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Original poster

Music grades Question

24 replies

GiantToadstool · 30/07/2021 02:34

I did not grow up in a musical family so this is a really ignorant question but google has not been helping me...

How do you describe what level you are? So if someone asks, "What grade are you?" Do you answer with the grade you've just taken or what you are now on?

So if you've passed grade 2 and working on grade 3 - are you grade 2 or 3?

We got asked for a summer school and I just wrote when she pased previous grade. But I know people ask too and I dont know whcih is "correct"!

Thankyou.

OP posts:
Monkeytennis97 · 30/07/2021 03:16

Either is fine. 'Working towards grade...' is fine as is 'grade 5' if passed a few months before.

Original poster
GiantToadstool · 30/07/2021 03:25

Thanks. It's not like school years then (you'd say what you are in now, not the year before!)

If she plays currently X grade music in my head (likely autistic) it makes no sense to say the previous grade she worked on. But I will take it as meaning "What grade have you passed?" rather than "What grade music are you playing?"

I really appreciate mumsnet for being able to tell me things like this which must be obvious to those who know but puzzle me disproportionately!

And also I don't want to get things wrong for her. Thankyou 🥰

OP posts:
IsItAllOverYetPlease · 30/07/2021 04:17

I used to say I was grade 7 for example when I was working towards passing the grade 7 exam, not grade 6 because that was the one I had just passed. Thats how it worked in my dance classes too.

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Original poster
GiantToadstool · 30/07/2021 04:22

IsItAllOver that would make more sense to me. As its the grade you're currently on!

But I wasnt sure that was the case and not being in that world wasnt sure how it worked.

If a local orchestra says say "Grade 4 and above" do they mean those who have passed grade 4?

OP posts:
Original poster
GiantToadstool · 30/07/2021 04:23

Or grades 1-3 include those who have already passed grade 3. Or would someone working towards grade 4 be in 4-6 for example.

Im sure this isn't as complicated as in my head!

OP posts:
Wrinklyeyes · 30/07/2021 05:33

If a local orchestra says "Grade 4 and above" do they mean those who have passed grade 4?

In this case, they mean musicians who are playing at that level. It could mean people who have never taken an exam but are playing at or above the level of grade 4. In ensembles some of it will be about sight-reading. They will need musicians who are capable of playing at sight (i.e. sheet music they haven’t seen before) pieces of a certain level.

I always say the grade that I think my children are playing at at the time. One of my children for example sat Grade 3 on one of her instruments 3 years ago and hasn’t done an exam since. I don’t say she’s Grade 3 except on forms which specifically asks for details of last exam sat but even then they usually follow up with a question about current level of playing.

If someone has just sat a Grade 5 exam for example a month ago and is not yet familiar with any Grade 6 material then I would describe them at playing at Grade 5 level. But if they passed Grade 5 even just a month ago with a very high mark and are already comfortable with Grade 6 material but haven’t yet sat the exam then I would say Grade 6.

Wrinklyeyes · 30/07/2021 05:42

Or grades 1-3 include those who have already passed grade 3. Or would someone working towards grade 4 be in 4-6 for example.

This would depend how much you/they want to be in their comfort zone or how stretched. Do they want to be one of the more proficient players in the group playing music well within their comfort zone for confidence or are they happy feeling slightly uncomfortable and want to be stretched?

I was looking at a solo course for instance for one of my children this summer. The categories were grades 4-6 or those playing between grades 7-8. My child is preparing for Grade 7 so in between the categories. They did the 4-6 course last year so I know they have outgrown that a bit. If it were an ensemble course I would send them on the 7-8 course and wish them luck! But for a solo course I think they will be out of their depth so have decided to wait until next year when they probably will be between 7-8.

Mendingfences · 30/07/2021 05:43

I dont live in the uk and my kids dont do music grades. They have done some summer courses in the uk which have stated a grade range so I had a look at the syllabus online and compared it against what my kids were playing. In my head if i thought they could reasonably play the pieces at set for grade 3 i would say they were grade 3 (or 3+) level. I wouldn't say grade 4 unless i thought they could make a reasonable attempt at the grade 4 pieces. For me its more of a standards description so if a course said grade 1-3 then I would expect all participants to master grade 1 level music rather than including people working towards grade 1.
If it was say groups grade 1-3 and 4-6 and i felt they fell in between i'd also consider stuff like s1ight reading / improvisation/ Orchestra experience / technique etc depending on what was relevant for the course.

IsItAllOverYetPlease · 30/07/2021 10:55

@GiantToadstool Yes if the local orchestra wants grade 4 and above that would be people who have passed grade 3 and now working on grade 4 pieces (or someone of that level if no exams taken).

As someone else said being in an orchestra is all about sight reading so some practice of playing new pieces might be good if they have to audition for the orchestra.

