when does she reach the finish line?

[driz]

I have a friend who is taking piano lessons. She studies about an hour per week with a tutor and now and then on her own.

How long do you suppose it would take her to advance a grade if she's...well... a good student? actually listening and learning, interested and all?

[timothy42b]

Can you give us more information? 

I think it would be useful to know:

How old is she?
Does she have any previous musical background?
Does she have a piano to practice on?
Does she have the time and/or discipline to schedule daily practice?

It sounds as if she has a weekly one hour lesson with a teacher.

It sounds as if she may not do any regular practice on her own. 

If so, I would predict rather slow progress. 

[dr. j]

Agreed.  Without the "p" word - practice - the student will make very slow progress no matter her age or ability.  I would call an hour with a tutor/week - an exposure to the piano which hopefully will kindle a keener interest in the instrument.

Dr. J - The More You Play the Better Your Day

[driz]

Hmm, alright. But for the sake of any more opinion, I'll answer.

she's 15,
no background aside from interest in the instrument,
she does have a piano,
she has the discipline but perhaps not the schedule.

I'm just asking because my other friend and I were talking about it.

He said it could take a little over a year, I said it could take two or so. I thought I could try to see what others think.

[n00bhippy]

my two cents...
She has a hour lesson a week...practices every now and then on her own, i believe it'll take her several years before she becomes an 'advanced' student. I suppose it all depends on what you view as 'the finish line'.

[pianochick93]

I think it would depend on the grade.

An advance from grade 1 to grade 2 would probably not take as long as an advance from grade 6 to grade 7. When I first started I practised maybe 1-2 hours a week, and had a half hour piano lesson. Within the first year I was grade 3 AMEB, and after that I moved up about 1 1/2 grades a year.

As she is 15, her progress probably wont be slowed by physical factors such as hand size and ability to reach the pedals. Say she is just starting out: it should be pretty easy for her to master the preliminary stuff and move on to grade 1, and probably possible to go through that fairly easily, as the motor skills required to coordinate two hands are probably easier to gain at an older age.

So all up I'd say 1/2 a year to a year.