Concerns about the current situation of piano education in China

(If you don’t want to ruin your child’s future, please read it patiently (my space will be added regularly, please pay attention)

It is a good thing for children to receive a good art education from an early age. However, parents’ comparison mentality has given rise to a children’s art training market. Various training institutions have sprouted up everywhere, and some of them are said to be the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Some say they are graduates from the Central Conservatory of Music... The refusal to investigate is purely deception. Some teachers may have gone to these schools for short-term training, so they claim to be graduates of a certain school and regulate the team of part-time teaching teachers. What kind of teacher should parents choose? This is an urgent matter.

What are the criteria for a good teacher? 1. You must look at the actual playing ability of the piano teacher (for those who are not good at playing themselves). How to teach others?) What does it mean to play well? To put it bluntly, the first thing is technique (that is, if you play fast, there must be something wrong with your method. The most common mistake made by parents is that they have never heard a teacher play a big piece of music. , many piano teachers can only give some simple 599, 740 demonstrations. You must know that this is nothing. Children's music is very simple. A qualified piano teacher must be able to play well, such as Liszt. Rhapsody, Chopin ballade, concerto, Beethoven sonata (Dawn, Pathétique, etc.), Bach's three creative works and above, etc. There should not be a big technical burden due to parents' ignorance of piano, which leads to the teacher's ability. When I play "For Alice", "Wedding in a Dream" and "Turkish March", I feel that my level is very good. In fact, these are all amateur pieces around level 6, which do not reflect the teacher's level at all. As the saying goes, if you are not afraid of not having good stuff, just do it. Don’t be afraid of comparison. Compare your teachers with pianists such as Lang Lang and Li Yundi. The closer the level is, the better. You should also have extensive contact with pianists such as Haydn, Clementi, Schumann, Rachmaninov, and Debia. The works of composers from the classical, romantic, and modern eras such as Francesco, Ravel, and others. 2. Of course, only technique without music is not a good performer. The soul of the composer must be played with first-class musicality and accurate analysis of the works. 3. A good teacher must have excellent language expression skills and be able to teach in vivid language. 4. Have a basic understanding of the history of music culture at home and abroad, and be familiar with the styles of various composers. 5. , It is best to be a full-time piano teacher at a university (don’t trust those social education providers) 6. Don’t think that those who graduate from a conservatory must be good at playing and teaching. Many people work very hard before taking the exam for the conservatory. After passing the exam, they think that everything will be fine. Do you believe in the teaching ability of such a person who has rarely practiced piano for four years? Only teachers who insist on practicing, studying, and studying during college and even after working can be trusted.

It does not mean that students play well. The teacher teaches well: A common trick used by many teachers is: My student won a gold medal in a certain competition, so you should believe that I teach well. This sounds reasonable at first, but it is not. First: the students he showed. Are the award-winning photos really of his students (some teachers borrow other people’s students). Second: Even if they are his students, how many classes have they had with him? Many piano teachers (especially institutions) select "genius" children to give them free lessons, regularly introduce them to music school professors, and privately discuss with parents that they claim to be the students they brought up. Every time there is a major occasion, students are asked to perform to showcase the institution's teaching achievements. This phenomenon is common in the entertainment industry. When a celebrity becomes famous, many people spring up overnight across the country claiming to be the teacher of this celebrity. Some people have taught her before, while others are his mentor. Of course, some of them had given him guidance, but it only lasted a few lessons. Could it be that these few lessons created his success? It can only be said that this teacher is relatively lucky. He encounters potential stocks in the future like winning a lottery. This phenomenon often occurs in some older teachers. It is very simple. After teaching for many years, the percentage will naturally be met. There were so few talented teachers, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, there were very few art teachers in the entire province. Almost all of them were his students. Even if the students were not famous, there were always one or two students of theirs. A good one. Then he said that he was his disciple. Chinese people believe in authority and age very much. There is a serious phenomenon of seniority in the art world.

