It depends on the student's age, level of playing, and their overall physical capacity to practice. There is no perfect answer. An adult learner in their 30's who practices 4hrs a day and a grade schooler who practices 20mins a day are both trying their best, and they should both be merited for their effort. However, I must emphasize the consistency of practicing everyday! Learning a language, learning math, learning a sport...these skills all require consistent practice for an individual to get better, and learning a musical instrument is the same. A student can only retain and improve their performance skills through individual practice. If a student only attends private piano lessons and does not practice at home, they will progress at a slow speed since they cannot retain everything from their lessons, and eventually the lesson material will become overly difficult as the student will not have the accumulated skill set to continue progressing. Many students quit music lessons because playing piano becomes torturous at this point.
Back to the original question - how much would I recommend practicing then? How much do you have to work so that you can learn music properly and continue to enjoy it? My general recommendation is practicing the student's lesson length everyday. So if your lesson is 1hr long, then practice 1hr per day. If your lesson is 30min long, then practice 30min per day. This is only a starting point though! If you can do more, then please go ahead and practice more! You will thank yourself later.
One more note - if you feel unusual pain in your wrist or arms after long hours of practice, please stop! Playing music is also quite an athletic activity, so please take care of your body while doing so. Please discuss any pain or unusual fatigue with your teacher (me), so that we can fix any bad habits or recognize any signs of injury early on.
My expertise lies in playing classical music, but I can teach basic principals towards playing pop music including playing from a chord sheet.
Absolutely! To accommodate busy work schedules, we can also schedule less frequent lessons, for example meeting twice a month instead of weekly.
I charge a flat rate of $60/hr.
Required: your piano books, a 3-ring binder, a notebook, a pencil.
Recommended: a metronome, a recording device (can be your cell phone)
Yes! They count towards your fine arts credits (min. 4 credits). Here are a few links below for more information.
RCM website on high school credits
BC Registered Music Teachers' Association website
This really depends on the person and how much they practice, but it normally takes years for a student to attain an RCM Gr.10 certificate. For myself, it took me around 6 years to arrive at RCM Gr.10 in piano, and that does not even account for the years I spent on completing my theory requirements. I grew up in a music-loving family, so there is always a CD being played or someone playing piano at home. Then I started taking piano lessons when I was 8 years old. I practiced around 1hr a day in the first few months, then later on I increased it to 2-3hrs per practice session. Even though I had to skip some days to focus on school work, I still kept up with my practice and weekly lessons. Therefore, I would say that attaining an RCM Gr.10 certificate really demands a student's time and commitment.
First of all, I welcome parents to sit in my lessons at any point! This helps you understand what to expect in your child's practice session. If your child is below the age of 12, I strongly recommend that you sit and listen while they practice, until they are independent enough to practice on their own. When you are observing their practice, please make sure that they have practiced every item of their homework. They should also be practicing difficult sections slowly and with a metronome, instead of just running through each piece from top to bottom and calling it a day.
Of course, anyone would be frustrated when practice gets repetitive and things don't seem to progress at all. This happens to professional musicians too, even after years of practice and lessons and concert performances, so it is guaranteed that your child will get upset at some point during their practice session. At this point, their parent's support will be crucial, so I recommend cheering them on as they encounter each obstacle! Sometimes your child may need a break, other times they will need someone to empathize with them, and these are things that only you can do!
Another very important thing to do is allowing your child to listen to music as much as possible. Any genre of music is fine, but classical music will help the most with learning western instruments like the piano. No matter if it is active listening (ex. sitting down and listening to an album) or passive listening (ex. having music playing in the background while having a meal), your child will develop a better ear in the process, and learning music will only get easier.