Summer Term Music and Music Exams Thread

DD has got her Grade 8 flute result- 125 merit. She is not at all happy and wants to do it again. She has just finished yr 11, doing piano grade 8 in November and wants to do Music at University.

Has anyone got experience of doing this? Or any advice?
The only thing we've definitely decided is that she won't be doing it in November.

Downandout I would leave it and take a week off. It's grade 1 so pieces are short and the exam is months away. It would be different if the exam was closer or a high grade or diploma.

Well, my student J - who was my only grade entry this term - passed his grade 1 with merit. That means that I've entered 3 students and they've all passed with merit.

I'm trying to talk a couple out of doing grade 1 because learning and polishing some extra pieces will hold them at that level - they're already playing grade 1 stuff from various exam boards, I just didn't tell them that. Both are transfer students so I didn't enter them as wasn't certain of level.

Golden - we've just started to get some comments from the flute teacher that if Dd2 would only prioritise it she could be really good. She's just passed grade 4 very well, so I'm more than happy with her progress (she's only been learning 2 years). Thing is, it's her 3rd study. She's grade 5 recorder and singing, and more important (to her) than any of those is her dancing and theatre (she does 7 hours of those a week, more when there's a show). She doesn't want to be a flute player. She wants to play the flute but if she decided she wanted to go to conservatoire or uni for that sort of thing (like DD1) then it would be to do MT. And even if she did decide that playing was the way to go, her first study would be recorders.

At the moment she's doing the most practice on piano but that's cos she has an exam next week (having started lessons after Easter). She's also recently started on the harp but that's just for fun deffo no exams on that ever (this is what I said about piano but I mean it this time).

For Dd1, she is serious about her playing and she too gets comments about prioritisation from teachers of her 3rd and 4th studies. She just sucks it up and carries on doing her best.

For a weeks hols this far away from an exam, I would def leave it home. I am completely unmusical and thought I ought o take dd's cello ski-ing the week before her grade 1 ....complete waste of time, not least th angst of flying with it!! Never ever again....:) more seriously dd's teacher has pointed out brains need a rest sometimes so a couple of weeks off at this stage may help rather than hinder

OMG DD1's exam is on Friday! We've gone from feeling super-prepared at the start of the week, to not feeling ready at all (that's both me and her!). Only one more night to practise in....

One week? I think a break is allowed. Not a six week/two month break over the holidays, though!

You could, however, put on lots of top-notch recordings of violin and fiddle music, and bowhold exercises can be practised anywhere with a pencil. We used to listen to the French channel "Musique" and play "Guess the Composer". Or take a not-too-boring theory book such as one from the Lina Ng series or Chester that could be done when bored on the plane or in the evenings.

Child is presumably youngish, and it's only grade 1, and there are a few months to go. If the exam was the week you got back, I might say differently.

Hi string parents and teachers can you please advise if you would recommend taking your child's violin on holiday or giving them a week off - grade one level exam in December thanks

Well, I went into the exam with the examiner knowing that a) I'm an adult and b) I have a degree in music, which may have affected the results - no idea, it shouldn't but it can (I'd entered myself, but my BMus is on my teacher profile so...). And the whole thing was totally relaxed and quite fun, a much more positive experience than the grade 6 theory I took last month. The examiner hadn't done it for ages (probably some lower grades but not grade 8) so it was all a bit random. I opted for sightsinging and improvisation rather than transposition and figured bass, and used voice, violin and piano as I deemed fit.

There was also a grade 5 practical musicianship candidate, who studies viola with a colleague (I don't know her too well, think she was teaching when I was a kid). Said colleague has taken the grade 5 for the same reason I did the 8 - to find out what it's like. All three of us agreed that it was much more relaxed!

At the higher grades, you more or less need the same skill and knowledge sets (composition = written down improvisation, after all), but it's much more spur of the moment and quite fun.

Look at this way Julie, it's far better than the sudden realisation that you had an exam yesterday.

Hope today goes well Julie - your intuitive musicianship will come to the fore!!

Excuse that, tried to correct typo, tablet froze and then posted the above two hours later! Not as good with technology as DS1!

Isd not usii

^ Totally unprepared and hasn't even looked at the syllabus.

Good luck Julie!

I just suddenly realised I have an exam tomorrow. Ooooooooops. What's in these musicianship exam thingies?

DS1 had grade 5 violin today, I think it was a pass but no higher(was accompanying the pieces). He is a fantastic sight reader, and aural was fine, having done it all before for piano, but his scales were appalling! Shame for him because he wanted a third merit to go with piano last November and theory last March. But the programming ate into practice time - we are beginning to feel the time constraints with two instruments, three hours a week taekwondo (he is a black belt) and lots of computer programming, which is his real passion.

DS2 was quite philosophical about his exam, and us currently playing music from the Hobbit. Just my eleven pianists to get through next Tuesday now......

I see, thanks Shaky. Another reason she will have against jazz exams then, she went back to 'standard' exams for Grade 6 as she hated the improv.

Test B in jazz grade 5 aurals for trinity both require singing.

I agree it is hard when your child does music and sports and other interests. Fortunately we have only had a couple of clashes with gymnastics and music and cadets. As a music teacher, I tell her usually that music wins - although in reality we try to be honest and go with the thing she agreed to first. She has a a diary as most of the time I am not there when they discuss concert, exam and competition dates. I rely on her to make sure she isn't double-booked!

Well done Schilke's DC.

Happy Birthday Schilke.

Just finished packing for DS1 to go off on band trip tomorrow.

Hurrah - gr 7 violin (ds2) and gr 2 trumpet (dd2) done today. I can celebrate my birthday! Alas, dh has a gig so is out for the rest of the day. Oh well more prosecco for me.
Ds2 actually thought it went well. Dh said ds2's playing was beautiful and dh didn't mess up the accompaniment either Dd2 focussing on playing a couple of wrong notes in the sight reading, but pieces were the best she'd ever done.

Very true about swim galas - I lose the will to live when they stretch over whole weekends :)

DD has just told me that her Grade 5 Trinity Jazz Sax exam last year did have singing in, she was given a note and had to sing a phrase I think, so I stand corrected re no singing in Trinity exams.

Goldenlilies, we just constantly juggle, prioritising whichever needs it the most. DS2 is just finishing Y6, is a chorister, plays piano (passed G5 last November), trombone (G5 standard but no exam yet) and clarinet. He also plays in groups, in and out of school.

After the session he did Grade 4 piano and Grade 3 trombone we decided to try and avoid 2 exams in a session if at all possible, as it was really difficult to fit in extra practice for two.

My DD sings and plays 3 instruments. I've also had people saying that she should drop one of her instruments. I understand the argument, but she's not aiming to play with the Philharmonic or whatever, and playing contrasting instruments means that she can play lots of different types of music. I'd hate her to only play classical, and miss out on jazz and folk. I think that as an adult it must be great fun to be grade 8 level plus in a range of instruments, so that you can then join in with all sorts of bands and orchestras. But if a child is hoping to become a piano soloist, or to play the flute in a professional orchestra, I guess they can't allow themselves that luxury.
I'm very glad that she's not particularly good at sport. Sport and music would be too much. Plus on the few occasions when I've been to a match or swimming gala it's been pretty boring, whereas going to concerts, after your child gets past a certain level, is genuinely fun.