“Can my child take the grade 1 ABRSM violin examination in a year?” The answer to this question is…. Perhaps? We will have to see.There are numerous factors contributing to the learning pace of a violin student.

Adhering to schedules

Young children needs repetition in their life. If a child misses a week of lessons,

he/she might have already forgotten what has been taught the previous week and countless information would have to be

repeated and revised through more thoroughly and thus takes up more time and there is hardly any more time for progression.

This will then slow down the pace of learning.

Attentiveness

Most of the times, teachers have to double up their roles as babysitters or discipline mistress/masters. Sometimes when children gets too playful,

it is not easy to grasp their attention and thus it is not easy for

them to be focused during lessons.

Spending time nagging or lecturing the students makes it hard for teachers to teach and again, this slows down the learning pace.

Structured lessons

It is important to find a violin teacher who has a structured and organised lesson plan in mind with the right lesson materials.

If a violin teacher is coming late for lessons and leaving early, this lessens the timing of the student’s and cause harm to the learning of the child.

If a violin teacher is not clear with his/her instructions and contradicts herself/himself by being unsure of his/her own teachings,

this endangers the learning progress of the student.

Practice makes perfect

This saying is not just a saying for teachers and parents to use to put pressure on students.

Practice is very important, especially for children. At a young age, it is easy to forget many things that may not be of importance to them.

Practicing helps to generate muscle memory and also revise through the teachings the teacher have said during lessons.

Then by the next lesson, the teacher does not have to repeat what has been said, pieces are done nicely, the lesson will then move at a quicker pace.

Goal settings

Even though your child may be 5 or 6, helping your child set some goals will help them in the long run.

Ask them simple questions like, “by the end of this week, do you think you can play this song for me?”

By doing so, the child will be more motivated to impress you and thus be more attentive during lessons and practice with a goal in mind.

If the child reaches the goal he/she set, the child’s confidence will definitely be boosted and this aids them to ace in their music making journey.

Parental guidance and communication

It is essential that parents partake in childrens’ learning.

With constant encouragement and motivation from parents, it is easier for students to be motivated to learn the violin at a faster pace.

Parents-teachers communication is important too because teachers are able to understand from parents, the problems the children might face during lessons

and give specific instructions to help make the lesson more effective.

Looking at all these factors, you will then realise that no child is equal and every individual is different.

Thus, there is no fixed answer to how fast can my child learn the violin. With practice, attentiveness, motivation, the learning progress will definitely be faster.

However, do not pressurise your kid by saying “You have to get your Grade 1 by so and so year.”

Because if you do so, stress may take over and their interest for the violin might deplete rapidly, which will become a negative effect in the long run.

Setting goals is fine but try to make sure that it is within the child’s abilities.

Remember, a beginner student can’t possible become a grade 8 student in just a year.

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