My Views on Piano Learning

Many parents in Singapore wanted their kids to learn a lot of things, hoping that they will develop all rounded skills. And learning piano is a common thing that almost all parents who can afford this "luxury" will want their kids learn the piano. Sometimes, this is also due to peer pressure and comparison, like if who and who is learning, and by not wanting to lose to whose and whose kid, I want my child to learn as well. And there will be endless pressure on the kids to clear the piano exams as young as they can, with the highest marks possible. As there will always be comparison with their cousins, sibling and friends on who is doing better than who. Hence, some children who learn piano are very exam focussed, and they will practice the exam pieces over and over again, doing just want is needed to clear the exams. And finally when they have met the expectations of their parents of completing Grade 8 exams (for example), some will just stop playing the piano completely. Which saddens me a lot. And at the end of it, so what if you have attained the Grade 8 qualifications?

In Singapore, what are the jobs that piano playing can go into? I think most people will go into piano teaching, some might go into selling pianos, some might go into becoming a piano technicians, some who are able to compose songs may turn famous on their works, some better ones might become part of the concert team to perform internationally, and some might work in hotels to play the pianos. So come to think of it, there is opportunities for people who are musically inclined and want to pursue this area of interest. No longer like in the past, where learning music is considered as useless. As more and more Singaporeans starts to learn piano, the market is created for more musicians to be groomed and developed.

However, I feel that piano learning should be based on interest. While it is good to expose to the children to music, but there are some who are just not as musically inclined, so they hate going to piano lessons. I think under this kind of situations, we should not force the child too much. In fact, I realised that finding a piano teacher who can connect with the kid is very important, to ensure that the teacher can help to keep the child's interest in music. So it is important to find a teacher who is good (with sufficient qualifications) and have a flair for teaching. It is essential for kids to build a strong music foundation and listening skills in order to excel in this field. Sometimes, I also feel that it might be beneficial to change teachers at different point of their piano learning journey as different teachers may have ways of explaining the same thing, which can help the child to understand and derive their own ways of understanding it.

Also, I feel that we should not put too much pressure on the child when he/she is young to do the graded exams, which might kill their interest totally. Instead, work on building their skills, their music theory and interests are more important, and when they are older, slowly exposing them to exams when they are ready. At the end of it, music should be something which you enjoy and appreciates and not a paperchase kind of qualifications. I guessed all of us are already doing paperchase academically, so why add another one to it?