Parents don’t know why, thinking that the older they are, the more authoritative they are. In fact, most of the old teachers who started teaching in the 1980s and 1990s have been using the old teaching methods. There has been no improvement over the past few decades. Instead, they are busy making money, supporting their families, and evaluating teachers. Professional titles, etc. have neglected skills. This can be easily exemplified. The old teachers currently working in universities, high schools, art schools and other institutions are not as good as freshly graduated college students in terms of vocals and piano, but they are in that position. There are students who believe it and ask them to take small lessons. In this way, the students are the most unlucky.”

The inside story of China’s amateur piano grading system: When a reporter asked German piano education guru Kemmering to comment on China’s amateur piano When talking about his views on the grading system, he said very seriously: China's piano grading system is so bad that he doesn't want to mention it. It is not a good way to let children only practice fixed repertoire to take the exam. Playing the piano should be a persistent thing, requiring comprehensive and balanced development, rather than memorizing a few pieces of music over and over again. According to Kemmering, there is no so-called grade examination in Europe. Instead, school observation concerts are often held to give every student a chance to perform, in order to test what repertoire the students have learned during this period and what level they have achieved. level. The teacher then finds the shortcomings in a targeted manner based on the students' performance and puts forward suggestions for correction. According to the author's understanding, on the one hand, because parents are eager for quick success and instant benefits, they require their children to learn the piano quickly, so that they can strengthen their piano learning in a short period of time and only play the repertoire for the examination, mainly by memorizing the music. I think that as long as I complete the exam, I have mastered a skill, so I will stop learning after I finish the exam. On the other hand, in order to cater to the demands of parents, many teachers are eager for success, do not follow scientific progress, and pursue grading one-sidedly. It even took a year to prepare for the exam, which was detrimental to success. Moreover, teachers also compete with each other. Whoever can get the children to pass the exam in the shortest time will have the greatest ability. . Since the grading examination is no longer just a pure grading examination activity, it has been linked to the economy, which has also brought about corresponding problems. In recent years, there have been more and more institutions that take examinations. Nowadays, the Central Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music, local art schools, and the Chinese Musicians Association are undertaking amateur music examinations. It is really dazzling. Some people Taking part in the examination is because of the huge benefits brought by the examination. As the number of grading units increases frequently, there will be mutual exclusion and competition. Abnormalities in attracting candidates are everywhere. For example, as many students are brought to take the exam, there will be corresponding rebates. The more students there are, the greater the amount of rebates and the higher the passing rate. After all, the units that take the exams also have to take exams. For food, the result is that the larger the training institution is, the higher the pass rate is. The higher the pass rate, the more conducive it is to recruiting students. The more students there are, the more say they have. If you don’t let my students pass, I will Just take the exam of other companies, it's not your family anyway. In such a cycle, it is difficult for parents to judge which family is the most authoritative, which directly leads to bad consequences. There has been a "strange phenomenon" of lowering the examination standards. For example, those who cannot complete the eighth level will be given a seventh level certificate, or even if they have paid the registration fee, they will be given a certificate for the quality of their performance. What's more serious is that some music shops in small counties and cities often cannot guarantee the quality of their teaching, but if they implement it under the brand of provincial or national grading institutions, they are actually misleading students, and in this way the significance of grading exams is completely lost. You must know that the real meaning of grade examinations should be to grasp quality education through grade exams and promote the popularization and development of music education. Grade exam activities cannot be a way to make money. "There is nothing wrong with the mentality of parents. What is important is the guidance of teachers. Many extracurricular art education teachers are keen to recommend grading examinations to students and pursue grading examination results. The purpose is to add weight to themselves. The reason is very simple. If a certain piano store has a high grading rate among students , will naturally become a sign of enrollment. And parents don’t know why, so they often do whatever the teacher asks them to do, and go wherever they are recommended. Industry insiders point out that the examination has become a market, and there is a chain of interests behind it. Each examination institution has only one choice. Only by fighting for students can we gain profits. It is understood that each student needs to pay a fee ranging from 80 to 200 yuan. In one year, this city alone is a market worth more than one million yuan. The direct consequence of the competition is that the standards for the exam are becoming more and more relaxed. , the pass rate is as high as 95%! "In fact, there are currently more than 100 art schools and music shops of various sizes in our city. Some music shops run schools in front of the stores. Their teachers include after-school art teachers from several sources: Music There are graduates from the piano department of the college (some are good and some are bad), and graduates from the music education major of the normal school (all of whom have been exposed to music-related things during school, it is a hodgepodge).

