Music school · graded pathway · Singapore
Instrument lessons for children and adults on an external grade ladder, with the board, the term arithmetic, the instrument position and the hire terms stated before anyone enrols.
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Three ways in
Every student takes a weekly lesson on one instrument. The graded route is one way to take it, not the only one, and what you are buying should be named before the first term is paid.
We do not enter a student for a grade to meet a school's form deadline, and we do not sell lesson credits that expire unused.
What the term ends in
A graded school needs more than one exam date. These are the three things a family actually attends: the end-of-term concert, the weekly ensemble, and the exam sitting, entered only when it is worth entering.
Every student who wants a turn plays one piece to the other families, in the room they already learn in.
The programme goes to parents two weeks beforehand, naming the piece each student has chosen. Rehearsal with the accompanist happens inside lesson time rather than as a paid extra, and a recording goes home, so the first year has something to show before any exam exists.
The ensemble meets weekly through the term and plays at the concert, which is where sight-reading and counting get used on real parts.
Places are on the enrolment form, with the day and the instrument each group needs. A student entered for a festival, a competition or a school audition is prepared inside the weekly lesson, and the teacher says whether the entry is realistic in the time available. Festival entry fees are the family's decision and the family's cost.
The paper is sat on a date the teacher names, with the preparation inside the weekly lesson and the entry paid by the family to the board.
We do not enter a student for a grade to meet a school's form deadline. And no festival result, pass rate or prize list appears here: we do not publish a number we cannot show you the source of.
In the years before a first exam, this is most of what a family is buying.
Thirty minutes with the teacher who would take the slot, on the instrument the student wants to play.
The level to start at, the lesson length we recommend, and the practice routine for the first month.
The same teacher each week, with the note a parent reads the same day and the term report at the end of it.
What is secure, what is not, and whether an exam is worth entering yet.
Before you enrol
The placement and the exam decision are the two things a family should be able to hold in writing. Each step below ends in something you keep.
Thirty minutes with the teacher who would take the slot. Output: a written placement note naming the level to start at, the recommended lesson length, and the practice routine for the first month.
Matched on the instrument, the day you are free, and how the student learns. Output: the teacher's name with the instrument and teaching qualification they hold, and the background check we run before a teacher takes a class — ask to see it.
Piano and drums are in the room; other instruments have to come from somewhere. Output: the hire terms if we can supply one, or advice on a first instrument if you would rather buy, including the size question for a growing child.
Individual or group lesson, and the term you start in. Output: a term invoice showing the lesson count, the first and last lesson date, and the day the fee falls due.
If and when an exam is entered. Output: the board, the grade, what the paper actually asks for, who books and pays the entry, and the date we would enter if the family agrees.
The ladder, and how long it takes
The ladder belongs to the exam board, not to us. Below the first graded paper there is no external exam at all: a beginner starts on pre-grade material, and the first grade is usually about two years away. That varies by instrument and by how much practice happens between lessons, so we would rather give the range than a date.
| Level | What the student works on | Typical time at this level |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-grade No exam exists here | Hand position, reading, a steady pulse, first scales and short pieces from memory. No prior playing is needed to start. | One to two years |
| Grades 1–2 | Set pieces, scales, sight-reading and aural work from the board's published syllabus, ending in the first short exam. | Six to twelve months a grade, for a student practising four times a week |
| Grades 3–5 | Longer pieces, the keys and time signatures the next paper brings, and the first ensemble playing. | Nine to eighteen months a grade |
| Grades 6–8 | Repertoire that takes months rather than weeks, longer sight-reading, and the written theory paper where the board's syllabus asks for one. | A year or more a grade; many students stop here and keep playing, which is a good place to stop |
| Beyond Grade 8 | Diploma-level repertoire and performance. | Not something we would plan for you in a first meeting |
The times are a guide and each individual's differs. A teacher who names a grade by a date without having taught the student is guessing. We give the range for the instrument and the practice week at the trial instead of a date.
