Is grade 1 piano realistic in 12 months for an 11/12 year-old?

[NW3Lady]

She’s very keen and motivated, plus she already reads music well from playing the recorder and clarinet. Is achieving grade 1 piano in a year a realistic goal?

Yes, definitely. My DD started piano at 7 in the September, and had done both the prep test and grade 1 by the following July (with distinction).

The first three grades can be done in six months each if your child is committed and does 15-20 mins practice most days. We found by grade 4 DD needed a year for each grade and longer practice time, but a committed learner can make progress very quickly - it’s all about the regular practice.

Yes.

Easily achievable, but what I found when switching from a wind instrument to a piano at a similar age was that I had only ever learned treble clef on the sheet music. It took a while for me to get to grips with bass clef.

Yes. Grade 1 is a massive step up from tutor books (hence the introduction of the initial grade), but sounds like she has a great musical foundation which is what the piano tutor books teach, so should be fine going in at grade 1. I personally as a teacher would just spend some time making sure she has the foundations down eg good hand position, understanding the instrument, basic initial theory, finger weighting, know all the initial grade scales, good at reading rhythms etc, before starting G1.

I think it depends on the child tbh. my nephew really took to piano and did grade 1 in six months and then a grade a term until g4 but that’s quicker than usual pace. I think @nyancatdays child is going to be well above average as well re a grade every 6 months as well. So it’s very possible to do it in a year for a musical child but not attainable or realistic for all.

I picked up piano at around 12 after getting pretty good at a woodwind instrument. I never got beyond grade 1 as I found the piano really hard. I never really cracked doing two things at once or getting my left hand going and reading the bass clef in parallel. I can see that one of my daughter’s is the same (it’s hard work and she’s plodding through) and I think the other one is more naturally suited to piano. I’m not sure that being good at an orchestral instrument always translates to being good at piano.

Absolutely. DS was quite frankly not very good at all and achieved this easily.

100%

My (admittedly adult) DS went from zero to distinction at grade 4 in 9 months. He isn't particularly musical but enjoyed it and practised every day after work for around an hour.

Yes, definitely. Particularly with sight reading skills and a natural aptitude for music. My 2 eldest daughters did grade 1 (distinction) at age 6 with less than a year of practice.

This is about right for a regular practicer much longer for a practice avoider.

Remember the more pieces you play in between grades, the smaller the gap between your current grade and the next one, don’t focus solely on exam stuff enjoy other repertoire too.

Yes absolutely as an older learner with some musical experience. Whether she actually wants to take grade 1 may be a different question. Taking a grade is a slow process. Depending on how naturally she transitions she may want to take a bit longer, speed through the early stages and jump in at a higher grade.

Oh bother, post was from may, what was that doing at the top of the list. Wonder how she's getting on...