About Lessons 2011

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A guide for parents:

Piano lessons at the

SE22 Piano School

www.se22piano.co.uk 2010 - 2011



© Lorraine Liyanage, 2010-2011www.se22piano.co.uk

[email protected] | 0208 299 6037

ontents:

. Terms & Conditions, 2010 - 2011

. What to e e from the first lesson What can I do at home to help my child?

3. What to bring to the first lessonThe Star Chart

. How to practiceThe Practice Chart

. A few rules

6. Piano Exams

. Music Scholarships & Music Festivals

. Learning a second instrument

. bout Lorraine Liyanage & Gabrielle Messeder

. Teaching cer tificate & pupils’ certificates.



OverviewLessons are offered during school term. Lessons work to the state-school timetable.Optional lessons are available during holidays on Monday or Friday mornings.No absences are allowed from a term’s schedule, full attendance is expected.

Fees15 minutes - £12.0030 minutes - £22.0060 minutes - £40.00

PaymentsInvoices are issued at the end of each half-term, with payment required on the first week of the new half-term.Payments not settled on the first lesson of each term are subject to a £5 weekly late-payment charge.If the pupil is absent from a lesson without permission or prior notice, a charge will still be made.

Absence Policy

We do not have an absence policy, therefore any lessons missed for any reason are at the students’ expense.

Pupils’ responsibilitiesAttend all instrumental lessons as scheduled.Practice regularly as advised by the teacher using the practice book provided.

Parents’ responsibilitiesSupport home practice and sign the practice book.Ensure their child’s attendance at instrumental lessons unless for good reason.

Photography ConsentWe photograph and film our school events such as festivals and competitions. If you would prefer your

child’s photograph not to be used on our web site or marketing materials, please advise us in writing.

Publishing Exam Results We publish all exam results on our web site and in our newsletters and concert programmes. If you do notwant your child’s mark to appear, please advise us in writing.

Substitute Teachers In the unlikely event that your teacher is not available on the day of your lesson, we will use a fully-quali-fied and CRB checked substitute teacher. If there is no teacher available, then we will discount the cost of thelesson from next term’s invoice.

Terminating lessons We reserve the right to terminate lessons if a student is not benefitting from lessons as we would hope. We

operate a 3-stage procedure before terminating lessons which consists of a written report, a progress updateand a meeting to discuss progress before terminating lessons.

Attending lessons confirms acceptance of the terms and conditions.

SE22 Piano School / www.se22piano.co.uk11.01.2011

Terms and conditions for piano lessons at the SE22 Piano SchoolTeachers: Lorraine Liyanage and Gabrielle Messeder

January 2011



The first lesson will be an introduction to the piano. We will play all the black and white keys.

We will explore making animal sounds on the piano. For example, we can make loud,

cras sounds like elephants on the low keys (the ones to the left) and then at the

op nd of the piano, we can make noises like a bird on the very high notes.

will explore the concept of high and low sounds with your child. This is our first musical

opposite. We’ll then look at loud and quie sounds as our second opposite. I encourage

upils to try and distinguish the difference between quiet and loud sounds from very

early on as this is a vital part of playing the piano with expression.

We will also try using the pedals, as many pupils use a keyboard at home which will not

ave pedals. For the curious (and possibly the older students), I can explain how the sound

is produced when we s e a key on the pi .i

What to expect fromthe first lesson:





Wh t can I d at hometo help y child?

An understanding of the alphabet is vital to playing the piano. W ly need to

know the letters A B C D E F G in the music alphabet. egular repetition of thea phabet, both forwards and backwards, will help your child with their lessons. The

beginners hand position for the right hand uses the notes C D E F G; T left hand

uses the notes C B A G F. ractice saying these out loud, backwards and forwards,

with your child when you are out and about, and particularly when you are en rout

to lessons.

Also practice writing these letters as we do lots of note-naming in t theory boo ,

which will require a grasp of writing. Please advise whether your child uses phonics

or not.

Depending on the age of your child, they may not know their left hand fro thei

right, so this is another thing to practice.

We count up to 4 on the piano. After a couple of months, we will begin to e lo e

fractions First of all we learn the value of half, but quickly we will pro r to

quarter. Do not worry if your child has not learned this at school, I will c r ii

the lessons. I usually draw apples and chop them into pieces to explain on ,

but feel free to let me know if your child has learned in a different way at sc rhome.