Original poster
GiantToadstool · 30/07/2021 11:01

Thanks everyone. I didn't want it to sound like I was saying she was better (or worse) than she is by getting terminology wrong.

You have all been helpful thankyou 😊

OP posts:
Monkeytennis97 · 30/07/2021 13:25

[quote IsItAllOverYetPlease]@GiantToadstool Yes if the local orchestra wants grade 4 and above that would be people who have passed grade 3 and now working on grade 4 pieces (or someone of that level if no exams taken).

As someone else said being in an orchestra is all about sight reading so some practice of playing new pieces might be good if they have to audition for the orchestra.[/quote]
Actually I would see this as a minimum of grade 4 for entry to the youth orchestra.

Original poster
GiantToadstool · 30/07/2021 13:38

That wasn't an actual example but one from my head - what I meant though is that you're saying "grade 4" is someone who has passed grade 4 whereas others are saying it's someone working torwards grade 4 (like yr 7 children haven't finished year 7, they are in year 7!)

Maybe it's just as ambiguous in the world as in my head!

I've looked at the group she is likely to play with and it says "playing level Grades 1-4" which is less ambiguous and she is within those grades. The school knows her so that isn't a problem. It's more me wanting to get it right!

OP posts:
Comefromaway · 30/07/2021 13:43

I'm a parent of both a musician and a dancer so have filled in lots of these forms.

In dance it tend to be the class you are currently in so would be working toward Grade 4/Inter F/Adv 1 etc. Its about knowing the steps contained within that grade even if you can't execute them perfectly yet.

In music it tends to be about the standard of music you can play. So if you only passed Grade 3 a couple of months ago I would put Grade 3. But if you've been working on Grade 4 for almost a year and will be taking the exam soon I would put Grade 4. My son has never taken a grade exam but I know the rough standard of the music he can play so I would put that grade down.
In music it tends to be

emmathedilemma · 30/07/2021 13:58

It's a long time ago but our Youth Orchestra was "grade 5 & above" and you needed to have passed grade 5 to join so I'd say the last grade you passed.

aiwblam · 30/07/2021 14:19

I think it's a bit bizarre to say you're "grade 7" if you have only passed grade 6. You can certainly say you're working towards grade 7 in this situation. Unless you're someone who doesn't take grades and then you are just as well quoting what sort of ballpark grade you play at.

Monkeytennis97 · 30/07/2021 14:34

It's also confused by different exam boards. For example there is a little heard of exam board where you can be grade 7 (not Trinity Guildhall or ABRSM) but the equivalent to the aforementioned boards is about grade 3/4 standard.

Monkeytennis97 · 30/07/2021 14:36

I've got 2 grade 8s and enter pupils for grades and in my opinion it's always retrospective so even if you are working on grade 7 you are still grade 6 until you have your grade 7 result- bit like gcses and a levels.

Mendingfences · 31/07/2021 07:56

Its also important to remember that there are many musical skills and many routes to aquire them. Some of them are tested by various exam board, some are not. Different 'systems' focus on different skils and teach skills in different orders. A grade level is a guide but if for example you could have a distinction at grade 8 but no orchestral experience, you could have excellent sight reading skills or be excellent at playing by ear or both.
Grades arent the be all and end all

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 31/07/2021 08:08

Examples;
Passed grade 5
Working towards grade 3
Playing to a grade 6 standard.

All those statements are unambiguous.
I wouldn't claim someone IS grade 7 if they have passed grade 6 and working to grade 7.

As an example DS2 took grade 7 organ a few weeks ago. This was his first organ exam. Before he took it (if anyone asked) I just said he was shortly going to sit grade 7.

Monkeytennis97 · 31/07/2021 08:08

@Mendingfences totally agree.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 31/07/2021 08:15

@Mendingfences
Absolutely right. DS2 wpuldn't be bothering with an organ grade at all (he's been a paid church organist for 4 years) except he wants to to apply for an organ acholarship when he goes to Uni, and they want a piece of paper...

Candleabra · 31/07/2021 08:44

I would say I was the grade I passed most recently.
But my teacher always put me in for exams when I was ready for them. I know I lot of kids who hammered their way through the grades and although they'd passed grade 5 (for example), they could play only 3 (exam) pieces of that standard.
I thought when I passed grade 8 that I'd be able to play anything! Definitely not the case.

Good musicianship is about so much more than exams.

Original poster
GiantToadstool · 31/07/2021 08:47

Absolutely agree it's not jusy about grades. And we're at early stages of playing so well aware of how much there is to learn. At the end of the recent music summer school we got to hear those going off to study music at uni which was amazing to hear 🥰.

Its more a literal not being sure how to answer "what grade are you?"

OP posts:
Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 31/07/2021 09:10

Its more a literal not being sure how to answer "what grade are you?"

I'd recoomend you just answer factually and unambiguously.
Examples below.
Passed grade 3
Working towards grade 5
Playing to a grade 4 standard.

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