Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Flip

1 2 ··· 10 11 12 ··· 39 40

Original poster

Support group for parents of children taking music exams!

999 replies

Wafflenose · 14/11/2011 22:03

Hello, I'm feeling excited, nervous and wobbly because my daughter is taking her first music exam in three weeks. I'm a music teacher and am very used to getting children through the exams, keeping the parents informed, helping to focus practice, etc, but this is my first experience with my own child doing an exam and for some reason it's more scary than putting other people's children in! I think she will be OK (and the other thirteen I have entered this term) but I'm not!! Any tips for the 'other side' (parents rather than music teachers) for how to keep us both calm on the day would be gratefully received! Does it get easier as they become more experienced? Am thinking not...

She is taking part in the local music festival tomorrow, to gain performance experience. She's wildly excited, and I've got the jitters!!

OP posts:

CURIOUSMIND · 30/04/2012 12:19

Roisin,
Your son had a fantastic year so far.You must be very proud!!!

We signed up a new teacher this term. Ds1 is going to do G6 piano and Ds2 is going to do G1.Ds2 only had first piano lesson last week.Before that it was ME teaching him.Ds1 also has two summer concerts, so much to look forward to.

thefirstmrsrochester · 27/06/2012 13:10

My dd has just taken her grade 3 trumpet and is utterly convinced that she has failed. It's her first exam. She says that she messed up one of her pieces, the other two were fine, one scale was poor but the rest ok and sight reading .....she says her nerves were shot by them. I am hoping that the results are not as catastrophic as she seems to think. She is devastated. It's going to be a tough couple of weeks waiting on the results.
She was well practiced and able but just was not expecting nerves to affect her.
Oh dear.

pianomama · 27/06/2012 14:17

I am sure she'll be fine thefirstmrsrochester.
My DS always comes out with "copmletely blown it" - well, he never has.
Try to forget about it for now and check online (I assume its ABRSM?) in about 10 days - you might be plesently surprised.

DS did his theory this term, thats going to a very long wait :( .Next piano exam in November so saving my nerves till then.

Congrats rosin and DS !

thefirstmrsrochester · 27/06/2012 17:44

I hope you are right pianomama, you are very kind to try & reassure me. I had dd play her pieces & scales when she calmed down a bit - they sounded fairly good to me however I am no musician.
I wish I had discovered this thread before.
Best wishes to your son for both his theory results and his piano exam.

Colleger · 27/06/2012 19:46

She'll be fine. My son went in completely unprepared once and failed a few sections and still managed a 113 pass.

RaspberryLemonPavlova · 28/06/2012 00:44

Another vote for your DD being fine. DS1 explained in great detail why he had failed Grade 5 trumpet, and had a merit. Likewise Dd on her Grade 5 Sax, who had actually burst into tears in her exam and had to be calmed down by examiner. Also a merit. I refuse to worry now until we get the result.

Dcs have had no exams this term, but we are in the middle of the summer concerts, 5 down, 3 to go and we are really enjoying them

kitkat1967 · 28/06/2012 09:20

DS (8) has his grade 1 piano this morning. DD has taken loads of exams and DS has already taken Inital on the piano but for some reason I am very worried about this one.
His teacher says he will be fine but some days his hands seem to get in a bit of tangle (I'm not a pianist) and if that happens he stops in the middle of the piece - and on other days everything sounds fab.
The worst thing is that I have to take him as it is not through the school so I will probably get to hear the whole thing through the door!!

CURIOUSMIND · 28/06/2012 09:32

I am very worried about my DS2 G1 piano exam ( next week).He is so unpredictable, and very cheeky.

pianomama · 28/06/2012 11:21

kitkat - good luck!

CURIOUS - I am sure you know all this anyway but it really helps to make them play their pieces slow first paying attantion to counting, articulation, correct fingers etc. every practice . Otherwise they get this fingers tangling up situation, as they get bored with pieces and want to play everything with the super-sonic speed :).

Probably applies more for higher grades , I hope that cheeky DS will come across as "playing with charisma" :) . Love reading the exam feedback - I wonder if examiners have some secret code terms only they know what it really means :)

kitkat1967 · 28/06/2012 13:34

grr.... didn't take it - found him with the nurse in school with a hig htemp and feeling sick. He had some calpol and we went to the exam centre to try a warm up but he looked awful and said he had a headache.
The staff were lovely though and gave me the number to try and get a slot next week but said they were very booked up.
I'm not worried if he takes it or not (we will just move on ) but he is keen as he has worked so hard

kitkat1967 · 28/06/2012 14:23

yeah - very nice lady at Trinity Guildhall had found him a cancellation slot next week

ByTheWay1 · 28/06/2012 20:58

and breathe........

DD grade 2 piano exam over and done with..... can relax now.

She said it went ok except arpeggios (as always..) and a slip in her C piece - her best piece of course... the piece that was not quite ready yet went really well... go figure!!!

Fingers crossed now for the results...

RevoltingChildren · 28/06/2012 23:52

Dd has Grade 1 piano tomorrow. She is doing the exam at school and it will be in the middle of the school "Olympic Day" celbrations so she will be weraing her PE kit and coming stright from the sports field!

