Posts by Dorothy Chia

When do I begin piano lessons for my child?The ideal should be when they can hold a pencil, sit still for 10 minutes, take simple instructions, count 1 to 10, know their alphabets from A-G, basic writing skills, and be toilet trained.Will starting earlier mean they get to finish earlier?A child’s developmental growth happens in…

Some teachers teach reading music notation to young children, but do not check if the student has understood. Or if the child is able to independently read music notes. When new beginner level music is taught to the student, sometimes the pieces do come back well played after a week of practice, but teachers need…

I get a lot of transfer students who come to me at grade 6 to 8. I usually audition these students before I take them on. And one of the items in the audition is scales.  Playing scales at an audition is sort of like the ‘handshake’ that you give your interviewer when you enter…

I teach piano teachers and one common lament I get from them is that there are components in the Aural test where their previous teachers never fully explained to them the strategy behind ‘how’ to arrive at the answer. What should they be listening to? How to work out the answer? If one does not…

Some people think that a piano is just a piano. It does not make a difference on which piano you are learning from. I once encouraged a parent to buy an acoustic piano for his child who is starting to learn piano. But the parent said that an electric piano will do the job as…

It is my custom to interview new and potential students before they sign on with me for piano lessons. At the interview, the parents will be invited to accompany the student to my studio. My intention is for the kid to see me, their potential piano-teacher-to-be, in the safety zone of their parents by their…

My mother says “You cannot fail your piano exams”.When I processed this statement through my head long after the student has finished the piano lesson with me, my heart weighs heavily. This is so wrong. When a child looks to the adult closest to them for support and hears this kind of a threat, what…

  What do you do for your own professional growth? Are you constantly learning, improving, exploring new teaching ideas and materials? Are you in a state of GROWTH? Conversely, are you stagnant and burn out from your piano teaching? Do you look forward to the end of your teaching day where you can chill in…

Soar to Greater Heights, Just don’t Jump. Every year around this time, students start receiving their ABRSM practical exam results. With the rise of social media, proud teachers and music schools will use the stellar results of their students as advertising tools to attract the next cohort of new students. This is also the time…

Quick Study in the Piano Diploma Teaching Exam   In my years of preparing and mentoring young piano teachers for the Dipabrsm Piano Teaching Diploma, I find the most common cause of failure among exam candidates is the Quick Study section of the exam. While piano teachers can prepare for the viva voce component by…

The Rise of Music Illiteracy On one hand, there are more parents today sending their kids to Music Lessons than 10 years ago. But, there is also an upward trend of piano students who are not able to READ MUSIC. Ironically, that piano student who cannot read music might have even completed grade 8, and…