Support group for parents of children taking music exams!

[Wafflenose]

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!!

Morningpurples the only time we've done trinity it hasn't been specialist examiner. Like associated board it has been a generalist. At the higher grades it's been a bit annoying really as some of them " don't get it" really. (re recorder played at high level- surely isn't not that minority an instrument!)

Can I ask what you play?

Morningpurples there is also the option of Musical Knowledge up to Grade 5 with Trinity. DD did this for Grade 1 and 2 violin rather than aural. We didn't have a specialist examiner for the session this week, DS has done trombone and piano, and I have seen guitar, clarinet and flutes going in too! However, the older DCs school has their own examination week and they do have specialist examiners.

DSs trombone went fine, he thought it went better than piano. The co-ordinator is sending out the results to his teachers on Monday which although quick seems to be a long time. They used to be able to ring him sooner than that and be told the result.

wafflenose I'm glad your DD enjoyed her concert. Hope her exam goes well.

Theas18 well done to your DD. Am jealous you got your result so fast.

And on to the next ... DS2 has just brought home his slip for his tuba exam next term!

Sorry, that should be DS1 for tuba!

Yes that's true, could do musical knowledge for now, but sooner or later the aural is going to come, so part of me thinks I might as well just get on with it and keep trying to learn how. Don't want to say instrument under this name, but it's not hugely common, and in some ways seems quite impressive, but in other ways, examiners don't know its limitations, and on my last exam I had comments about something that was actually inherent to the instrument. So a specialist examiner could cut both ways. I'd like the technique feedback though, rather than just the musical/performance stuff, although I know that's important too. I have a friend taking the same instrument, who gives musical performances and who has no nerves whatsoever, loves performing, etc., and has studied music at a high level on other instruments. Despite what I suspect might not actually be that good technique or tone, exam results are really high, which I guess shows the emphasis on performance skills, and possibly the lack of awareness of what sort of tone/sounds are possible at what level. I suspect in that sort of situation, a specialist examiner might be less good, marking down for technique even though 'showman' skills are well developed. I wonder how they decide whether to send a specialist or not - I guess it depends how many candidates there are for each instrument, and whether it's a session specially arranged or just the main session of candidates playing any instrument.

@Theas Don't your DCs do trinity then? I thought all the establishment recorder teachers still taught Trinity because of (a)loyalty and (b)so many of them being involved with the examining board in some way (DD1 has a lesson with her monthly teacher in a minute and he is doing examining all next week, for example). Mond you, we dont always get a soecialist examiner. We did last term but i think we wont this term for DD2. Well done to your DD on her singing. DD1's singing exam is weeks away, still - they have an exam centre at her school.

We've had a bit of a nightmare couple of weeks - DD2 has been really very sick, she was in hospital for a few days and she has lost a huge amount of weight (and she was tiny to being with). Right now she looks like a spine with some ribs and a head attached. She hasn't been able to practice her flute because she was too weak. So she still hasn't had a run through with the accompanist. :( I don't know what will happen with the exams but its not looking good.

Mordion I'll pm you. The kids choose trinity or associated board for piano/singing/theory as the teacher us happy to pick which ever. We alo ave easy access to a trinity centre - ab less so. For somewhat individual reasons that will out us the recorder teacher can't be as flexible.

I had a look at this morning, a youtube video of a grade 5 exam, and I think I'll be a while yet. OK, not piano, but still, my scales are not that fast or fluent. And the aural tests, yikes. I'm much better at the sight singing than he is, but the not the melody repetition or rhythm clapping. And I've been through every aural samples book I can find, and the online ones, several times. I wasn't even sure whether he was right on the last question where you had to name the period of music - he said Baroque and I can't even tell if that's right. It was a bit too song-like (or is it dance-like?) and legato for what I think of as baroque. A Rondo I suppose, which I guess is more baroque than any of the others, and it didn't have lots of rubato, it did have some independence of lines, and it was all very harmonious, so I suppose that's right. I might have guessed perhaps a little more Classical than Baroque (though that wasn't a choice), just because it sounded like much longer and smoother phrases, simple harmonies. I never know what to say for those things!! I can answer the specific questions ok, but actually putting it into a period is harder.

view - I think he made bit of a dogs dinner out of it to be honest. He was not well, had a false start on one of his best pieces (dont know how many marks you lose for that) and stumbled on the other piece.This is to say that all the pieces were outstanding - won serious competitions with all 3 of them before.. I could hear him just about through the door. But then I am sure he passed - its just the question of how :) He said he was asked the easiest scales (the number of hours he spent on the harder ones !!!). Dpnt care really anymore, lets wait for the results.
Well done mini view - only 1 more of the horrid exams to go :). We all deserve a . I will log in to ABRSM site in about 10 days to check..fingers crossed till then.

So frustrating for them when they get things wrong that haven't ever gone wrong before. Fingers crossed.

DD planning to do some other stuff before grade 8. Duet with Dad for music festival and a couple of other pieces. Plus grade 7 flute. Don't know if our piano teacher does on-line checking yet!

Yes to

Aww hugs for the mini pianolet.

