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!

I agree with Crazymum53 said , you need to play wide variety of pieces+technic exercises+theory, etc. Otherwise you will find it's hard to get onto the next step as the gap from each grade is getting bigger and bigger.
How long does she practice? How quickly she can master something new?

If there is any hidden problem (looks like you have some),I suggest you stay here a while longer, get everything solid up.A decent mark for grade X is better than a narrow pass on grade X+1, or equal quality, obviouly you don't have to take all the exams.

To add to my post and now knowing she is an older beginner dh went ont
To go to music college as a singer and though he plays to diploma standard his rushing through the grades meant he didn't develoP the technique to become concert standard

He still earns a living in music and he's a fantastiic accompanist so I agree with those who say make sure she is develoPing her sight reading

Ah, that makes sense. I agree that if it stresses her out and she has a natural talent holding back won't make any difference. My friend did her grade 8 at 14 but she had to practice every night for at least half hour.

Hope it works out and you find a solution.

Agree with CURIOUSMIND. There is quite a jump between Grades 4 and 5.
Its not ust learning 3 pieces and extra scales. But really, this is teachers job to guide your DD. There should be a lot of learning in between grades I think.You dont have to take them all anyway. But the speed in itself isn't that alarming.
Now, my DC..... :) :) :).
Kids do progress in leaps.And they they can stall .. But sometimes it is worth to take your time to learn more in breadth, to have a chance for things to sink in. Just passing a grade is not really that important really.

My DS is 12 and he is going for his Grade 7 piano soon plus his Grade 8 violin soon. He practices 20min each instrument most days. With that level of practice we expect a Merit as opposed to a Distinction.

He could easily get Distinctions if he were to spend an hour on each instrument every day but THAT would be stressful. As it is, he has plenty of time for sports and stuff.

My point is that it should be a problem if the child isn't being pressured to be the next Lang Lang.

oops. I meant to say that it SHOULDN'T
be a problem.

My dd (9) has just done her grade 2 and at her first lesson after the exam, her teacher got out the grade three books. I decided then to put the exams on hold and concentrate on just playing a wide range of pieces and doing a lot of sight reading.... Which is much more important than chugging throught the grades. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by doing one exam after another as a child will only be able to play the exam pieces!!! I am of the view that there is no need at all to ate the exams on the piano ( until the later grades anyway). My dd also does cello, for which she does do the exams but her teachers sets a wide range of pieces and she takes singing exams.
Another factor to consider is to look at the syllabus for the different exam boards - Trinity Guildhall is quite wide ranging and varied and less ' dry and dusty'!

It's not unusual for a child to progress quickly at 12. My son has been playing on and off for a year from age 10-11 and is working on grade 5 pieces. However, he is also working on grade 2-4 pieces because he is learning solid technique. Do make sure nothing is being missed. He practices for round 40mins five days a week but only 15 mins of that is good practice and the rest is rushed mess, composing or doing something random!

She will slow down as she hits the higher grades.... DS got to grade 5 in 2 years, but took a further 2 years to get to grade 8! He also started when 10.

Make sure she is playing lots of non-exam pieces she enjoys and finds challenging! DS loves original Scott Joplin scores and his DS have over the summer nagged him to play he pieces from the "Muppet Movie" soundtrack book!

Is she getting good distinctions at each exam, that should be a good indicator as to how well her level is being pitched.