Is my DD Progressing too fast on the Piano?

[whatever1]

Hi! My DD has been playing the piano for 2 years now, but her piano teacher does go on holiday quite often. She has recently done her Grade 4 exam, and now is beginning to work on her Grade 5. I'm a bit worried seeing as I found out that most of my friends' children take between 3-5 years to reach Grade 5 on the piano. So is my daughter currently fine, or is she progressing too fast on the piano? Thanks in advance!

stealth boast!

If she is capable of doing the exam, why worry about how fast she is progressing? She is clearly talented.

How can she be 'progressing too fast'?

As long as she is enjoying it and no-one is pushing her, how can it be a problem?

Teeny tiny weeny steath boast maybe?

Worried? I don't think so. What do you think is going to happen to her if she 'progresses too fast' is the going to get musical whiplash?

Show-off.

Yes she is I'm afraid, you should be very concerned.

Yes, she is progressing far too fast. Studies have shown that children who take under 27 months to get to grade 4 turn into werewolves at grade 6. I'd check those teacher holidays too: they almost certainly coincide with the full moon.

That the sort of thing you were after ?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah

'musical whiplash' LMFAO

I did my grade 5 in 2 years.... so would be changing teachers if I were you

It is imperative she stop training immediately

Yes, by the time she is 10 they will have run out of grades and she will stop practising and take up smoking weed instead.

Could be dangerous for her health

(Whereas if she progresses more slowly it will take her till at least 19 to do this. Or that's what happened to me, anyway.)

(That was the weed not the werewolves, btw, remain immune from lycanthropy.)

Oh for goodness sake. Her poor teacher. (dh private guitar tutor, he has heard it all now he said)

It sounds very worrying. Have you also noticed her French improving at alarming levels? Perhaps you're concerned for her sporting prowess. It's a very real danger.
I should expose her to some dumbing-down immediately. Have you seen Almost Naked Animals? Just the ticket.

I'm not sure how you can progress too fast. Unless she is just scraping a pass each exam? In which case she may be better to slow down and get a better standard for each exam.

If not - WTAF?

Musical whiplash made me

I'd be very worried about her beoming a musical genius. Has she already started to get a massive forehead? Is her hair a bit professorish? You could try her on the French Horn to try and slow her down. Or tie one hand behind her back.

Lifeissweet you have made me proper laugh! 'show off' was a standard insult at my primary school. Although it was only said behind people's backs and it actually translated as someone who was pretty and popular! But even so, really made me chuckle.

OP I am quite new, but even I read the title and thought 'stealth boast'!

have we all seen "music teacher and parent" on you tube? Look it up. vvv funny! Don't know how to do links - sorry!

How old is she? Dh began piano at age 14 taking grade 5 a couple of years later And did his grade 8 when he was 18. He pretty much abandoned everything else (like schoolwork) though.

I realize now what I said sounded as if I was stealth boasting, however, I'm not trying to. Sorry if I confused you. What I meant was, as you know, each grade gets harder. So more practice time needs to be put in. What I am concerned about is that she gets stressed with schoolwork, and sometimes doesn't get to sleep until quite late at night (due to having to complete homework). What I was wondering is, if she slowed down, would it help to cut down stress? Because as well as this, she does Karate. For now, we have stopped her lessons until we find a solution. She still, however practices as it is the Summer Holidays.

bigTillyMint - Once again, I'm sorry for making it sound like I was stealth boasting. Her teacher thinks she's talented but the problem is a lot of practice needs to be put in. And she doesn't really want to abandon her karate. Thanks.

youarewinning - No, she hasn't been scraping passes, but gets stressed with homework/karate. Thanks.

1805 - I'll check it out when I have time. Thanks.

RevoltingChildren - She's 12. And what I am worried about is that she might also have to abandon her schoolwork/piano/karate. However, I must say I found it impressive your DH reached Grade 8 in 4 years! Thank you for your help.

I would suggest that, if you're worried about stress and pressure that you ask the teacher to go easy on the exams and let her play for pleasure. I got to my grade 6 on the clarinet quite quickly, but hated the constant pressure or practicing for exams. Once I said 'no more exams' and carried on lessons for pleasure, I actually started to enjoy it. I could play what I wanted and learn at my own pace. When I was 17, I decided for myself that I wanted my grade 8 and, by then, I had enough confidence and ability to get through it without stressing.

Don't make a big deal out of it, just have a word with her teacher if you're worried.

Sorry if I was rude earlier.

Also, you can find teachers that don't teach to pass exams, but teach to play by ear and be more creative. That's what I did on the piano. I started when I was 4 - on the usual grade treadmill, but actually became a better musician once I had a teacher who encouraged more improvisation. There's no reason that learning an instrument should be stressful. In fact, it should be the opposite.

Can she play a range of Music or just the exam pieces? Does she have any experience in playing in public? Has she been learning any theory?
You cannot take any grades beyond grade 5 without grade 5 theory or Practical Musicianship so she may need to start this soon or she will get "stuck" at grade 5.
My mother is a retired piano teacher and used to organist concerts for her pupils so they could play in front of an audience (usually their parents). Piano (and other instrumental pupils) do need to learn to play a wide variety of different styles of pieces as well and I would be concerned if the teacher is just working through grades without taking this into account. There are graded books with a wider repertoire that can help with this e.g. the "What Else can I Play" Piano grade 4 series.

Poor op! I know where you're coming from, but it is a very first world problem.
Is she scraping through the exams or stressed out? Does she parctise for hours? If not it sounds fine.