To think my DD is very talented at piano.

[MyNavyLurker]

My DD is 8 and is on a waiting list for piano lessons, but I’m wondering if anyone can tell me if this is a sign she has a natural talent or gift for the piano.

I bought her a beginners piano book and each day, she’ll spend about 20 minutes reading the lessons and working through the exercises and pieces. We have a book of Christmas carols. She is playing pieces with sharps, flats, hand movements etc and she is playing them really well.

If I am honest, I am not musical myself, so I’m totally blown away. She is learning a piece that’s two pages with two hands, sharps, movement of hands etc in only a couple of days of sitting for max 20 mins.

Maybe it’s just that thing of being amazed at what your own kids are capable of, but Im wondering if this is unusual to have this ability after only a couple of months since starting, and completely self taught using beginner books.

Please be kind, I’m aware it might be that thing where I’m just a proud mum. 😂

Yeah no one should have to try too hard. ;)

With the grading, many of the pieces to choose from are awful.
They are practicing them for months and when they don't like them it is bloody torturous for them and the house.

I definitely think it can kill their enjoyment of learning, but the exams do move them forward apparently.

After 16 years of lessons I wish mine enjoyed playing more.

If they are playing exam pieces for months it’s a sign that they are actually far below that level with their playing. They’d be better off learning another 10 or 20 that bridge the gap so that they can then learn and polish the grade pieces in a matter of weeks not months.

Really?
They did exams annually and were working on their pieces fo 4- 5 months before the exams together with a few pieces they picked out for pleasure.

They completed grade 8 and did well IMO gaining a good honour.

I certainly have never heard of the higher grade pieces being completed in weeks.

They had 150+ scales to learn too I believe.

Sounds great! It’s such a good feeling when you kid finds a natural aptitude, passion or enjoyment in something.

My eldest is similar, really enjoyed the simply piano app until he got lessons and is now flying.

My dd started learning recorder at about 8, then over the next few years she progressed to saxophone, piano and guitar.
She did a couple of grades in sax and piano, but she mostly self taught.
She was in a band for a while.
She is a professional singer/ songwriter now and has self taught percussion and recording/ sound engineering basic skills.

IMO it is about talent and enjoyment.
DD gave up music gcse at school because it was taking all the pleasure out of the music for her.
Lessons are a great idea and it sounds as if your dd has talent. I wish her much happiness from her music.

My DS started having piano lessons via school when they were 8. Progress seemed pretty slow for years and there was much reluctance to practice. After several years of grinding away on grades they started trying to play from my music books, and enjoying it. We eventually realised the boring pursuit of grades was the problem. They still have lessons (16 now) using music they enjoy or recommended for them by theid teacher. They are flourishing musically- and they play the piano for fun both at school and home.

It sounds like your DD has a natural aptitude, @MyNavyLurker . How lovely! You are right to support her and foster her love of music- if nothing else it's a brilliant life skill and very beneficial for mental wellbeing.

When it comes to honing any skill, it's 90% about the work you put in and not much about how naturally gifted you are.

If finances allow, I'd just look for a private piano teacher and not wait around for school lessons. If she really does have the potential to become a good pianist, it would be a shame for her to miss out on lessons for however long just because you're waiting for a specific teacher. The school lessons might not be that good anyway.

She sounds fabulous. And even if she doesn’t turn out to be gifted as such, what a lovely skill to have that will bring her joy always.

Exactly! Just the enjoyment she has from learning and playing is everything.

She sounds great, OP. She is clearly really motivated and consistent about practice, which is brilliant. I hope that she continues to enjoy it and that she gets much pleasure from it!

That’s talented to me. She also has the drive and dedication so it shows how passionate she is. Definitely look for a music teacher out of school if the wait time is too long.

She sounds like my friend who taught herself the piano. She was very musically gifted and had a singing career. She said the piano felt completely natural to her.

She sounds like she has a natural ability but I would strongly recommend you find her a teacher as it is so important to develop good habits in terms of technique and hand positions which is not always easy to pick up from a book or for that matter an I pad app.

It's so easy to get into bad habits on the piano and it is very hard to rectify if it goes on too long.

Yes - on line lessons with a real teacher are possible but in person is so much better.

She obviously has a natural talent. Lucky girl. It can be a huge confidence boost to a child to discover such a gift. Just be careful not to overdo the praise. No matter what your gift, there is always someone better, and realising that is often painful.

That's great, sounds very good for self taught and like she has a natural gift for it; I hope she enjoys lessons.

But you said you wished your kids enjoyed playing more. Maybe they would if they hadn’t spent so long on the same pieces?

Piano teacher here. She sounds like a dream pupil tbh.
I teach both privately and in schools. At one school there is a long waiting list, and I have told the receptionist at this school to suggest parents maybe look into private lessons, as these children may be on the waiting list for months, before I can take them on. It is in a wealthy catchment area, the downside of that being that most of my pupils there do loads of after school activities and piano is one thing out of many. They wouldn't be likely to come to me for the private lessons though as I live in the not so wealthy area the other side of town!
It's great that your DD has found something that she is good at, and it is rare to be able to play well, understand how to read music, without some tuition first.
Good luck with finding a teacher, and there is an 'extracurricular' board on mumsnet which may offer good advice too.

How is she learning the pieces? Has she taught herself how to read music?

I'm very sceptical of anyone who says they have perfect pitch. It's very rare as is having grade 8 in numerous instruments. Why would you bother to keep taking exams with different instruments?