Anyone know anything about Music Medals?

[Dancergirl]

Against my better judgment I agreed to let dd do a Music medal on her flute. She's been learning for 2.5 years and has had 3 different teachers in that time (peripetetic) so progress has been slow. I would have preferred for her to take a grade but the current teacher was keen on these medals.

She has passed copper and has just received her medal and certificate. Is there pass, merit, distinction as with the grades? What sort of level is copper and how does it compare with grades?

if you google the abrsm website you will see all the details there.

Copper is pre-grade 1, so prep test standard. Bronze, silver, gold grades 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Platinum around grade 4. I don't think they're as broad as the usual exams though - no aural or scales. But good for young children or candidates with SEN who couldn't otherwise cope with an external examiner or an exam situation.

Thanks titchy. My dd is 11, doesn't have SEN and could well cope with doing a grade. But there's been so much disruption with changes of teacher her progress has been hampered. There was talk of her doing Grade 1 with teacher no 2 (about 18 months ago) but guess what....she left and teacher no 3 is keen on these medals!

All I know is I got a letter asking if my dd could do a bronze exam and could it be filmed and I had to send a cheque for £12.50.

She is only 8 so I was unsure but someone told me her normal teacher examines her so its not like a formal exam.

Music medals are filmed and marked by the teacher then sent off to abrsm for checking. Some teachers prefer music medals as they can repeat their pieces as many times as they like until the best run through is kept on film and sent off. Many teachers rave about them because of the cost and ease of doing them in class, no faffing about getting parents to take the child out of school for the exam etc. I personally am very unconvinced as to their value and have often taken on a child who has passed platinum who I assess as being nearer grade 2 or even grade 1 standard!
Just my personal opinion, but I am stubbornly avoiding doing them with my pupils despite my boss' best efforts to convince me!

Music Medals are really cute and the children love them.

Yes, the grade exams are more 'serious' and 'important' but why not let the younger ones enjoy winning a medal?

From what I heard, Copper & Bronze lead up to Grade 1. Silver is around Grade 1, then Gold is a bridge between Grade 1 and 2.

Doing the medals doesn't mean not doing the grades, you can do both.

@Pugsandseals - does everything have to be so 'valuable' to be worth doing?

I thought copper and bronze were both pre-grade 1 but I'm sure this info is easily found on the ABRSM website.

At our school it's not either/or. Those who are zooming along go straight to G1, those who are taking a bit longer (including my DD on violin) do copper and/or bronze before their grade 1 and will generally then progress with grades like the others.

Peripatetic teachers in schools often use them because in a school situation there is often not the time and flexibility to cover everything needed for the full ABRSM syllabus.

How long are her lessons and are they group or 1:1. I'd expect at half an hour 1:1 lesson a week plus maybe a couple of extra lessons as the exam day approaches to be ready for a graded exam (and many teachers outside schools teach all year round they don't stop during school holidays.