I would like to advise you to find a professional teacher, so as to avoid detours. Basically, those who work part-time (especially full-time) in various institutions are poor teachers, because really good teachers often have a good reputation and do not have any family background. There is no shortage of students and they will not take part-time jobs. And those who work full-time have never found a formal job at all, and can only make a living by recruiting people in music shops

Over the years, various media and experts and scholars have been discussing the same issue, the so-called utilitarianism of music examinations. The dangers of sex and where to go with exams. I think we should not avoid the utilitarian nature of music examinations. Because we are all ordinary people living in the world. The purpose of learning music and learning other types of knowledge and skills is the same, either as a profession, as a hobby, or as a pastime. The original intention of parents is also the same: some are to prepare their children for further education in the future; some are hoping that their children will learn one more skill, so-called "many arts are not burdensome"; some are hoping that their children will use this as a career in the future; and some, Just because the child is interested in this area, it doesn't matter whether it will be a career in the future. However, once the grade examination is linked to further education and employment, it is difficult to escape the word "utility". The author just wants to tell parents how to set the goal of learning piano; how to identify a good piano teacher; how to learn piano and how to really learn it without half-way.

I think it is most urgent for parents of piano children to solve these basic problems. Otherwise, not only will a lot of money and energy be wasted, but also the precious childhood of the children will be wasted. Poor parents in the world! Parents, you have paid so much, why can’t some of you see any results? After all, learning piano must have a reward in order to be considered "study worthwhile." Since you have spent so much money, why not reflect on whether you can find the right way to learn piano and truly master a skill that will be used throughout your life. In fact, as long as these parents know more about it, they can avoid such an embarrassing situation.

I recently read an article titled "Liu Shikun criticizes the current situation of piano education in China." The article mentioned some bad phenomena in society due to the current "piano craze". Piano teachers are not professional enough. Without qualifications, in Liu Shikun’s opinion, what kind of teacher is qualified? "More than ten years of professional training is the most basic." Liu Shikun's answer was unquestionable. But the reality is far from that. If you delve into the various piano training classes, except for students who have graduated from the orthodox piano department, you will find that the teaching staff is mostly distributed like this: there are those who originally studied national instruments such as erhu and pipa, and there are also those who study vocal music and even music theory. Some teachers never demonstrate in class. They take a piece of music and let the students practice it. After class, they draw a hook and let the students take it home to practice. "Just to cope with the situation, they may not even know how to play it." What makes Liu Shikun helpless is that , "piano teacher" is increasingly given some symbolic meanings - good social status, generous economic income, and relaxed freelance status. Naturally, more and more non-professionals will come towards this attraction. The number of piano children is growing rapidly, but the number of teachers is far from keeping up. After ten years of training, professional teachers are hard to come by, but they can only teach a few students one-on-one. In this case, no one can avoid the temptation to make up for the mistakes.