Ask which board we prepare forTerm dates and lesson times
Lessons run in 30, 45 or 60 minute slots, on weekday afternoons and through Saturday morning. The slot is chosen at the trial and kept for the term, because a timetable that moves is the fastest way to lose a practice habit.
| Term | Dates and lesson count | Enrolment closes |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn | First week of September to the second week of December · 12 lessons | Five working days before the first lesson |
| Spring | First week of January to the last week of March · 10 lessons | Five working days before the first lesson |
| Summer | Second week of April to the third week of June · 9 lessons | Five working days before the first lesson |
Enrolment after the deadline is possible only into a slot that is still free, and the term fee is not reduced for the lessons already given.
What a term costs
A week of study on the graded route is a 30-minute individual lesson and a small musicianship group lesson, priced separately because they are different purchases: S$65 and S$25. Comparing the individual lesson alone to another school's hourly rate compares half of what is taught.
| Term | Rate per lesson | Term total, one individual lesson a week |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn 12 lessons | S$65 | S$780 |
| Spring 10 lessons | S$65 | S$650 |
| Summer 9 lessons | S$65 | S$585 |
What moves these figures: lesson length, how many lessons a term holds, monthly versus term billing, and whether one instrument or two are being studied. Each one is a stated line rather than a phone call.
While they wait for the exam
A first grade can be two years away. A page that only shows the ladder leaves a family with nothing to hold in the meantime, so three things come out of the teaching, and none of them is a score.
A student who practises four times a week moves faster than one who does not, and the weekly note is where that shows up first.
Family perspective
“At the trial they told us the first grade was about two years away, not two terms. The weekly note started arriving in the first week, so we could see the work even with no exam in sight.”
Graded pathway · sample story
Sample story. Not a real customer review.Before you commit
No. The exam is entered only when the teacher and the family agree it is worth doing, and a student can work through the graded material for years without sitting a paper. Working through graded material without the exam is not a lesser route: the syllabus is published, so the standard is known either way. What the exam buys is an external certificate dated to a day; what it costs is the entry fee, the preparation time, and a certain amount of nerve.
Piano and drum students need nothing, because the instrument is in the room. Every other instrument has to be available at home between lessons, or the practice does not happen and the family is paying for a lesson a week that goes nowhere. We hire a small number half-termly with a refundable deposit, five working days' notice required, and we say plainly when we cannot supply one. If you are buying, we will tell you what to expect to pay for a student instrument and when a child should move up a size.
Thirty minutes with the teacher who would take your slot, ending in a written placement note: the level to start at, the lesson length we recommend, and the practice routine for the first month. It is charged, and part of it comes off the first term's fee if you enrol — the figure and the credit sit with the fees, together with the rest of the money terms. One credit per family. If you decide not to enrol, the placement note is still yours.
A lesson we cancel is credited on the next invoice. A lesson the student misses is not refunded. With a day's notice, the teacher sends the week's work and a short recording so the student can practise against it, and the lesson is recorded as missed rather than made up. Cancellations on the day are charged, because the teacher's slot was held.
The instrument, whether hired or bought. The books and sheet music. The board's exam entry fee, which the family pays to the board. Extra lessons taken before an exam. And the accompanist for a grade that requires one, which is arranged and confirmed separately. None of these appear on the term invoice, and each one is listed with its price at the trial so the term's total is not a surprise.
Half a term's notice in writing, with the same half-term deadline the next term's fee runs to. The refundable deposit is returned at that point. We ask for the notice because the teacher's slot is held for the student and cannot be refilled mid-term, and because a student who is about to stop deserves a proper ending rather than a disappearing teacher.
Start with a trial
Rooms: three teaching rooms, each with an upright piano, one with a drum kit, and a larger room used for ensembles and the term concert. The address and the nearest MRT stop go out with the trial confirmation. Rooms can be hired for practice by the hour when they are not being taught — ask at the desk, because the weekday evenings are usually full.
Concept only. Nothing is sent or booked.