Piano lessons advice

[luly2023]

Hi
My dd started piano lessons in her private school in year 1 a year before COVID, and then continued online during a year of COVID. Just as she was embarking in year 3 her teacher told me she was not making progress and (Basically) had other priorities in school so could not continue lessons.
I was very disappointed to hear this as she had not mentioned dd was not progressing as she expected.
I took dd to another piano teacher locally and she began to make progress and learn music theory/notes etc. the new teacher informed me my daughter did not even have the basic knowledge of the notes.
I asked the teacher if they could work towards a grade, to provide some structure to these lessons, and they began on RBSM books for grade 1 around Feb 2022. The lessons have been going on for a year, and dd has been stuck on the same book (scales) since May 2022 repeating the same pages week after week.
I cant help her as I am not musically trained, so now when I see her practice it looks good to me, however the feedback from her teacher is still that she is not making progress. She does practice at home al be it limited to about 10 mins a day to 30 mins on good days (really depends on other homework too).

I am a little confused by the feedback and exasperated, so not sure if pulling her out all together wouyld be best all around or whether to try a 3rd recommended teacher? The second teacher was a local lady who is Ukrainian and classically trained but not a kids teacher if that makes sense.

Any advice? I am realistic that if this is just not for my daughter I am more than happy to stop and pull her out of these lessons ...

ps. my dd does enjoy piano and gets upset if I ask her if she wants to stop the lessons.
In fairness learning about the process has just been a learning curve for me and I dont know what to check for in a piano teacher, but am now reviewing the ABRSM website. When I see that other kids in her class are on several grades above I wonder if this is the right instrument for her at all

Forget grades, find some easy music of songs she likes, she'll practice more then.

I would find a different piano teacher. Ask around, find someone who is good with children and uses different approaches dependent on the child. Grades should be dropped in on - if you can’t turn around a grade piece in 2 to 3 weeks (at the early grade stage - clearly grade 8 with the length may take longer!) then I would say then she’s not ready. Ask for a trial lesson (you’ll probably have to pay) and then ask the teacher at the end what they‘d recommend to move her forwards and how they would do this.
There is so much material out there, that any teacher should easily be able to find great pieces, studies and exercises in order to address the weaker areas and move forward. No one should be stuck on one page for a year - that’s crazy.
I would start with the EPTA website - European piano teacher’s association. Everyone I’ve met who is registered with them has been great. Or see if your local music hub offers lessons locally - some have music centres where you can look after school. (They can be much more flexible than traditional teachers.)

Do you mean all she's doing is the scales book? Or is she also practicing the Grade 1 pieces?

Maybe see if she can mess about and play by ear. She could pick out some carols with one hand and practice putting on the chords according to what sounds good.

There are so many ways to make piano fun and joyful. She could have an all round music teacher who could accompany her on their guitar.

I think you could maybe back away from grades. Scales sound desperately boring. Could she get some carols and 'winter songs' books, which are very easy? Maybe help her by going online to one of those teach yourself videos where the key you press lights up. You could have a go too. Do it together. Music can be such a joy for life, that it's a shame to suck the life out of it with music theory.

My DD learns a new song most weeks from a Grade1 book. I’ve never seen her practicing scales. For her it’s fun and relaxing she’s not doing any exams at the moment but plays and sings along beautifully with joy. She’s enjoying Xmas songs at the moment. I’d change teacher or find something else as yes it’s a skill but at this level it’s got to be fun??

I don’t think it’s helpful to make a child repeat the same pages over and over. If she’s stuck the teacher should switch tactics. They’re not a good teacher!

Piano lessons and practice aren’t enough to learn the notes. I recommend trying one of those free websites where you look at the notes and have to click which note it is. Such as www.musictheory.net/exercises/note

Piano Time 1 is a basic book aimed at kids, it might work better for her than the stuff she’s currently learning. It’s so simple that you can understand it yourself and go through it with her.

Without knowing exactly what the OP’s DD is struggling with it is impossible to know what book to recommend to help plug the gaps. Piano Time suddenly gets hard and if hand co-ordination is an issue, you are better off looking at something else as this won’t help. Even with notation, websites will only help up to a point, you have to be able to relate it to the piano - the example I give is cello is my second instrument, I find treble clef difficult on the cello because even though I know the notes, it is relating where they are on the cello that is the issue. (With the tenor clef, I can show you where the notes are on the cello, I couldn’t tell you the note name without thinking about it.) There will be the material to help the OPs DD, but it needs a piano teacher to identify the weak areas and find appropriate material. Ask a future piano teacher if they stick to the same material and method books or whether they personalise it.