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Institutions and piano teachers are too good at packaging themselves: Celebrities generally have no sense of social responsibility and use their reputation to set up centers across the country. The actual teaching situation is not monitored at all, as long as the franchise institution pays the franchise fee every year Regardless of the level of teachers he recruits, the economic account is very clear: if he recruits good teachers, the tuition fee will be high, and the relative income from the institution will be less. It is better to recruit some with poor skills and no jobs, and use the connections of the institution Take a photo with various celebrities across the country and package it up to say that a certain pianist provides regular guidance to the central teacher. The teacher's teaching level has been praised by the master. This is a commercial society, and everything can be done as long as you have money. The operation is very similar to celebrities shooting advertisements. As long as they give money, the big names don't care whether the thing they endorse is true or false. As long as they greet you with a smile, gold and dollars add sweetness, and don't reach out to hit the smiling person, the masters often don't To refute someone's face, take a photo, write a message, mention a word, a certain master visited a certain piano store and gave a very high evaluation to the institution, etc., it all appeared in official reports smoothly (now all you need to pay to publish an article is, The newspaper does not care about your authenticity, no one has money to deal with) I have been to most institutions in Dalian and am deeply proud of the Dalian piano community. Most of them are students of several leading piano education leaders in my country. Their intimate group photos are as harmonious as a family. , which makes me deeply "envy". There are only a few dozen piano education masters, but there are hundreds of thousands of piano teachers. If these people study with the masters for a long time (the masters are afraid of being exhausted), the actual situation is I have only taken one lesson, or even none. The purpose of visiting is to take a photo. Don’t go to an institution to learn piano. For example, if the teacher you choose is 100 per lesson, and you give the money to the institution, they will basically give you 5 lessons. For five points, the teacher can only get 50 yuan. But the 100 yuan actually belongs to the teacher. The teacher’s family has too few students, so he can only go to the institution to be exploited in his spare time. Why are there so few students? The level is not good. So this is the situation when you go to an institution. Poor parents’ money is divided between two groups. Almost all institutions will hire an authority in the local piano industry to be their teaching consultant. The teaching level of the consultant is usually pretty good. His purpose one: He also teaches, and the tuition fee is very expensive, because the price for raising students at home is the highest in the local area, such as 200, but in this institution it is usually 300 (the institution has to make a part of the profit). Purpose two: to falsely claim to be an expert Long-term training of teachers in the center and leading them in scientific research. In fact, people who can reach this level have no time to do these tasks. Even if the teaching and research can only be done once a month at most, it will have little effect on improving the level of teachers in the center. In addition, don’t think that they look good. The old one must be the authority. I graduated from the Piano Department of Wuhan Conservatory of Music. After graduation, I returned to my hometown of Hefei. Because I was born and raised here, I know all the local school-running groups and the teaching level of the so-called local experts. I use the concepts of our Conservatory of Music to Look, the method is too problematic. In provinces like Anhui that do not have music schools, it is difficult for the piano education level to be in line with international standards. The few graduates from music schools cannot support the entire education market, and most talented students are left behind by institutions. Go ahead and deceive, capable teachers can only accept mediocre ones, students with poor quality will not be able to produce results no matter how good their teachers are. If the vicious circle continues, the institution will become stronger, stronger and more attractive. . . . . .

Various groups and training institutions are collaborating: At present, more and more units are hosting competitions, and the proportion of gold and silver awards in many competitions is as high as 30%, which is really ridiculous. Gold and silver medal players receive nothing more than a certificate, and the total cost of a medal is less than 8 yuan. The registration fee for players is as high as 200---300, and various training institutions are willing to cooperate with them. Whichever institution sends more people will get a higher proportion of gold and silver awards. Some people may say that the competitions I participate in are all international competition divisions. , why is it irregular? As everyone knows, as long as the organizer fee is paid, the proportion of the gold medal awarded is not decided by the organizer. And then putting the winning photos of these contestants in their center will undoubtedly deceive most lay parents. Many parents think that their children have won a gold medal. It’s amazing, but I didn’t know that only when I took the exam for the high school attached to the conservatory of music did I realize that the level was far different. Of course, if a child can be admitted to the high school affiliated to the conservatory of music, it does not necessarily mean that his teaching is good (the admission to the conservatory of music also depends on connections). Those who do not rely on connections are the real ones. Good (this is difficult to supervise, no one admits that they have found someone).

