How long a piano lesson for a 6 year old girl?

[FiveHoursSleep]

DD3 has been learning the piano for about 4 months and has been having a 30 minute lesson once a week. She's coming on well, our teacher doesn't usually take them until they are 7 so was only giving her a trial but says she's got some musical ability and is able to concentrate well so can continue. She's almost finished the first
Now the teacher has asked if she can go up to 3/4 hour lessons as she wants to push her a bit harder. DD1 and DD2 already have an hour each with the same teacher and are doing well ( grade 4 and grade 2), so I trust her, but I was wondering if it was a bit long for her age? She's just little and my now 8 year DD2 didn't have go up to that length of lesson until she was 7.5.
What are other 6 year olds doing with regards to length of lesson?

Colleger - i agree with your comments about no point in rushing through the grades. People seem hung up on them. However, dh is a professional musician and he only had 1 x 30mins lesson a week until he was 18. No junior department. Just playing with local youth orchestra.

There are always exceptions to the rule but it also depends on the definition of professional too. :)

Er, he's a professional musician as in he makes his living by playing music!? That would be my definition. He does some teaching too - most musicians do. Much better to put teacher down on an insurance form than musician!

Colleger I started playing clarinet when I was 15 so didnt have years of lessons, only 3, you are jumping to conclusions.

As for it being a natural progression I find that quite strange, most people taking music exams dont get a distinction, it is not the "average" result. of course its not the same if you talk to professionals, but we arent doing that, the OP is about a small child!!

Anyway at age 6 there isnt any need to do more than 30 mins a week but OP its your call.

Colleger just means G8 is not THAT hard, just like any other subject, you have resonable interest, put in resonable effort, you will get there, so is you A level science, history ,as G8 is only the start line for professional.
The title of professional musician covers wide range of ability, like some other titles do.

Many of us were session singers/musicians and in my case professional choristers as well, with the odd concert and wedding thrown in. We are not all Pavarottis, in fact most musicians aren't.

I see. Doh. DS has shorter lessons on his second instrument as well (but still 45 mins).

I was surprised about 30 mins on second instrument in JD and you have to pay extra for 45 mins..

Personally I think it's too short for older children (of cause with 6 yo is different)

If you look at pianists that are the standard of YMOTY then they will usually have a minimum of two hour lessons. I don't know how they fill the time but I've known plenty 8 year olds having lessons of this length on a weekly basis. I'm sure they have a drink/snack during the session so it's not two hours chained to the piano.

Getting to grade 8 at 18 from the age of 15 is not out of the ordinary. Getting to grade 8 at age 10 starting at age 7 is!

It's supervised practice that makes all the difference in terms of gifted young musicians, IME. Many specialist music schools will organise this for kids on a daily basis. Perhaps in the longer lessons some of this is going on, rather than actual teaching.

Sorry , what's YMOTY ?

I know in Eastern Europe and Russia where they have music schools (not like specialist schools in UK but more of an "after school" school) , they have 2 hours a week on the main instrument as standard , + musicianship ('solfegio') , +choir and orchestra.

I think they have much shorter school day though but get much more homework.

Still they manage pretty well. And it is not seen as "professional training" , its a sort of education lots of kids get in parallel with normal school.

Supervised music practice at at least two of the music schools is a myth. If anything, my son's rate of progress has dropped dramatically since starting and he only seems to catch up in the holidays. One practice doesn't have any supervision and the other has a girl walking up and down the corridor but that's it. The supervisors are always late so the kids never get the full practice time either.

That's interesting on supervised practice. I assumed it meant one person sitting with them.

That is what I have tended to do and it takes quite a bit of time. It's more because they are likely to practise well if I am there and I certainly know many children who just practise on their own (as indeed I always did) but I do think it makes a difference particularly to those who might otherwise avoid much practice. It's quite hard to avoid it if you're sitting with your parents or supervisor. You can't exactly twiddle your thumbs or pretend you've done it.

I used to sit in because it took half the time. My son would faff about and is particularly bad with piano as he starts composing - drivel, mostly!

He now knows how to practice but the set up at his school is not good.

Colleger - sounds so familiar! :)

I sit with ds2 for the first 25 mins or so of his practice to supervise: he does scales first; then works on the particular piece(s) he's focusing on, or the particular technique/advice from the teacher that week.

After that he just carries on by himself as long as he wants. Sometimes continuing with 'curriculum' pieces, sometimes fun pieces he chooses, sometimes sight reading, sometimes composing.

My children's father who teaches always used to say of the average 7-8 year old it was those whose parent sits with them who tend to do best. Obviously you sometimes get someone really good who will practise anyway but most normal children aren't like that. I think if you're prepared to pay for lessons it is worth trying to sit in it even if it is just 10 minutes. I think if mine do 10 minutes a day that is better than one long practice a week.

Quite right, Xenia. Little and often is the trick at first.

Some (most?) children find learning to practise properly ten times harder than learning the instrument itself.

Our piano is in our living room, so everyone else listens when someone practices. You should hear what the critical so-and-so's say about my playing! I make mine practice every day. It took some doing but they now just accept it and get on with it!

Yes, I do a lot of yelling "It's B flat, for god's sake!" and "Take your foot off the pedal!!" through the door!

Our piano is a hybrid silent/acoustic one. So I get to play at night and the kids get to bang on it at ungodly hours in the morning without being even more of a nuisance to our poor long-suffering neighbours.

SLOW DOWN, is my normal scream!

I feel your pain.

More from me:

"For the love of god, count!"
"Don't start at the beginning, start with the hardest bit and work backwards!"
"Keep your wrists up!"

Occasionally I even praise the children, oh yes. No tiger mother, me.

I usually do ironing nearby - that's how all these sheets and duvet covers get done :) .

Do not mess with mama holding hot iron ..