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Original poster

Should I let DD fail Grade 1 or stop her doing exam? Advice please!

39 replies

cingolimama · 10/11/2014 10:26

Hi all - advice and anyone's experiences would be greatly appreciated. Situation is this: DD is taking her Grade 1 piano exam in two weeks time. In spite of a lot of practice (5-6 days/week for 20-30 minutes), I have huge doubts (not just normal nervousness) about her ability to pass the exam and tbh I think I might look for another teacher after this (but that's another thread).

I wonder what is best - let her possibly/probably fail and deal with that? Or withdraw her from the exam and set a bad precedent?

Piano is her second instrument - violin is her first and though she hasn't done any exams on that, she's about a Grade 4 level and flourishing. I'd hate for a negative piano music exam experience to knock her confidence on her violin, iykwim. But then kids can really learn from failure too. She does love to play the piano, btw.

Views?

OP posts:
Original poster
cingolimama · 10/11/2014 15:07

Aw, that's great to hear Sleepy.

OP posts:
Sleepytea · 10/11/2014 14:55

My ds sat his grade 1 last year. The weeks prior to the exam I thought much the same as you - he kept making the same mistakes over and over again. He practised and practised and still made the same mistakes. He sat the exam and passed with merit. When we got the details he actually did really well in his worst piece (and not quite so well at his best piece). I would let her do it.

Original poster
cingolimama · 10/11/2014 14:54

tess I'll take some reassurance from that, thanks! Just how badly do you have to be to fail Grade 1? (serious question)

OP posts:
Original poster
cingolimama · 10/11/2014 14:52

Ciaraschu, I'm not a huge exam lover, but it can be a very motivating and very focusing for the student. It can give a child a sense of achievement to have the certificate.

For us, it was that DD was set to do her first violin exam (Grade 5) next spring. I thought it might be an idea for her to have a go at a lower grade exam on another (more straightforward) instrument to give her the experience - to do a test run, so to speak.

OP posts:
Original poster
cingolimama · 10/11/2014 14:47

Thank you all for your helpful responses.

With regard to her reaction to failure - I'm not sure how she will react. Once, a while back she had a violin recital that didn't go very well. She was upset for an afternoon, but it actually made her more determined, and focused.

As to how I'd react to her failure - I would make it clear to her that I was proud of her efforts, and that failure is important sometimes - inevitable when you're attempting something as difficult as an instrument.

s113: yes, I'm musical, though not a pianist. I have, I think, a good sense of the standard required - I don't think I'm being overly pessimistic.

singing: she's fine with scales and a good sight reader. Her pieces, though, have not really improved over time. She keeps making the same mistakes over and over, despite taking things apart bar by bar and practising that section many times. (DD doesn't have this approach with violin, but progresses bit by bit, slowly and steadily until she masters a piece. This is why I blame the teacher a bit.)

OP posts:
tess73 · 10/11/2014 14:34

you have to really do quite badly to fail at grade 1.
can she play the pieces? scales? sight read? if so, they don't need to be perfect.
what does she think? how old is she?

DeWee · 10/11/2014 14:34

I would agree with the other people that with that amount of practice and already grade 4 music in another instrument, I'd be amazed if she failed.

I suspect you are comparing what she can do on a violin grade 4 with piano grade 1. I did that (dd1 was about grade 4 piano when dd2 did her first in trumpet). Dd2 got a distinction, including full marks on one piece. I was crossing fingers that she wouldn't fail.

claraschu · 10/11/2014 14:23

What is the point of doing the exam? i don't understand why people do music exams, except occasionally, when a child and teacher agree that it would be a good goal for some particular reason.

singinggirl · 10/11/2014 14:12

As a piano teacher I would be very surprised if she didn't pass given the amount of practice and her violin standard, what is it that worries you? How are her scales, aural and sight reading? Obviously if you are not happy with the teacher you are probably not confident with the feedback from there, but my guidance would be that if there is one piece/ other area that is weaker but everything else is strong she should be fine. (You need to pass overall but not each individual section.) If your worries are about something she hasn't covered though (say if teacher taught her no scales) then I would withdraw her and complain to the teacher.

Enb76 · 10/11/2014 13:58

How would you react to her failure?

Does she think she can do it?

If she's genuinely not ready then I wouldn't put her through it. At 20 - 30 mins of practice a day she should be more than ready to pass Grade 1. If you do pull her out, I really wouldn't bother with Grade 1 again. I'd go straight to nailing the pieces, the scales etc... without taking the exam, then expand repertoire and then when she has lots of grade 1-2 pieces under her belt think about tackling Grade 2 or if you were me wait until she's ready to do Grade 3.

My daughter will probably only do grade 3, 5 and 8 exams. What I do want her to have is masses of new pieces to play, huge amounts of repertoire which I think is far more important that learning to pass an exam, only do those pieces and then as soon as one exam is passed you learn the repertoire for the next exam.

s113 · 10/11/2014 13:55

Are you musical yourself, how do you know she might fail?

If she is not "afraid of failure", I would say definitely let her take the exam.

berceuse · 10/11/2014 13:50

It depends on how she would react to failure.

I wouldn't personally but we don't focus on exams before secondary school age unless the child really really wants it (so I am probably biased).

I especially wouldn't do it if it was her first exam.

LooseAtTheSeams · 10/11/2014 13:48

With that amount of practice and a background in playing violin I'd be surprised if she failed.

Is there someone else you could get to listen to her pieces and scales to give some independent feedback? It might set your mind at rest! I always have sense of impending doom when the DCs take music exams and I have been completely wrong each time!

flipchart · 10/11/2014 10:30

I would let her take her exam for lots of reasons. She may pass.

If she fails she can retake it but she will know what her weaknesses are and work on them for next time. Also if she fails it can help build up resilience that you are not necessary a success first time round at everything.
No harm done IMO.