The bosses of almost all large-scale training institutions are people in their 40s. Most of these people were majoring in music education back then (because it was very difficult to get into the music conservatory at that time), and their piano education was very superficial. In addition, these people They were busy with the daily affairs of the institution for many years, and most of them neglected to practice piano. Their congenital deficiencies and acquired calcium deficiency made them become more and more distant from the art of piano, and gradually became "businessmen". However, this group of people have rich social experience and are the first batch of institution founders to debut in New China. He has extensive social connections and has ambiguous relations with so-called government agencies such as the local Youth Palace, Music Association, Song and Dance Theater, etc. He wants to be honored by "awarded by a certain people's government as an outstanding social school institution" and so on. It's so easy. As a result, their centers are often dazzling, with all kinds of honors covering the walls. It’s so confusing that parents can’t even move their legs after looking at it, so they often pay several months of tuition fees in a hurry. They often rely on their own reputation to be very impressive, and their tuition fees are often the same as those of university professors: (150-----200) Parents generally have abnormal psychology. First, they think that the more expensive the better, and second, they think that the older the teacher, the better. , The third is that the more gorgeous and larger the center, the better. When it comes to children's palaces and song and dance theaters, don't think that they are run by the government and can be trusted. In fact, they are currently contracted by private parties, and the boss has the final say as to what kind of teachers they use.

Various art schools mislead students: let’s talk about the best art schools first, such as provincial art schools and city art schools. Don't think that because they are public schools, they are very formal. In fact, 1. The school is smoky, with puppy love, online games, and gambling prevalent. It's like a gangster. 2. Most of the teachers in this kind of school are recruited through connections. Most of them are playboys who were idle when they were studying at the music conservatory. No real talent or learning. Teachers who have no connections but have real talents often lament such a good job, and private art schools cannot even consider it. The office has a wall full of lists of students who have been admitted to the conservatory of music over the years. They are all fake. The principal knows that no one I'll check it out, it's not illegal. I don’t know why so many people believe it

Yang Jun, Director of the Piano Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, talks about the current situation of piano education in China: An excellent piano teacher must have many years of experience and loyalty to this cause. I think he is a qualified piano teacher. There are so many children learning piano now, and I also believe that there are a large number of unqualified teachers teaching there, and some even mislead the students. Some of them start teaching without even knowing the key points of knowledge required on the staff, which is confusing. It hurts. It is actually possible to teach in large numbers. I think this phenomenon is serious. Don't think that I bought a piano today, then randomly found a teacher to learn from it, and then hoped that the children would achieve great results. Children who do not receive wrong guidance are much easier to teach than those who receive wrong guidance. We should take good care of children, especially these piano students, and provide them with a healthy and correct learning environment.

Don’t learn electronic piano: piano has its own specific requirements for hand shape, fingering, etc. It will be very laborious when the time comes to make changes

Limited by space, time, and energy, various issues cannot be analyzed in detail. This article aims to draw the attention of conscientious colleagues, expose the shortcomings of China's piano education, and promote righteousness. , for the sake of their parents and even the poor piano children, they have studied with certain teachers for many years and only wanted to be admitted to the music academy. They spent their precious youth time in the illusion of passing exams and winning gold medals in competitions. They thought everything would be perfect. It was natural, but he failed miserably in the piano department exam of the Conservatory of Music. After more than ten years of hard work, the family's hope, hard work, sweat, and money were all in vain. I believe that most parents do not want to spend money to let their children learn to play. The attitude is all about learning. If your child is very talented and progresses faster than other children, then you can decide whether to pursue a professional path. However, if you choose the wrong teacher, your child’s level will remain stagnant for a long time, and you will mistakenly think that your child No talent, how sad. I remind parents again: "Don't look at the ads, look at the results."