how long should it take me to reach grade 1 on piano?

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just wanted to add.

i use sheet music as a spring board for learning the piece from memory

then i play the whole thing looking down at the piano

i'm very against the whole "pretending i am sightreading when i'm actually playing from memory thing" as i used to do this when my teacher told me but it felt unecessary and for show as it didn't reflect the way in which i was actually playing the piece: ie from memory and not sight

Reply 41

melodic-verse

Congrats

Just want to add that while it's great to feel you're ploughing on with your piano with grades- do slow down sometime to make sure you are comfortable at your level and get techniques right- such as work on your rhythm =]

I would know...

Reply 42

Poshtotty

Astudentinneed

i've just had my first lesson last week and is curious. i have no musically background but im practicising at least half-hour every day with a lesson 30 minutes a week

for that matter, what level can i get up to in a year? I'm 20, if that makes any difference?

I started my lessons in May 2008. I started preparing for my grade 1 a couple of months later. And then I took my grade 1 in March 2009. I got a distinction for it.

But it does vary. I believe that normally it takes a year per grade. But if you have a musical background like I do then it shouldn't take you long to progress. And it depends on how much practice you put in.

Reply 43

grademusictutors

If you practice an hour at least 4-5 times a week, 10 months is possible

Reply 44

music lady

As a rough guide for someone practising half an hour a day with one half hour lesson a week, I would expect you to get to grade 1 within 6 months. If you are very quick/ musical, you could do it within 3 months, or skip straight to grade 2.

Ordinarily, if you start on January 1, 2015, I would expect you to reach grade 1 in June 2015; grade 2 by December 2015; grade 3 in June 2016 and then grade 4 might take a little longer - say, March 2017. Give yourself a year for grade 5 (as you have to do theory) so say June 2017. Going to grade 6, 7 and 8 will take at least a year - maybe 18 months and you will have to practise far more than half an hour a day. For grade 8, I'd expect you to be doing 2 hours' practice a day.

This is obviously a very rough guide. It goes without saying that it will be different for different people and that certain things will be harder/ easier for you than others.

Reply 45

Ridwan1473

Ffs took me like 3 years😭 but i was young and stupid. Up the hours you're spending on piano, try at least an hour a day, and you'll probably finish in less than a year 😎

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(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 46

sharpies

Took me 4 years and I still only passed by 2 marks, but you'll probably have more skill than me! :biggrin:

Reply 47

Trinity11

I took piano back up when I was 15, in June 2014, and got on fairly quickly - I sat Grade 2 in March 2015 and got distinction, Grade 3 in June 2015 and got distinction and I just sat Grade 5 on Thursday. I'd say it helps being a bit more mature than when I was in primary school with respect to practising. The worst part about it is actually sitting the exams, because I find them terrifying for some irrational reason, which is weird because I never get test scared for school exams or anything.

Reply 48

fyrefli

This may not be the answer some parents or beginners are looking for but, you are asking the wrong question. If your child is enjoying the process of learning the piano then it is well worth it, really worth it. The time taken to pass the various grades really doesn't matter. It's possible to pass exams and play in a way that ticks all the boxes without really enjoying the learning process or in my opinion, actually understanding what it's all for. Encourage beginners to try playing by ear and to experiment in any way they enjoy alongside the theory and lessons.
I came to the piano from playing guitar for many years. In some ways it's easier in some ways it's harder. I work at it but alway allow time to just mess about between more serious practice sessions. It's been a wonderful experience. Parrot fashion learning might get you through the first couple of exams , but in the long run it will do no favours to the learner.

Reply 49

PTMalewski

Original post by music lady

Going to grade 6, 7 and 8 will take at least a year - maybe 18 months and you will have to practise far more than half an hour a day. For grade 8, I'd expect you to be doing 2 hours' practice a day.

If your teacher will not make any mistakes teaching you.

I think I've lost half a year or more, on fixing my technique and recovery from a series of hand injuries.

Reply 50

dvb247

I think age is a massive issue, when you're 9 or 15 etc. your brain is a sponge, as you age, learning becomes harder, the paino requires new, unused signal paths connecting the brain in a way that it never has before, to learn to read music and control both hands doing different things can be almost beyond physical reach, in terms of your brain!!

Reply 51

TheKLF99

I'm just reading this I know it's a few years on - but I was wondering what it takes to get at least a grade in a piano. I was talking to a friend last night and she said she's got grade 1 in piano, and then I started talking about the fact that I'd taught myself how to read basic sheet music (believe it or not using the help files of musescore to get the gist of how music is wrote - I already knew some of the basics like the length of notes and that each line represents a specific note and how to easily find middle c on the actual piano/keyboard). I was actually quite surprised when I said to about the two ticks at the top of the note meaning the note is played for 1/8th of a bar and then 1 tick being 1/4th of a bar, no tick is 1/2 a bar, a hollow note with no line and no ticks is the entire bar, etc. and she said to me then is that what they mean, I didn't know that. I found this quite surprising - do you not need to know about the length of the notes to pass grade 1 piano??? Surely knowing the length of a note is kind of like vital???