For beginners, here are the recommen d books.

ttp://www.musicroom.com/se/ID No/03979/details.html?kbid=3726

ttp://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/058972/details.html?kbid=3726

ttp://www.mu oom.com/se/ID_No/09486/details.html?kbid=3726

These books are a so available at South London Music on Grove Vale, SE22. This is the

arade of shops le ding up to East Dulwich s tation. The shop is not open on Thursdays or

Sundays.

ttp://www.s usi .co.uk/

lease also bring A5 notebook so I can write down your homework. Each week I will s

y u a few pieces t prac e and a little bit of written theory (musical games) t do. See the

e t page for det ls ow to practice, and also a practice chart. i o

t would be a write your child’s name in all the books as t get leftte

ehind!

Free she t mus c eory exercises:

ttp: . a gmus fun.net/i

tt w . or theory.org j

e S :

pils eir piano practice and theory homework each week, they recec t

a star for e art. Once they have attained ten stars, they can choose a prize from thei c

trea re bo !

What to bring to thefirst lesson:





he Practice Chart:

For pupils:rint out ots of co s of the practice chart on next page and bring to your lesson

each week. If you have a music book bag, keep he charts in here. I will fill these in each

week so that you know what to practice at home. Ask an adult to jot their initials on itwhen you have ne your practice. It’s useful overview of the week to see how much

ractice you ar anaging to fit in. Don t orry if you can’t practice every day - just do

your best!

For parents:lease feel free to contact me during the week if your child is stu ck at home an oes not

now how to play something, or needs some ad ice. Email is often the best way to get in

touch with me as I do not answer the phone whilst teaching. My email address is at the

ottom of this page.

f you can ot print the chart easily, plea mail me and I will send you a copy of it as a

single age document.

nnotations:

To e space, you may see the following marks in your notebook. Here is an explanation:

. Sep - Hands separately

. Tog - Hands together

H - Right and

H - Left Hand





S c a

l e s

/ E

x e r c

i s e s

P i

e c e s

T u e

s d a y

W e d n

e s d a y

T h u r s d a y

S a t u

r d a y

S u n

d a y

M o n

d a y

Parents’s

ignature:

Timespent

practicing:

Notes/Co

mments:

w w w . s e 2 2 p i a n o . c o . u k



A few rules:

Attending on time:lease be prompt for lessons. If you are early, I will sometimes not answer the doorbell as it

would be disruptive to the reviou pil’s lesson, so please be prepared to wait if you are

ore than five minutes . My p s a rive one after the other without a delay in e-

tween lessons, so dropping of nd picking up on time makes everything run smoothly!

Sitting in on the lessons:

t is fine if you wish to wait in the piano room for the duration of the lesson. If you couldalso answer the doorbell when it rings, that would be very helpful as it means your child

can finish their lesson without disruption. I am also happy for siblings or friends to sit in

and listen as long as they are quiet. There are plenty of books on the bookshelf to read.

Discussing your child’s progress:am happy to discuss your child’s progress, but please arrive early if you would like to

discuss anything with me. Very often parents will arrive at the end of the lesson to have

a chat, but my next pupil will have arrived, so I am unable to talk to them. If you o not

stay with your child during the lessons, please come at least once a month to have a chatabout progress. I will also issue a report at the end of each term. This guidance onv

work to e practice during the school break, as well as aims for the ne .

Clean ha ds & snacks: Many hildren turn up with half-eaten snacks and dirty hands. No food is allowed in the

ian so please ensure they are given their snacks in time to finish them before

arriving, s I don’t like to seem like the baddie when I have to confiscate sugary snacks

ntil afte t esson! Please also wash your hands - you can use the sink in the bathroom

or th as you arrive.





Treat the piano gently!ask that under-10s take off their shoes essons. This is because the piano often gets

epeatedly kicked by little legs. make all pupils aw re that the pia i an expensive, and

delicate instrument, therefore kicking it is unaccept le, as is playin with anything

other than hands - no elbows or repeated bashing of the keys is allowed. Pedals should

l o only be used under supervision.

ncelling lessons:charge for a full term’s attendance, therefore cannot accommodate requests to cancel

essons or carry them over to the next term. In the rare event that I cancel a lesson, I will

inform you in advance and provide another lesson to make-up for the miss one.

Late payments l incur a fine: lease be prompt with payment. Late payments carries a £5 a week pen lty which will be

added to the next invoice





ms:

Many of my pupils take exams regularly - and receive fantastic marks! You can see the

atest results on my web site. I enter pupils f a different types of exams - Classical

Grades, Rockschool Exams, Jazz G ades and ory xams. I will explain the differe nt types

of examinations below.

