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Original poster

clarinet grade 1 - PANIC!!!

48 replies

marymoocow · 05/03/2007 11:10

Ds came home on friday after his lesson, to say that his teacher was very anxious that he wasn't going to pass. His exam is a week today.
Anyone with any tips as to how to (a) calm things down, and (b) help him through it.

How do i cope next week as well. Think i will be worse than him

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MeMyselfI · 05/03/2007 11:19

Oh, how stupid of his teacher to tell him that she was anxious he won't pass! What a great way to instill confidence

Try and boost his confidence a bit. His teacher must have thought he was able to pass if s/he entered him for it, so work on that. Make sure he gets some practice in this week - not huge amounts, but a short practice every day. Get him to play to you, if he'll do it, so that he gets used to an audience other than his teacher.

And try and relax yourself because he'll pick up on your anxiety which won't help him.

Original poster
marymoocow · 05/03/2007 11:23

very now, as i've just managed to get hold of his teacher who has said that he is more than capable of passing, just needs to keep a steady rhythm and not panic.
He wasn't until he was told that last week. Think he said it thinking it would buck him up a bit, iyswim. Unfortunately ds is very sensitive and likely to burst into tears in the middle of the exam anyway.

As for me i'm taking a back seat this week. He is quite happy to play in front of anyone, so that's not a problem, and i've managed to convince dh to take him to the exam.
Sorry for the ramble

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shouldbedoingsomethingelse · 05/03/2007 11:38

when my DC do Dance exams I just tell them that as long as they do their best, no-one can ask more and to enjoy it.

Oh and perhaps a treat for DS after the exam. (doesnt have to be much a choc bar, magazine, anything really) Dont wait for the results, the treat is for doing the exam.

I used this approach when my DS started doing exams and now he actually likes doing them! I, of course, cant sleep the night before them but he doesnt know that

Good luck.

HTH

uptomyeyes · 05/03/2007 11:56

MMC - if it is any help I took my piano grade 7 at the age of 29 - Yep thats - 29 - and I burst into tears in the middle of the exam, having sobbed through the first half because they wouldn't let me have a little practise before starting the bloody thing!!
Bit embarrassed about that now!

I went onto pass with a merit - so crying in the exam isn't necessarily a problem in itself.

I took lots of clarinet exams from the age of 7 and whilst nervous beforehand, once in the room the examiners were usually so nice that time just flew by.

I thinkit will be worse for you than him - why not promise to take him somewhere nice afterwards or buy him a little treat for when it is over.

Original poster
marymoocow · 05/03/2007 12:12

Thanks for your replies. I'm sure he will be fine, and i have already told him that i am proud of him just for having a go. It was his decision to take the grade, so he knows that he has no pressure from our part.
As for the treat, he is going on a residential visit with school the same day for 2 nights, so he has that to look foward to. Also the fact that dh is taking him is a rare treat in itself (due to dh work commitments not his attitude iyswim).
Just feel a bit sad for ds as it is his birthday the day before the exam, but at least i won't be nagging him to practise constantly the day before, which i know wouldn't help.

OP posts:
Original poster
marymoocow · 05/03/2007 12:13

oh and congrats uptomyeyes on your pass. I'm sure they will excuse him if he did cry, just not sure whether he would be able to compose himself again to carry on.

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CAM · 05/03/2007 15:18

marymoocow, my dd is taking both her Violin Grade 1 and Singing Prep Test next Monday, so I can really relate to what you're saying

I tend to think the teachers really want them to pass as its a reflection on them

I will be more nervous than dd but don't have to take her as there is a music testing centre at her school.

Maybe we can do some virtual and mutual hand-holding next Monday

RoxyNotFoxy · 05/03/2007 15:44

It looks to me like all the panic here originates with his teacher. Some of them are just too thick to understand a child's psychology (and music teachers seem particularly thick). I think I'd go in the opposite direction and don't even mention the subject of his exam, unless he raises it himself. Downplaying its importance might have the effect of making him relax a bit.

Talking of panic, I managed to pass at least two of the lowest grades in piano without knowing the notes of the scale. I knew where they were on the piano but I didn't know where they were on the page. I'm sure I must have known once, and then forgotten or something. But I had the skill of being able to read a tune off the page and know how it went, even if I didn't know what key it was in. I used to wing it learning a new piece. I'd hunt around with one finger pretending to look for the right note to begin, and my teacher would think I was nervous and say "G sharp" or whatever. And once I'd got the first note, I could get the rest just by knowing how the tune went. I could "hear" it off the page, and just grope around the keyboard for the right sound. Effectively I was playing by ear. I don't know how I got away with it for so long, because I did the same thing in the exam. In the sight-reading test I'd pretend to be too nervous to find the first note, and finally the examiner would tell me what it was - and then I was away!

