other pieces and so on...

And importantly, he has LOVED it. Piano is a lonely instrument, too - groups can be a great motivator. Do you have a local youth music service with a choir?

As a possibly different model, DS's music teacher (not piano) has always introduced him to a huge range of different pieces - some 'just to play for a couple of weeks', some worked on over a longer time frame. After a while, it emerges that a couple of these pieces, or similar ones, could be exam pieces (and I genuinely never know until I start hearing those few pieces more intensively), and then he takes the exam within a month or 2. Until his final grades - needed for application purposes - he has also always been well at, or above, the standard needed for the exam 'You are at G6 standard now, as most of your pieces are that standard or above' before even starting to focus on the exam pieces. Overall, he has done 6 exams on 2 instruments, including 2x Grade 8 exams, but his repertoire and sight reading (and also improvisation - jazz being his preferred genre) are great, much better than they would have been after a linear slog through exam pieces.

That was supposed to be a shock smiley not a laughing one. That is really little time off.

:o that's not enough time off. I'd like more 9 months of playing other stuff, then 3 months of exam pieces if they're ready for the next grade, or more other stuff if they're not, or leave it a little longer and skip a grade if they're doing particularly well. If she's only giving them 6-10 weeks off then they're playing exam pieces at least 2/3 of the time if 10 weeks is a term and probably more counting holidays. And they're bound to take ages to learn them as they are jumping straight to the next level rather than working up to it. I'm not liking the sound of this teacher.

One grade per year is fine; what I don't like is spending so long on the same pieces. But if she has had other music alongside maybe not so bad. DS had exam music and only exam music for 6 months, I think that's too much. I'd rather they started on exams a bit later or did more other stuff in between so the exam music was closer to sight reading level rather than 6 months work level iyswim?

Oh gosh, same pieces since January? No wonder she's fed up. DS was thoroughly fed up by exam in March starting in September. I would definitely see if she feels the same playing some different pieces after the exam. I'm thinking of asking for DS not to take any more exams for now actually, the amount he practises it's such a long slog, and then he gets fed up and practises even less. I much prefer when they take exams at a level where the music is easy for them not a 6 month+ project.

As a child I had piano lessons for years and didn't even get to grade 1. I was terrible at it and didn't like it. Then I took up clarinet which I much preferred and got to grade 8.
If it's an option, I'd let her try something else. I think different people are naturally suited to different instruments.

I mean how long has she been doing the grade 1 pieces? Or is that not what you meant by working towards?
I'd ask the singing teacher if she knows of a suitable choir in the first place. Or any local churches that have a girls/mixed choir if the religious aspect isn't a problem? We're not a religious family at all but my siblings both enjoyed church choirs.