Some parents prefer that their child does t take any exams. If this is the case, please let

e know and I am happy to accommodate this request. I realise that exams are not

suitable for every child. A fee is required to enter for all exams.

The Associated Board of th oyal Schools of Music (ABRSM): This is the main examining board in the UK. They conduct the rep Test exams, the classi-

cal grades, the jazz grades and the theory exams. They are very structured examinations

that are a good measure of th ss you are making on the piano. However, they fol-r row quite a rigid format and so lsp do not find they offer much flexibility in terms of

the repertoire. Whilst the jazz de offer emporary pieces, please be aware that they

are more difficult than the classical grades will only be attempted after you have been

laying for about 3 years.

t is worth noting that Grades 6, 7 and 8 now attrac ints under the UCAS Tariff which

any of my pupils find of real benefit when appl university. See this link for more

information on the points tariff:

ttp://www.abrsm.org/?page=exams/ucas.htm

eparatory Test, ABRSM (Prep Test): the first exams for which I enter all pupils after about 4 terms of lessons. The exam

is usually ot take by pupils who are under 6 years of age. This is a gentle introduction to

examinations. There is no pass or fail and pu i s will receive a certificate with written com-

ents about their performance there and then. The marks are given nstantly i stead of

aving to wait a few weeks.

The exam consists of 3 short hands-together exercises t e played from memory, 1 piece

(about 4 lines long) to be played from the book, anothe ece of your own choice, and

some fun clapping and singing exercises. The exam takes about 10 minutes in total.

The nearest exam centre is 157 Denm rk Hill, just by King’s College Hospital. Other nearb

centres are Blackheath and Bromley.

Continued on next page>>





Classical grades (ABRSM): There are 8 grades in this system. t takes about 2 - 3 years of lessons to be ready to take the

first graded exam. After this, we usually work at one grade per academic year, but this

will require a committed effort f om your child to achieve. The exams become progressively

ore demanding on technical ability and perfor ance skills. I will not ente upil for a

exam if I do not think they will pass. Obviously, nerves on the day can take ov , ut I arranger

several performance opportunities to help your child gain confidence with performing inublic - and under pressure!

Jazz grades (ABRSM): There are currently 5 grades in this s ystem. The main difference with the jazz grades is that

they require a pupil to impro e. This is a skill I encourage all pupil learn, butt it equires

a certain amount of lateral thinking as w en we improvise, we do se any music. These

grades are definitely suited to older pupils, aged 8+. Please be aware that these grades are

arder than the classical exams, so are not really comparable . . the Jazz Grade 1 is oughly

equivalent to Classical Grade 2, and Jazz grade 2 is equivalent to at least Classical Grade 3and so on.

Theory Exams (ABRSM): Theory is the science behind the performance of music. Grade 1 is fairly e y and I encour-

age all pupils to do this exam. It is held at an examination centre in a formal setting with an

invigilator. The nearest exam centre is just beyond Tulse Hill. Please note that in order to

rogress to Grade 6, 7, and 8 of the ABRSM exams, you MUST have Grad 5 theory.

As a guideline, GCSE music works at a level of theory knowledge around Grades 3 or 4;A Level expects a level knowledge around Grades 5 or 6.

Rockschool (Trinity College of Music): These are some fantastic exams that have an exciting repertoire, traditional elements such

as scales, a bit of sight-reading and a bit of improvisation. I find that children around age

9 upwards really like these exams,. They are p ti larly good for secondary-school pupils

and teenage boys who lose interest quite easi e ABRSM exams. Pleas ote that they

do not carry any UCAS accreditation but are sti uable tools for use in the performancel

sections of GCSE, BTEC and A-Level music exams.

Other Examination Boards: There are many her examination boards but I have chosen to use the exams listed above

as I feel they offer the best options to pupils.





Music Scholarships to local schools:

Many of my pupils audition for music scholarships, mostly at entry to secondary school.

ere’s a list of the scholarships available at some, but not all, local schools. I am currently

expanding this list as I prepare more pupils for auditions.

lease note that music or other academic scholarships rarely offer a 100% reduction in fees.

Most independent schools offer 1/3 to 1/2 reduction in fees for music scholars.

The majority of scholarships are at age 11+. If y ive a scholarship at age 7 or 8+ if c

available, it may not be continued at age 11+. For t most part, scholarships are awarded

urely on merit and are not means tested.

