Summer Term Music, Musicians and Music Exams thread

Fleur

Ah, thank you. I am sure your dd will be right for music school, no worries there.
I have never been as surprised as we were when dd passed.
As I said above it isn't about grades passed but more about showing potential and dedication. They need to know that your child will flourish and not be out of depth emotionally, irrespective of their standard.
They usually look for an ability of aroung gr5 distinction but they don't have to have taken exams at all.
I think some instruments are more competitive than others, but still the ethos of potential seems to be the key.

I bet she loved being teacher for a change Fleur! Well done to you and at Jingle Bells - I remember hearing that all one summer holiday...

Ishouldbe weaving talented slacker exactly describes my DS1. He's doing end of year exams at the moment and told me that he had to ease off on music practice because of revision. Which was fine until I realized he wasn't revising either!

Oh my practice... I started using dd's book last night to practice, really easy stuff but hard when don't have the hand coordination yet. I thought it would be a good idea to encourage my dd's sight reading as she had forgotten them by now and asked her to demonstrate for me.

I'll keep you updated I found it quite fun and amusing playing jingle bells in the middle of the summer and on such a hot day.

DS ran high merits all the way through, his playing was spot on but it was aural that let him down every time. There's only so much you can teach them when they don't want to learn it, when scales are boring and pointless and standing between you and a good tune and all theory is a waste of time. The only time he's ever put some effort into scales is when he's needed them for an audition. He's coming round to the idea now, it's a bit late in the day but never mind. We are now two years post G8 and to date it has not mattered one bit what any of his marks were.

My viewpoint is coloured by being raised as a perfectionist - however much work you put in it is never enough, you could have always done more. I decided that I wasn't passing that on to the next generation because you don't start things for fear of failing and you're always looking at what you could have done rather than taking pleasure from what you did. I've raised a talented slacker, I think that if he had my drive for perfection coupled with his talent then he would be a world class performer but I'd rather he be happy than driven.

Morethan - those are examiner's comments to treasure for the days when things are going a bit out of shape and you're feeling down. I would tell your daughter that her new school is interested in her, not her results. They will see her every day, week in week out, they don't need to judge her on that one single performance that was the exam.

I do know one of "those" mothers, I do periodically come here and write a long rant but (so far at least) I delete it rather than posting it.

Fleur your DD sounds very motivated AND having great fun at the same time! I am sure she will continue to enjoy her exams because she has a great attitude - and a new piano! keep updating us about your own playing, by the way!
As for exams, I know a couple of kids who failed and resat grades and I really admire that - they picked themselves up and had another go because they could see what went wrong and fixed it!
morethan the examiner was lovely to have given that feedback - your DD obviously impressed them! Also she mustn't worry about the merit because it won 't hold her back from what she wants to do.
Right. Time to locate DS2 for some practice...

Hello

Anyone else come to the conclusion that aural tests scores often don't reflect how musical the candidate is?

I know my DD is still young and for the time being I think she won't care if it is a pass/merit/distinction. Even though she now knows about it and it was such a fuss that she got distinction from all that I am sure she wants one in her next exam.

morethan you must be so proud of your DD. We have a music school close by and we have been thinking about it as it does seem she will be at the right level to audition for it when the time comes by what her teacher says. We'll see what she thinks when we get there.

Fleur

I know exactly what you are talking about and I feel for the poor kids.
In dds case there was no pressure really as she is doing exams after she has her place at music school iyswim.
She wanted to have distinctions to forward to them, I think this is the main concern.
I tried telling her it is a snapshot of her ability on the day that the marks refer to, this kind of helped.

I also think it's important to reinforce to them that if grades were the be all and end all the music schools wouldn't take children who had never set an exam in their life. not that all kids should want to go to music school, but if that is the ideal for musical children the grades aren't that important.

We got the comments back today and the examiners remarks were lovely. He said "You have enormous potential x and it was a joy hearing you today. Sadly aural robbed you of a distinction"
He couldn't have made it clearer.

Ishouldbeweaving

Sounds like your ds is in for a busy time over summer. I like the not taking praise attitude, dd is a bit the same. She laps it up and then declares that the person hadn't a clue really.