I'm also surprised that a lot of people on here are saying piano is quite hard. I've only got a small Akai 25 key keyboard - LPK-25, as well as an electric guitar - Yamaha Pacifica - (which with rocksmith I can emulate bass guitar as well), out of all three I find the 25-key keyboard the easiest to play, second easiest I find is bass guitar because it's mainly one finger on the fret and only four strings, and the hardest is guitar. My sister also has a Casio full size keyboard too which I've played with. On the Akai I once managed to play The Cranberries Zombie - I had the computer handle the chords and I played the basic tune - and I played The Model a bit on the Casio. I always see a keyboard as just like an electronic version of a piano - am I right in thinking that the difference between a piano and a keyboard isn't that much or is there a major difference? Also is there actual grades in keyboard playing or is keyboard playing grades classed as the same as piano grades?

Reply 52

eloha

Original post by Astudentinneed

if you have lessons, maybe one day
but for now, keep practising bro

Reply 53

eloha

Original post by eloha

if you have lessons, maybe one day
but for now, keep practising bro

maximum a year right

Reply 54

zing15

i have just started playing a piano only a months back i learned from my teacher plus practicing from youtube videos helps a lot.As told by my teacher i can read staff notation so well plus my coordination goes smooth being a beginner .Now i feels like knowing how much duration do i need to be on the grade one. My teacher told me i could reach grade 2 in a year if i go with this speed.

Reply 55

n.am010.9

Original post by Astudentinneed

Grades honestly don't matter. If you are in this for the long run, it might be an option to not do grades until you do Grade 5 theory and then the higher grades. I'm technically Grade 5 violin but I study at the junior conservatoire here and I'm playing at Grade 8 standard (in terms of scales and pieces). Not done grades for piano but playing at around Grade 6/7. What matters really is how much you're improving and how much progress you're making. I would also recommend taking theory lessons to complement your piano lessons as it really helps your understanding of the music and therefore your performance, but it's not entirely necessary if you've only just started.
I also want to ask how you're practicing. Half an hour a day sounds promising, but you could practice for two hours a day and never get anywhere. Diligently practice your scales and your studies- they are the building blocks to everything. Also, make sure you learn the correct technique; otherwise, you might need to unlearn them later in life and that will be a nightmare (things such as keeping your hands, arms, and shoulders as relaxed as possible, sitting properly, posture). This will depend on the teacher, and it is difficult to tell if they are teaching you properly if you don't know how they're meant to be teaching. If they're not mentioning posture and/or arm position, then they might not be doing their job properly. Learning how to practice is just as important as learning the instrument itself.
Everyone is different, so the answer to your question is subjective; however, this is the best advice I can give you.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 56

username5513196

I would say a week or so from scratch as an adult 30 minutes a day

Reply 57

ran-dumb

Original post by n.am010.9

Grades honestly don't matter. If you are in this for the long run, it might be an option to not do grades until you do Grade 5 theory and then the higher grades. I'm technically Grade 5 violin but I study at the junior conservatoire here and I'm playing at Grade 8 standard (in terms of scales and pieces). Not done grades for piano but playing at around Grade 6/7. What matters really is how much you're improving and how much progress you're making. I would also recommend taking theory lessons to complement your piano lessons as it really helps your understanding of the music and therefore your performance, but it's not entirely necessary if you've only just started.
I also want to ask how you're practicing. Half an hour a day sounds promising, but you could practice for two hours a day and never get anywhere. Dilligently practice your scales and your studies- they are the building blocks to everything. Also make sure you learn the correct technique; otherwise, you might need to unlearn them later in life and that will be a nightmare (things such as keepiing your hands, arms and shoulders as relaxed as possibe, sitting properly, posture). This will depend on the teacher, and it is difficult to tell if they are teaching you properly if you don't know how they're meant to be teaching. If they're not mentioning posture and/or arm position, then they might not be doing their job properly. Learning how to practice is just as important as learning the instrument itself.
Everyone is different, so the answer to your question is subjective; however, this is the best advice I can give you.

Haha yeah that's so accurate. I had grade 5 theory from ages ago when I started the piano in September 2016. I didn't think my teacher at boarding school was amazing, but anyway I sped through and in 3 years passed Grade 8. Only barely with 103 though, and my new teacher who taught me from Grade 5 after I quit the boarding school and went home kept pointing out my hands, wrists and arms were tight like a robot, but I just couldn't change that. I'm not sure if it's my natural thing to be tense or I could've developed the relaxed way with a better teacher to start or practising less on my own. Either way I haven't played since then and I won't progress even if I wanted to

Reply 58

Stinkysause

Well personally for me it took half a year but I play the cello too so I think that definitely helped me but otherwise it takes around a year to 2 years but that’s just depending on the person :smile: