Piano Lessons - should we continue

blackcoffee

My daughter has been having piano lessons for 2 years (she is 6) she loves them, but it has become evident she plays by ear. Her teacher says this isnt a problem, but when we get out old pieces, she cant read the music, if she hears the tune she then plays it. MY son has been having lessons for a term, and he can now read music and has over taken her. (He is 8 )

Should we continue with her lessons ? ?

bumpybecky

can you afford the lessons? does your daughter enjoy them?

FWIW dd2 (who is 8 but very musical) has been playing recorder for 4 years but only started reading music in the last 6 months when she started to learn the flute. I think 6 is very young to be expected to read music, by all means encourage it, but I'd not stop trying because she couldn't yet read it IYSWIM.

MrsAnnie

If she enjoys playing, she is probably learning it at her own pace and the foundation of reading the music and the theory is still being layed - just like learning to read. You will most likely find that when she is 8 herself she will be lovely little pianist. Stopping may discourage her and make her think that her great efforts were infact rubbish!!

I would let her continue. 6 years old is still very young to be able to read music correctly. It takes loads of practice as well as maturity. Your 8 year old was problem able to pick it up quicker because his brain is more mature.

My daughter is 8 and she has been playing the violin since she was 6, and in the last six months she has come on by leaps and bounds and it is only now that it is treat to hear her practice.

margaretclare

This is something your daughter enjoys, it enriches her life - you said she 'loves it'. Assuming you can afford the lessons, why stop, why deprive her of something she enjoys so much?

shandypants5

If you can afford it and she is enjoying it then why stop?

Nothing wrong with playing by ear, you still need to press the keys with your fingers.

I am trying to get my kids into music at the moment, but I think its WAY more important that they have fun rather than become experts.

When they are teenagers they can "study" music properly if the wish too, till then its all about being able to make sounds that they like to hear.

blackcoffee

Thankyou for your opinions. We wondered if her teacher says it isnt a problem, because we are obviously paying him ! he wants her to do her grade 1 at christmas, she does play beautifully.

we just feel she cant remember a piece after a few weeks. We can afford her lessons. it isnt about the money realy, more so about the time it takes out of our lives, without appearing selfish.

blackcoffee

that sounds awful, she shares a lesson, with a lad who is now reading well, he is 8, he is beginning to get ahead, where as they were on the same level. the teacher isnt concerned about the difference in the ability, and the mum of the lad, says she is fine with it (we get a subsidised lesson as its shared) we just feel a lot of the lesson is being spent going over things with our daughter ?

MrsAnnie

The eight year old she shares a lesson with would most likely be ahead, purely because of his age/learning capability.

Can you not enquire about private lessons? Does she do the lessons through school time? Because where I live the council subsidises lessons if your income is below a certain amount - you could ask the school. Therefore a private lesson costs the same as one shared with another student IYSWIM, and your daughter can work at her own pace.

However if the other mum is happy for her child to share a lesson even though it means that your daughter gets more support I would not worry to much.

How long are the lessons and how much is she expected to practice between lessons?

If it is a case of you not thinking she is ready for the exam then go and talk to the teacher...he should understand.

celyn90

Music should be studied for pleasure and for no other reason. Your daughter is very very young and obviously enjoys what she is doing, so if you can afford to, why on earth stop.

IMO it isn't about creating something academic and turning into a task for her. If she plays be ear it is likely she understands music and has a feel for it. This is the most important part of learning anything. If she wants to learn the technical stuff later she will, but let her go at own pace. The exams will wait if need be, we get enough of targets and milestones as adults.

panpipe

I think it's fantastic that she is playing by ear at such a young age! I have bene playing for about 15 years, have a degree in music and still struggle with it!

If you can afford them, I'd say carry on with the lessons as it's something she enjoys. I think maybe music theory classes could be beneficial to her to help learn to read music. Some teachers do this as part of the lesson - could your daughter's teacher do this?

Just a note that she will need to play a short piece of music at sight in her exam, so it is probably worth encouraging her to learn!

Mini_money_saver

This doesnt really help with whether or not she should continue lessons but thought i would share all the same.
I have never been able to read music and have always played by ear. I have made many an attempt to try and learn but always struggled and found that i got on just fine otherwise. I'm a singer more than anything so it isnt necessarily needed for that but i also play piano and guitar, both self taught by ear.
I studied music at GCSE and at A-level and passed both with good grades. I wouldnt say that being able to read music is nessecary (of course it would have helped me in some areas of my studying but i managed all the same) your daughter is very fortunate to be able to play by ear, if she carries on continuing lessons or even if she just plays regularly at home she may even develope perfect pitch!

Mini_money_saver
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