Drummermum I know, she'll forget soon enough and I can't see them rushing to get her through grade 6 so she's time to work on the dreaded aural.

I would have liked and I still hope I will be able to do so, to keep dd as stress free as possible in the musical world for as long as I can. She loves music exams and she can't wait to take the next one. But I do hope she is not becoming too competitive with her results.

I know that it is not the case here of putting the pressure of distinction on your DC.

But I have to say it annoys me in real life as I have seen parents obsessed with it. One friend posted on FB about how her dd only got a merit this time. Only? Only?! And stating the child is disappointed.

And I am talking about first few grades, I do know that as of grade 5 it is important what you got in the exams.

Another friend of fine seems to think it is fine to state in front of my child that getting a merit at the age of 8 in grade 4 piano exam is not enough (a random child not mine). And if the child was so good as his mum says he is he should have got a distinction.

I am sure you know what I am talking about, you must know some people in real life who have this attitude. What is worse is that their kids hear this and then they go spreading "the word" at school and in the playground.

Fleur thanks for the piano update - it sounds like it's part of the family already! So sweet your DD hugging the digital piano!
As for merits and distinctions, I am seriously the most (silently) nervous person when the DCs take their exams and I am always going to be impressed with a pass. I let DS1 skip grades and I don't worry about it at all! If you have to have a particular grade at a particular level for a college or orchestra that is different but the DCS are learning instruments because they love playing, not for any other reason at the moment and I don't want this to be too competitive or stressful. (My only stress is hoping the examiner will be nice and not put them off. So far all examiners have met with the DCs' approval!)
Oh, and I have one DC who seems to just 'get' the aural section and another that thinks it's a conspiracy against him!

Morethan,
MIE there is little you can do with a perfectionist child and however many times you tell her a merit is really good (it is!) she has to get over her disappointment on her own. She will have forgotten everything after a few weeks in her wonderful school. She's going to get so much out of it :)
When DS gets upset like that I try to give him time perspective and make him see that in time, this thing which seems so big now will be a grain of sand in a million, completely forgotten and with no impact on his life at all. It seems to work for him.

*the parents of certain kids of course

Hello everyone! New piano is gorgeous and it got delivered yesterday morning, I wasn't at home but DH said it took them about 10 min and they put it on one of those trolley thingy to roll it in.

Dd played it last night endlessly and loved the sound of it. She does feel the difference in both touch and sound, touch a bit heavier but sound much nicer.

I did find her hugging her digital in her room at one point which was sweet.

The trouble with pass/merit/distinction is a problem of competition between peers but also a problem where the parents of certain parents stating in front of their kids that if you don't get distinction you may as well consider you failed. Not the case here but I had to stop a friend having this conversation in front of our DCs talking about another kid who skipped some grades and got "only" merits. Her opinion was that you are not to skip grades if you "only" get a merit.

Seeing that my dd is skipping a grade at the moment I had to interrupt her as I don't want my dd to hear such things. For me even if she gets a pass it is worth celebrating, even better, we should celebrate hard work regardless of the outcome.

I see my dd's piano work as a life lesson regardless of her path in the future, she works hard and that is all that matters.

I should -he ou ds lovely and v talented!

Fleur - piano update.....?

Morethan - guess we all try to explain that examiners are not ompletely predictable, but I get it re putting the effort in. Long chats with dd and friends re practice alone gets you further than talent alone....your dd sounds so talented that she must be amazing when both come together. Dd's friend has just finished his first year at 'music school' and the timetabled practice everyday has been great - as have been he lessons where they work solely on playing with feeling rather than getting all he notes right!

Tramb - thank you; dd did g5 theory a coupleof weeks ago and seemed to go ok. Our main teacher won't do the musicianship exam so we would have had to go to someone else. Jazz is our back up plan as she has added this in to her Saturdays and at school!

Feel for you morethan. The expectations children put on themselves these days is enormous, with no account taken into consideration that they do heaps more stuff than we ever did. The time spent practising becomes less as the grades get higher. I dread aural in our house. No matter how much support she's given, my DD's nerves cannot recall rhythm via clap or singing, but weirdly, always thinks she's got it right, which leads to arguments if I try to help. Maybe there's a disconnect between what her ears hear and what her brain registers!

good luck on the forthcoming sax exam.

