Piano Teacher, what should I do?

[xing]

DS is 9 and has passed paino grade 5 when younger. Piano teacher is very good in all aspects apart from she is very busy and sometimes have to do without lessons for 3,4 weeks. DS did grade 5 with another teacher, we changed to the currently teacher due to house move.

The plan has been he will take music scholarship for senior school when he is Year 6/8. So I worry that his piano may not be good enough by Year 6/8 although he does have a good early start.

What should I do with in this situation? Thanks in advance.

I think you should find a teacher who can teach him regularly. He's obviously advanced, and perhaps may get a scholarship anyway, but most students thrive on a lesson every week.

I know absolutely nothing about Paino..However...Can you raise the issue that you want more lessons with teacher...If not I would suggest you move teachers again.

Some advanced players benefit from fewer lessons for various reasons, but I agree that dc tend to prefer shorter goals from weekly lessons.
I would speak to the teacher, but your ds will not suffer musically from having fewer lessons.
What type of thing is he playing at the moment, is he working towards a particular exam in the summer perhaps.
has he passed theory grade 5 yet, this could be a handy addition to the piano lessons.

morethanpotatoprints, DS has passed grade 5 theory. Currently he is not targetting any exams but just building up pieces by pieces. As I am non-musical, so very worried how he is doing...

Are you anywhere near one of the music conservatoires that have saturday junior depts as he is of a standard they would be interested in.
Also, playing in groups and ensembles does a lot to keep motivation in between lessons and gives a good social side too.
I know you didn't say that motivation was a problem, but a social side may help if you don't have weekly lessons.
If he has a good relationship with his teacher I would persevere for a while because it is the luck of the draw finding somebody like this.
It also sounds like the teacher is new to him and may just need time to establish a way forward for him.
Without knowing much about the teacher it is hard to advise as sometimes fewer lessons may not be to the students detriment.

I agree with 'Friendly'. Alarm bells ring with me about 'busy' and several-week gaps. Your child is evidently very talented and deserves a teacher to whom he is important. I (personally) disagree with 'more than': long gaps might suit much older pupils but at a young age regular feedback and attention to technique are important. I do agree with 'morethan' about other activities, but a dedicated teacher would already be telling you about these. And a dedicated teacher would be worried about 3-4 week gaps.

One of the things I got right was to find my child a new piano teacher. One of the things I did very wrong was to let a similar situation to yours carry on far too long. In my opinion.

I think you need to decide what kind of teacher you want. Do you want a currently working professional pianist? or maybe a retired performer who now teaches? or a dedicated teacher who may not have too much professional playing experience?
Obviously, the more playing work the teacher does, the more adaptable you will need to be to fit lessons in. A teacher who mainly teaches, will be able to offer you set times on a weekly basis.
Does he have a second instrument on the go?

Grade 5 Theory at age nine, I would have thought, is exceptionally good. Do you know what pass mark he got?

You say you 'are non-musical'. Would it not help and encourage DS if he taught YOU to play a bit, and you understood more of what he is doing?

And if he plays to Grade 5, the more practice and the wider variety of material he tackles, the better. It is the PLAYING that is the important part, and there are a lot of on-line music sites that may help and inspire. You can also buy the ABRSM pieces for higher Grades, without actually intending to sit the exam at this time. Also learning the more advanced Scales and Exercises will be useful for future reference.

Eventually, the better he gets and the higher the level of difficulty, I agree he will need a really good teacher to cover the finer aspects of technique and interpretation, but for now I think he needs to play as much as possible.

Does he get an opportunity to play at school? For Assembly, or accompanying other solo instrumentalists? Do you have a good music shop near you, that sells pianos? Some dealers put on demonstrations for the public, to advertise their products. Our local Yamaha dealer used to run little concerts by their school students.

And he also needs to LISTEN to as much piano music, of all genres, as possible. I give you a link to Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov, and if you want other styles, let me know as I have a library of styles:

daniiltrifonov.com/

I echo morethan's suggestion of junior Conservatoire if you're near a city,.
I also ask about a second u

Instrument. There ate skills learned playing in ensembles that he can not practise playing piano!
Its also really good for his social skills and a lot of fun.

Thanks everyone who has advised. He has second instrument, but he could not go to a JD as he has Saturday school. After long and hard think, we decided to go back to his previous teacher who is a long way to travel. Hopefully things will sort out.