As a eline, entry to local independent schools requires a standard of playing

eq t to Grade 5 level at age 11. This is a demanding requirement, but more than at-ntain l or pupils who show dedication and aptitude. If you would like your child to try

for a scholarship, please mention this to me early on. I usually prepare a specific practice

scheme for children who are preparing f r scholarship auditions. Some schools require au-

ditions on a second instrument. More in ormation about this follows in the next section,

Alleyn’s School (Co-ed, independent school):

2 types of music scholarships are available:

1)The Music Scholars offers a 1/3rd re tion in fees or 1/6 reduction plus free tuitionon the principal instrument.

2)The Music Exhibition Scholarshi ffers £675 per yea r towards music lessons.

p to 4 music scholarships are awarded at age 11+. A 30-minute audition is required on

TWO instrum ts. The main instr ent mu st at least Grade 5.

D ich College (Independent boys’ school):

or entry the Lower School (Year 7) and Middle School (YearA number of music scholarships of up to one third of the tuition fee are awarded annually.

n addi on, successful didates will receive free instrumental tuition on two instruments,

one of which must be orchestral instrument.

A number of music exhibitions may also be awarded enabling the holders to receive free

tuition on two instruments, one of which must be an orchestral instrument.

The audition for music scholarships is intended to discover musical aptitude and promise.

As a rough guide, candidates in the 11+ age group should normally be at about Grade 5

s ard in their main instrument, while the 13+ candidates should be at Grade 7. Prefer-an

en e gi n to Orchestral Instruments. e





Music Scholarships continued...

St. Dunstans - Co-ed Independent school in Catford:

M sic scholarships are up to 50% of fees. Cand ates must have achieved at least Grade 4 in

their main instrument. Scholarship include the cost of tuition for one instrument.

James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS), Dulwich:

Major scholarships are worth £1,000 Minor scholarships are for £500 pa, in cases of need,

the value of these scholar ips may e increased by means-testing on the same basis as

our assisted places. Under age candidates can b ccepted for e ination with the recom-

endation of their current headteacher. A limited number of th Form scholarships of

£1,000 pa are also av lable, based on achievement at GCSE.

Kingsdale Co-Ed State school, Dulwich:

ingsdale School offers Music Scholarships for new entrants to the school who have

outstanding musical potential. These scholarships provide for professio l tuition in

one or more instruments. The value of each full scholarship is equivalen to £1,000 per

annum.

Sydenham High Schools (Girls’ Independent school):1 GDST music scholarship is awarded per entry year, upon perform nce in a prac a t st

and interview in the chosen subject as well as performance in the Entrance Examinat n. These scholarships are given as a small proportion of fees, for the duratio f t e girl’s

career at Sydenham High School.

Other Schools:am not aware of any music scholarship schemes at the following schools:

Charter School & Harris Academies.

Music Festivals:Many competitive music festivals take place locally. I will advise on when you hil rs e

to enter, if they wish to do so. It is a great way to get used to performin n u lic to gel

audience. Here is a list of some of the festivals in which my pupils perform:

Beckenham Music Festival, November 2010 (cl g date for entries, Oc . oi

Croydon Music Festival, April 2011 (closing date for entries, February 6 .





Learning a second instrument :

ollowing on from the music scholarship section, a second instrument is required at audi-

tion for some school . f course many pupils will n turally like to learn a new instrument

once they have been exposed to their friends playing other instruments. The piano forms a

good basis for learning all other inst uments, particularly as a pupil will be fluent in reading

otes from both cle the treble and bass cle f, thus will be able to read music written for all

instruments. A few rare instruments use s e unusual cle fs, but these are covered in theory

exams from grade 4 onwards.

I also teach the cello and am happy to let pupils try out my cello. I also split a ianolesson to include 10 or 15 m utes of cello if you want to try it ou a trial ba

Here’s a list of good places to learn to play other instruments:

Borough Music School (Saturday mornings) ttp://www.bor musicschool.org

Camberwell CYMttp://www.cym.org.uk/contact/venue/southwk2.html

JAGS Saturday music school for boys and girlsttp://www.jags.org.uk/jasspa/

Dulw Suzuki Group - violin only, Saturday mornings in Nunhead ttp://www.dulwichsuzukigroup.com

or individual tuition, I would recommend the following teachers:

Violin:Clare Raybould - [email protected]

Singing:eather Parker - [email protected]





My teaching certificate:





A selection of exam results:



About Lessons 2011

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