Musicmom - why not give grade 5 practical musicianship a try, to gain access to the higher grades? My DC managed to get a distinction in that, after only a handful of lessons, which is not what happened with grade 5 theory... She's about to take Gr 7 singing, which should go well, but I am less optimistic about the instrumental grades she's taking at the same time, as they have been prepared for with less enthusiasm. The other day she took part in a charity concert and sang 15 solos, which is a record for her, and didn't make a single mistake (not off by heart though). She was really buzzing afterwards.

Ds is going as a mentor on the residential summer course for a National Children's Thing. He's been twice before but we thought that last year would be his last because he was too old. It's all been a bit of a suprise! seeing as it is in under three weeks. It's timed nicely because it's the week before a summer school that he's going to with his father, after the amount of playing he will have been doing with the children's group he should be really at the top of his game.

DS generally discounts all praise unless it's coming from someone that he thinks knows what they are talking about. It something that they have to learn to deal with though, the correct response to "that was lovely, blah, blah" is not to start listing the slips you made. "Thank you very much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it" is his standard at the moment, it could do with improvement but it's a better response than "mumblemumble" or the classic "I was rubbish".

Was someone supposed to be having a NEW PIANO (raises voice) around here?

I should be weaving, thanks for that.

I'm hoping she will remember this, not because I think it's a bad mark but because at times she thinks her talent is enough. She did put in effort but not to the extent she did last year when she did get a brilliant distinction.
Maybe it's a good thing.
It's a narrow line though because now she thinks she's rubbish.
The next concert she does people will be raving about how lovely she sings, how beyond her years etc. It must be hard for her to know if she is coming or going. I know school will sort her out come September and before this she has sax exam, in 2 weeks. Just time to sort the dreaded aural I think.

What is your ds doing again, is it a summer school, I'm sorry my memory is terrible?

morethanpotatoprints it's hard when they decide that it's distinction or failure, with nothing in between. I'm not sure that there's anything that you can say to talk them out of it - DS wouldn't hear it from us but was eventually talked round by a music teacher.

I'm here avoiding writing on envelopes, I've written a two page masterpiece to school explaining the social and developmental benefits of his four day absence and filled in all the forms for the surprise! residential. Next up is envelopes, cheque book (with a side order of online banking to raid the savings account) and stamps. It's hot and sticky and I can't really be bothered.

dd got a good merit for grade 5 singing, she was crying though.
We old her she had done well and she sang in 2 languages as well, not taking a particularly easy route iyswim.
We are proud of her but she's inconsolable.
We haven't got the transcript or certificate yet but will go through it when we do, but it seems like the aural let her down, she got high 20's for pieces and 19 for sight singing. Fair enough mark I would think.

Thank you for all your warm answers. Ishouldbe I can't just tell him the moment I see him because DH always wants to be there too!
Woolleybear there is always something we could do, there is always more, there is always the sense of "I could've" or "if only I had" but we can't, we are not Marvel superheroes, and when I think how little involved my parents were all through my school years... And sometimes we just have to let our children learn from life itself. So don't punish yourself. Good luck with the exam (I'm sure it'll be better than you feel it will and loose's DS too. If Andy Murray can play under 41 degrees of sun, your sons can conquer their challenges too!

DS2 piano exam is on Monday and frankly I have concerns but I think he will pull it together on the day. Woolleybear, I know exactly what you mean - I managed to gate crash his school piano lessons and had a good chat with the teacher and it really helped with practice. On the other hand it now means he doesn't practise properly (ie not just thumping his way through the easiest piece) without me standing there issuing orders! And I also think it's better for him to do the exam before he gets any more bored with the pieces. I am really looking forward to giving him some fun stuff to play over the holidays!

Woolleybear you can't be expected to be a mind reader and know how your dd's lesson is structured. It's useful to know going forward but what's gone is gone. I do know exactly what you mean though, it was a revelation to me when I went with ds to his teacher's house for a private lesson over the summer holidays. He was at that time a reluctant sight reader, when faced with new music he would wail that he couldn't play it because he didn't know how it went. When I sat in his lesson I found that teacher played the new piece for him before he started to look at it. It didn't make sense before and then suddenly it did.

In a week it will all be over...