Grade 8 on thurs for DS and everything else re Xmas is already kicking so not ideal at all. Just hope he holds his nerves better than he has done recently when they've destroyed him

Thanks view and Theas and the best of luck with G7 flute for young viewand G8 for young Theas! These DC do have so much on.. Lovely talented kids they are and we are lucky proud DM-ers (she said pouring the remaining of the wine into her glass).
Re nerves - do remind DS how good he is and how lucky the examiner will be to hear him play

Re nerves - do remind DS how good he is and how lucky the examiner will be to hear him play grin.

Piano-what a lovely suggestion-will save that for next time

Enjoyed reading all about the grade 7s and 8s on here - my DD1 is doing Grade 1 piano and violin next week and those grades seem miles away!!! Something to look up to.

Teachers say she is capable of a distinction, I do think it will all be down to nerves on the day - I have seen her do everything to perfection and everything so badly, tripping up many times. Keep all your fingers crossed for her next week!!!

I haven't even thought much about DD1's G7 singing yet. I probably won't, to be honest - apart from, you know, paying for it (the school only just got round to billing us for the entry fee). Whereas I'm very concerned about DD2's grades 3 and 2 this week. But it's not surprising really - singing is only DD1's 4th study.

Hello everyone. What a lovely supportive thread you have here. I hope you dom't mind me coming on to ask a question, as you all clearly know lots about music education.

My dd is 6 and has just started learning the violin. She absolutely loves it, practises enthusiastically every day, and has an amazing teacher through our local music centre. She is doing instrumental, musicianship and ensemble lessons, so is getting approx 2 hours lessons every Saturday. For me, grades are not the priority, however it would be helpful to understand what 'average' progress is in terms of grades. It is possible to apply for money towards paying for music lessons if the dc is achieving distinctions also.

Would you be able to fill me in roughly on grades?

Thanks so much x

It varies so much from child to child.Violin is probably is one of the harder instruments and it would take time to get from beginner to G1 - i'd say a couple of years would be a reasonable expectation? My DS didn't do all grades - I think he took G3 s his first exam at around 8 having started at 6 (with 1 30 mins lesson a week).
He was doing piano as well and played in the orchestra so found sight reading very easy on violin. With the piano he took 3,5 and 7. Some teachers like them doing all the grades but it really is not necessary.

Thanks for your reply, pianomama. It is the sort of thing that the music centre are not that good at explaining to new comers. I have no idea whether grades are part of what they are working towards at all. I know some of the children at the centre also have private lessons. Interesting that you can skip grades. I wasn't really aware of that, but it makes sense if a child with musical experience starts a new instrument for example.

@Leaf I think the reason why teachers and music centres don't always 'explain about grades' is because the whole deal can vary wildly from child to child and from parent to parent. Some parents are hugely into grades, perhaps because of scholarships/bursaries which don't stipulate 'playing at x standard' but instead stipulate 'has passed x grade with at least x mark'. Some kids start off really relaxed, maybe not even wanting to do grades, and then suddenly they need a grade for something that matters to them (e.g. the grade 5 piano thing). Some kids are certificate hoarders (my youngest DD is like that - she was annoyed at skipping grade 2 recorder, and despite everyone thinking she should skip grade 4 singing and go straight on to grade 5 next exam, she is refusing). I know people who only took grade 8. I know professional musicians (well known ones) who have never passed a single music exam (because they never took one).Other people take every grade in order obsessively. Some kids can make very fast progress on one instrument and much slower progress on another but it doesn't necessarily mean the fastly progressing instrument is their 'best' one.

Mordion, that's really helpful, I'm glad that it is not like levels in school, that there is an average rate of progress that should be made during the course of a year or key stage, because learning really is an individual thing. If it's Accepted that there will be massive variation, that's really healthy.

Just had a lovely practise with dd. she's really enjoying herself, which is of course the main thing.

Leafmould,For violin, it could take a young child about 2 years to reach solid grade 1 level, but telented fast learners can get there in 6 months or even less, if it's your second study, it could be a lot quicker.BUT, it doesn't mean the quickest to get grade x is the best.

Pianomama, just read your concern bit before your Ds's exam.I am sure this is only one of his still early stage exam, doesn't matter that much if a poorly boy didn't show his best. They will judge on your overall performance, little mistake means 1-2 marks off from my experience.I guess the result will be anything between 130 or 150!

We have done all the competions, Festivals of this year but still to come 3 concerts +school Christmas production piano part.MY cheeky little boy wakes up so early everyday, started playing A starry night in my early morning dream!
Wish all the children who are doing exam this season the best!

We have 1 major concert left and of cause all the school Christmas events. Last night came home at 12pm returning from non-stop full on weekend. Getting a tired out DS into the car I asked him what does he think about "performing musician lifestyle" and to my surprise he said - "awesome!!!" - next second he was fast asleep in the car.. I think I am going to force feed him chocolate, computer games, lego whatever once the school holidays start .Also been begging to go ice-skating - we'll go as soon as his last concert is done.Roll on the holidays..

Really, really proud of DS2.

He got a solid merit (83) for his Grade 4 piano and just managed a Distinction with 87 for Grade 3 trombone.

Full marks for his aural each time and for his Grade 3 sight reading.

We can enjoy the concerts now!

Good luck to all DC still waiting to do exams.

Congratulations to your DS.
He said his trombone was best exam didn't he?

wow, very good results.

I am envious of children who seem to find the aural so easy, naturally.

Did anyone look at the video of the Gr5 exam I linked a few posts back, and can tell me what he should have said for the final questions about the style/period?

Congratulations to your DS Raspberry!