The next week is Grade 1 tap and Grade 2 modern dance and the week after Grade 2 LAMDA.

Metabilis3 · 29/06/2012 00:35

DD1 & 2 had Grade 7 and 1 recorder respectively this week - being trinity guildhall the results came out nice and quickly, we heard today that they both got distinctions. Which wasn't a surprise for DD1 but I was a bit worried about how DD2 would handle the exam, it w her first instrumental exam. But she was fine! The grind isn't over though, Dd2 has flute tomorrow, and they both have singing (grades 7 and 3 respectively) in two weeks. Terrible scheduling on our part!

Original poster

Wafflenose · 29/06/2012 12:03

Nice to see so many of you in here, and to hear of some great results for this term. I look foward to finding out how everyone still waiting did.

DD (6) just did Grade 2 recorder this term, and got a merit. My six other TG candidates all got passes, for Initial, Grade 1 and Grade 2. Two pupils did Grade 4 flute and clarinet with AB yesterday, so we have a few weeks to wait now.

DD doesn't have any more lined up for next term, as she won't be ready for Grade 1 flute or piano by then, so we will probably be starting on the theory over the summer holidays. Good luck for everyone else's results!

OP posts:

Metabilis3 · 29/06/2012 12:19

DD2 did her flute exam today. The accompanist said it sounded fine (on a par with the recorder exam on Monday) but DD2 felt it wasn't as good as the recorder exam. So we shall see. The focus will now turn to the singing exams since neither DD actually knows all her lyrics yet. DD2 will be doing grade 3 recorder at Xmas (in retrospect she should have done grade 2 and skipped grade 1 as suggested by her teacher, but I foolishly thought it might be better for her confidence to start on grade 1. But really, she is confident enough without having needed that boost). We'll probably wait till easter for her next flute exam though.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 29/06/2012 13:59

Glad it went well, Meta. My DD1 plays the recorder and flute too (and a bit of piano) and will also be doing Grade 3 at some point, although not immediately. How old are your girls? It sounds like they are both very musical, and doing very well! My DD likes to sing as well, but hasn't had any lessons or anything. She is looking forward to Year 3, when she can join the choir, but is currently in Year 1!

OP posts:

RaspberryLemonPavlova · 30/06/2012 23:11

Well done mini wafflenose, she has had a good year hasn't she?

Well done your DDs Metabilis.

CURIOUSMIND · 04/07/2012 21:46

Any more results out?
Mini Wafflenose is obviouly pretty magnificent!
We just did it today.Lucky, I could actually hear a bit what's going on from outside.Sounds good to me.Huge relief!

kitkat1967 · 05/07/2012 15:47

Well we did manage to get the exam done this time.
All OK apparently (I deliberately stood where I couldn't hear) except he stopped in 1 piece so the examiner asked him to start again and it was OK that time. He said the exercises, scales, broken cords, sight reading etc. were all OK so hopefully he will have done enough to pass.

singinggirl · 05/07/2012 18:02

Just to say that even when they come out and announce how awful it was - don't panic! I has nine children entered for grades 1-4 AB piano this time, including DS2 doing Grade 2. I have never had so many come out and tell me that everything went wrong - six out of the nine. Two of them actually cried in the exam room. But results are back today and everyone of them passed!

I was nervous given the reactions this time, as you can't help it when children tell you things went badly wrong. But I , like most teachers, don't enter them unless I believe they should be achieving well over the pass mark. This does give them plenty of leeway if they have a meltdown. I am wondering what it was about this particular examoner that caused them all to go to pieces though...

singinggirl · 05/07/2012 18:04

examiner of course. Why are my fingers good on a piano keyboard yet incapable of typing properly on a computer keyboard?

Hulababy · 05/07/2012 18:14

I forgot to update from ages ago. DD got a merit in her grade 1 singing - first music exam shes ever done, so thing she did really well. She got almost full marks in her singing bits but dropped marks for her sight reading - so singing teacher will work on this for grade 2 next year. TBH though I have no idea what that bit involves or how we can help - any ideas anyone? Thanks.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 06/07/2012 15:54

Well done everyone! I've only ever had a handful who've come out crying, and they have always been hard-working girls who really cared about the exam/ result, and made little slips. All have passed, like yours singinggirl.

Wonderful about the merit, Hulababy! With sight singing, it's mostly a matter of learning the intervals between notes, which her teacher should be working on with her, but it can help to use the words (which are optional) as they can help to keep the rhythm going. It does take a lot of practice though, so I'd be getting her to do some in every lesson, beginning with really easy examples. Singing from music in a choir helps some people too.

I got my AB results back today - two good passes for two sisters (Grade 4 flute and clarinet). The younger one got a slightly higher mark, just like last time, but the older one completely flunked her scales and knew it! I think she is happy though.

OP posts:

Hulababy · 06/07/2012 16:38

Thanks - I'll have a look with her and see if there is anything we can do to help. Her report from her singing teacher is very good and does mention that it is something there will be working on more next year, but we never see the teacher ourselves to ask as it is done through school.

Flip

1 2 ··· 10 11 12 ··· 39 40