Autumn Term Music and Music Exams Thread

Just belatedly catching up with thread and wanted to send congratulations to all the successful candidates! I was thinking of Babywaffle and her initial cello and that was a fantastic result! DS2 doing his cello exam tomorrow, then that's it for this term! I think there's only a drum kit exam next term for DS1, although he now informs me he wants to take up bass guitar in addition to all his other musical activities. Just as well he's not interested in sport as well!

ChessParents, same here, violin is now leading instrument, thanks to the teacher's personality :) Just found out that she got distinction for her violin exam (grade 2), I can relax till June now :))))

Worriedandlost, he spent double the time practice violin. Violin is his first instrument even he started it later. He has not taken any exam of violin so far. What about you DD1? I understand she got a very good violin teacher and has a great progress. I am struggling to find DS2 a suitable violin teacher. He's only had three lessons in the last two months.

ChessParents, thanks for answering, this is amazing-such a quick progress. Dd also doing piano and violin and started early so I know what it is all about! :)) Where is he with violin if you do not mind me asking?

I should be weaving- gutted is the word here too, but expected after the disaster in the exam. Effectively heard the piece go back two months in time- not sure it's good to be able to hear from outside the room!

Theas; I have wondered about hypnotherapy which is probably more woo than NLP. I am generally on the skeptical side, but would consider anything that works even if it's mainly for the placebo effect! Your poor DS- bleeding into his instrument. The nerves here started after being rushed into grade 7, 15 minutes early and not ready.
Have been to RNCM for the open day and will request an advice audition and planning to look at Birmingham after Christmas. Thanks. x

Worriedandlost: He started piano right after his 5th birthday and then violin 6 months later.

ChessParents this is impressive, what age your ds2 started music lessons?

What lovely results especially for the mini/baby waffles and waffle pupils!

Viewfromthehills have you tried any strategies for performance anxiety? DS had a session of NLP paid for by grandma that seemed to help a lot (he went through a couple of bad auditions etc eg for the senior orchestra when he was on roaccutane and his lip split and bled into his horn and he didn't even mention that was why it sounded odd). It all seems a bit "woo" to me but might be an investment DC wants a musical career.

Don't resit a merit. It wont make any difference and the psychology of doing the same stuff again and maybe getting less marks would be crushing. Better to spend the time doing repertoire and maybe even a performance diploma?

Oh and don't forget ( I assume he's doing A level music) that AS/A2 performances will be looking for standards well below grade 8 (AS 6, A2 7) so prep some easier but immaculate pieces with well researched interpretations for these too.

KCL in particular has strong links to the RAM - especially for performance - and also to SOAS (for those interested in ethnomusicology). Our instrumental lessons were at RAM taught by postgrad students (e.g. if you were me) or by staff if someone was fantastic and focusing on performance (chiefly those admitted to Advanced Performance in the third year - there is also a regular Performance III option). I think the advanced classes also came out with RAM or ABRSM quals when I was there, can't remember.

It also depends a bit on instruments/voices - e.g. I have friends who went to KCL with me, then on to opera or early music courses at conservatoire now that their voices have matured. I have another friend from Kings who is a pianist, but wanted to specialise in accompaniment - which is only offered as a postgrad course.

I also remember that I only applied to RAM, RCM and RNCM - and got a waiting-list place at the latter. So maybe if I'd applied to more places things would have been different, but that was already two sets of flights plus hostel and flying on my own to London at 17... plus nerves so bad that I was physically sick on the day of my London auditions! I didn't even have to do an interview for uni. ;-)

Viewofthehills - have you considered going for an advice audition? I know RNCM do one so presume that the other conservatoires do too. I'm pretty sure that's what we'll do the year before applications go in so DS has a clue whether he's wasting his time applying (he has an embrouchure issue, the question is how much of an issue). Part of the fee is refunded if you apply within a year.

DS was gutted to "only" get a merit in his G8, this was the one exam where he'd put a decent amount of work in and he thought he deserved more. We said that if he ever found he had a need for the distinction then he could take the exam again.

Thanks Julie. Awake worrying so have come back to this and looked at KCL. Course looks amazing- I'll show her. I think I remember you saying once before how many opportunities were available to you there? I do think University might suit her better.

Ealing,

His whole piano personality has changed in the last year, used to be really classically oriented now comes in playing "music of the popular idiom".

Or, jazz flute exam?

Fwiw I went to KCL instead and it suited me much better. I think music college may have driven me nuts.

Won't make a difference as conservatoire will audition (my vln grade 8 only merit but 4 years before auditions I failed) and uni won't be fussed whether it's a distinction or not. However, audition situation similar to exams, so maybe resit or do another board as a way of practising dealing with that anxiety? Remember conservatoire entrance is competitive so no matter how good you are there might be 30 better auditioning!

Thanks Ealing. She gets so bothered by exams, whereas she can produce other performances which are better than playing at home!

Great results from all!

Only anecdotal feedback from parents with kids your age viewofthehills is that often retakes can deliver even lower marks than the original exam, unless learning completely new pieces to avoid boredom/overcooking. Most move on with the merit obtained and don't get too hindered by the uni application process.

However, not able to give any 1st hand knowledge I'm afraid!

Well done BabyWaffle and Waffle's pupils and Chess's DS!

DD1 has a merit on piano. Was distinction level playing beforehand, but fell apart a bit in the exam and had to restart one piece. Already has grade 8 merit on the flute, which could also have been a distinction, but wasn't!

Really wants to do music at college/uni. Currently year 12, so would have time to resit if that is for the best, but we clearly have some issues with performance anxiety and have to ask whether she would do better or whether the end result might be the same?

Any advice please wise people?

Just got email from piano teacher, DS2 8 pass G5 theory with 95/100. He can prepare his G6 piano now as it has been postponed from last month to sometimes early next year as he hasn't had G5 theory.

Well done for getting a pass out of him Julie, sounds like he had a bit of a rough ride. Great to see how a teacher adapts a teaching schedule to meet the needs and personality of a child too...

Quite. I think sometimes we're in danger of not recognising that a pass is a real achievement, though, and thinking that only a merit or distinction is "good enough".

My prediction is that he'll have scored between 20 and 23 on each piece - he said he'd rushed them in the exam, which was something we were trying to NOT do, and I'd be surprised if dynamics happened - failed the sightreading completely, scored around 14 or 15 for aural and probably got a pass mark for the scales. If we'd taken it last term as per the plan, he may actually have done better, but the poor lad was off sick for about six weeks. I think by now he was sick of the pieces etc. to be honest.

Moving on, I'll swap him out of the classical route for a bit and we'll be looking at jazz and contemporary piano... and his grade 4 will possibly be with RockSchool. I'll also be planning his lessons carefully as I want to work towards my teaching diploma or potentially licentiate with someone or other so a series of lesson plans is not a bad idea. They will include LOTS of sightreading ;)

JMR - It's a pass, it's better than a fail and it backs up all you've said to him. Better that he scrapes through this time, has a fright and bucks his ideas up for next time. If he didn't put the work in and still got a merit he would learn a different lesson altogether.

School breaks up a week on Thursday and as I haven't heard anything about a Christmas concert I'm assuming that we're not having one this year. That just leaves thirteen performances between now and Christmas Day (assuming that they are all written on the calendar and we're not having any surprise concerts this year). My supporting role is keeping up with washing and ironing all those white shirts.