IntergalacticWalrus · 05/03/2007 15:47

Agree that the teacher was in the wrong here. But I've taken great offence at the comment about music teachers being particularly thick.

CAM · 05/03/2007 15:51

Don't take that person's opinion to heart walrus, all the music teachers I've met are intelligent, sensitive and kind

IntergalacticWalrus · 05/03/2007 15:53

CAM

Original poster
marymoocow · 05/03/2007 19:56

Thanks for all the messages of support. Have spent a little while trying to help him again tonight. Am now going to leave it up to him. Don't think there's much else we can do at such short notice. He just doesn't seem to be able to keep to the same speed throughout the piece.
Thanks Cam for your offer. Think a virtual bit of hand holding might be in order. And a real large slab of chocolate.
Never mind, once his clarinet exam is over, i've got a week to panic about dd piano exam. She's only been playing since November but seems to be doing well. Totally different to ds and is really excited about playing in front of someone else, and she's only 6.

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CAM · 05/03/2007 20:46

Dd has practised her violin quite well tonight, luckily the singing practice can take place anywhere eg. in the car to and from school.

lol at your dd wanting to play piano in front of people, dd has taken the prep test piano a couple of years ago and is studying for Grade 1 to be taken later this year.

How old is your ds, my dd is just 10.

Before next Monday however dd is reading and reciting a poem at a local Arts Festival on Saturday with her school so we're practising that as well....

Original poster
marymoocow · 05/03/2007 20:52

ds will be 9 and 1 day. Hope all goes well for your dd. Nice to know i'm not the only one going through all of this

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snorkle · 05/03/2007 23:26

Message withdrawn

twentypence · 06/03/2007 00:00

h e n e e d s t o p l a y e v e r y t h i n g v e r y s l o w l y.

This is the single best thing he can do right now. Good for breathing, good for rhythm, excellent for concentration, and will be such a relief to actually play at the right speed in the exam.

Original poster
marymoocow · 06/03/2007 12:15

good advice i think twentypence. His problems all started when his teacher told him to speed the tunes up. Think i will get him to slow right back down, at least we'll have the right notes then, and the piano will just have to follow him

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Original poster
marymoocow · 06/03/2007 12:18

Thanks snorkle for the good luck wishes. He's going round to his friends house tonight who also plays the clarinet, but has just passed his grade 2. They are just going to play them together so it reminds him that playing should be fun iyswim

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twentypence · 06/03/2007 18:11

I had a pupil that played a study at about half the marked speed. The examiner wrote - "you chose a good speed"!

Slow and good is always good for grade 1

IntergalacticWalrus · 06/03/2007 18:24

Playing things slower is deffo the way to go. I have a pupil doing his Grade 2 soon, and there's no way in this world a Grade 2 pupil could play one of his pieces at the marked speed.

The examiner would much rather the piece be played correctly and musically rather then fast and wrong. They are looking for a performance above all

Original poster
marymoocow · 06/03/2007 21:05

feeling much happier tonight. He really enjoyed playing, and it gave me an idea of what he should be sounding like. Actually from a distance he sounded quite good. Have realised he needs to practise his sight reading a bit though. Will look at that tomorrow.

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CAM · 07/03/2007 08:46

Dd practised her violin last night and will be able to do lots tonight as she is coming out of school slightly earlier than usual due to being off swimming this week (has had cold and is still slightly chesty)

Its me who is nervous for her but I take care not to show it in front of her

CAM · 07/03/2007 19:37

How's it going today marymoocow, dd has practised her violin this evening and has gone to swimming training, she really wanted to go.

Original poster
marymoocow · 07/03/2007 20:39

Thanks for asking. Not too bad, sight reading a bit iffy still, but hopefully he'll get through it. He's got to the stage that if i suggest he tries to do something to make it a little better he's having a strop, so i have just shut the door and let him get on with it.(in the nicest way of course)
Meanwhile, to wind him up his sister is sitting at the piano practising perfectly. The joys of sibling rivalry

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CAM · 08/03/2007 08:25

Ah yes, Mummy's job is to merely to stand back and admire, I find that too

Dd has her last violin lesson before Monday today at school, she's got a cold and has a huge stack of tissues with her.