Aureus Academy of Music: Two Months Later on the Piano

Media Invite - Two Months Later

It has been two months since Ewan officially started his stint with Aureus Academy on the piano. This is a progress report of his achievements and what can I say? This mother is surprised that he is marching along more than well!

We practice on our Schoenuht 25-Key Toy Piano at home. *hahaha* Don't go WHAT!? Hey it works! In the beginning stages, not many keys are required and a basic 25-key is the perfect start-up while assessing his interest beyond spending on a real piano which would cost at least 10x more.

It is largely in tune but it does have more overtones compared to a real piano. However, it works well for a beginner like Ewan. It is tuned close to a real piano, and can be played along with a real piano without discernible issues in tuning. Perfect solution to limited space in a two-bedroom apartment like ours.

Understanding that purchasing a piano is a heavy investment, Aureus Academy is delighted to announce that they have kicked off an Instrument Rental programme [by the month] for those who cannot commit to buying an instrument for their child at the early stages of learning! Oh no not this Schoenhut Toy Piano but a a proper instrument to bring home for practice. The school allows you to place your first 4 months of rental towards the purchase of the instrument, allowing you to save on costs should you be interested in purchasing the instrument at the end of day. Best deal I've ever heard! 

Not only will there be Piano rentals, the school has violin and guitar rentals available as well from $15 per month to $45 per month. Piano rentals start at S$75 per month from a basic model to S$250 per month.

Quote "A Million Little Echoes" from 1 March to 1 April 2017 on their Piano Rental Programme and receive one month of rental for free! Fill up form here or call them at +6235 6488 to find out more. [You do not need to be an Aureus student to enjoy this perk]

Today, two months later, Ewan is able to do the following all at once in a song:

- count beats [crotchet, minim and semibreve]

- play the treble and bass clefs

- recognises where C, D, E, F, G, A and B are located
- playing cords [dyad and triads]

- work with forte [loudly] and piano [softly] dynamics in it
- singing along

Just last week, he was taught to do hand crossovers on C and F! Like what?

That is no small feat for a four year old! I felt that his teacher, Ms Gemma, covered a lot in just eight weeks but more amazed that Ewan could keep up. Or maybe the majority of four year olds are able to pick these up rather easily in today's terms. It is I who underestimate them.

He needed a proper [real] piano to practice his crossovers across the full length of the piano and that's when I brought piano practice over to my dad's on my [almost] 30 year old upright.

Ms Gemma told me this on our first lesson and I couldn't agree with her more.

"I do not want to teach a child who has no interest and comes for lessons only because his parents want it for them"

She didn't send this message across curtly but sharing it as a matter of fact that music should be enjoyed and not forced. If we see that Ewan is detached at any point, we agree we should let him reevaluate his decision. I sure am glad she was forthright with her stance and considered the well-being of this little boy sitting on her piano bench next to her.

The beauty of Aureus Academy is its primary belief that the passion for music should be nurtured and thus, they do not tie their students down on a per term basis but by the month instead. Children, being children, may find playing an instrument from a one-day trial pretty exciting but doing it for months, they may find that it actually isn't true. So tying down a child to do something they realise they do not want to is not going help in their development.

Remember the ABRSM grading examinations that we were all drilled into for eight long years? Well, examinations are optional at Aureus Academy! Julius Holmefjord-Sarabi, Managing Director, said, "We're seeing a new generation of parents who hated music lessons coming to us and saying, "We don't care about exams. We want our kids to enjoy music, and we want them to have fun". What we're created is a sort of a response to that." - extracted from a Business Times interview on the school published on 21st February 2017. [click article to read]

I also appreciate that the school hires only full-time teachers with a basic Bachelor's or Master's degree - not for the sake of paper qualification but to ensure they recruit teachers of a certain calibre. It is evident that Ms Gemma is dedicated to the music she teaches. It does not bother her if mom [that's me] sits in every lesson nor does it change the way she teaches Ewan just because I am a blogger mom who might shed negative publicity if found scolding my son. She is strict when she had to and chides Ewan on the spot if he wasn't paying attention but also plays with him and encourages with his favourite stickers when it was time for play.

Although music lessons at Aureus Academy are drop-off programmes, I opt to sit in every week to watch the progress of my son. By doing so, I know what Ms Gemma covers in her lessons and the methods she uses to guide Ewan along. I will then be able to support him with his home practice in a way he understands or pull back when I think he needs more time to understand certain concepts that was taught. After all, parents are the core of the learning approach. As we invest our time to practice with our children, they will enjoy a more enriching music education journey. I can see that he enjoys playing music when I do it together with him. We take turns to sing and play together and made a hilarious chipmunk-singing video at home practice one day just for the fun of it. We sure laughed our bellies up watching the clip!

We started him on music trails from violin to drums and eventually settling for the piano. Exposure is my formula in helping the children find their passion [which is very important for shaping their lives] and I introduced the violin to him at three years old [well, he pleaded me for it #IAmNoTigerMom]. I believe in trials to gauge the interest level and the last thing I want from any kind of enrichment classes is for them to dread going to lessons. Read: I Am A Trialist Mom and find out how we eventually chose the piano.

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