Try getting her to practice small sections of a scale instead of the whole scale. Say, concentrate on the first 5 notes. Make it fun. Can she play it with her eyes closed? in a funky rhythm? Whilst standing up? Whilst pulling a funny face etc etc anything she will find funny. When she can play the first 5 notes, add on the top 3 notes. She should be able to progress by doing this. Just focus on one scale at a time at this age.

Add in scales one at a time. I used to tell young pupils scales were like different flavoured muffins. ie, the same basic mixture (scale structure) but with different flavours (key signature). Then they could understand that scales should sound similar, but slightly different.

Good luck!

Sorry - first 4 notes of a scale.

If she's only doing her scales book that is soul destroying, she should be working simultaneously on tunes and the scales book. A good teacher makes lessons fun too, so adds non grade material as appropriate.

I would seek a teacher used to teaching younger children. But I would also consider if your dd wants this or you? My dd teaches grade 1-5 piano to children currently and she has a policy of asking the children not making progress whether they want to continue. She has older more experienced children too in her voice students (grade 1-8) and likewise she asks them why they want classical lessons (hint most are being made to by parents)

10 mins a day should be enough to make some steady progress, but children are not the best at remembering how to practise between lessons. I'd highly recommend you sit in on lessons if possible - you will then be able to follow what the teacher is trying to do and can help with practice during the week. You can also see if you think the teacher is really a good fit for your child.
You might be able to find a Suzuki piano teacher in your area, who would most likely insist you sit in (and probably join in) in lessons. There's a lot less emphasis on reading music and more on becoming musical, which is frankly what music is all about, and its a great method for younger children as it trains the ears and makes it fun. Check out the Suzuki method if you haven't heard of it.
But if your daughter enjoys piano lessons, I'd certainly keep at it (possibly with another teacher)!

I had this recently with my child where the teacher said she wasn’t making progress and didn’t want to teach her anymore. I was surprised I thought surely they can just make changes to how they teach and encourage more practising. We were paying for half hourly lessons so teacher was getting paid for their effort.

That doesn't sound great. Did you try looking at the Suzuki method? My daughter is learning the classical way but for many children this method works great.

Starting in year 1 is a bit young if your child isn’t naturally musical / advanced and online isn’t great.

She needs to practice theory and sight-reading as part of her practice routine and should have books for this in addition to scales to practice and pieces to learn. You need someone with experience teaching children before you can make a decision on if you should quit particularly as she is keen and willing to practice.

Is your DD in year 4 now? If she hasn't been making much progress in 3 or 4 years of lessons then perhaps best to accept she doesn't have a natural aptitude for music and not force it?

If she is interested she is actually genuinely interested she will ask for lessons soon enough.

Or you could suggest she tries an instrument which is a lot easier than piano! (ie. all of them).

Ask the teacher what your child needs to improve, what area she needs to work on. Repeating same page over and over for weeks doesn't sound right.
IMO year 1 is not young too start piano. There are plenty of kids starting at 4 or even earlier. My DS started in year 1 and we purposely delayed it until we felt he was ready.
Re practice, we go for the general rule of 10 min plus 10 min per grade so for grade 1 it's 20 min. Take notes for your child during the lesson and try to supervise the practice. It's hard for parents who aren't musical but it is possible.
Scales are very important! It builds up fundamentals that will be so useful when they move onto more advanced pieces. But scales alone isn't enough. There are other finger exercises you can get. Plus the child needs to play something with more musicality. In addition the child needs to learn music theory - how to read music, rhythm, dynamics, expression etc.
Once you add all these up you can see the practice time will be easily over 20 min.
BTW, IMO piano is the best and easiest instrument to start with.

Why are the teachers telling you she doesn’t know the notes when it’s their job to teach her?
She’s still very young, so the most important thing is to keep that love of music alive. I would find another teacher who focusses on playing music, learning technique then grades will follow naturally if she wants to do them.
I think so many teachers are very exam focussed which looks great on a school application form but doesn’t make a well rounded musician.