Summer Term Music and Music Exams Thread

[Wafflenose]

A new thread for a new term!

If you're a music parent, or music teacher, please introduce yourselves here. It was getting hard to keep track on the old thread.

I am a music teacher (woodwind, 90% recorders these days) and I have:

DD1 (aged 8) who is taking Grade 5 Recorder this term, currently working towards Grade 4 Flute, and also sings, plays the piano and one tune on the ukulele (no lessons on these three). She has completed a video audition for the South West Music School, but we won't hear yet, and quite honestly, I don't think she'll get in this year.

DD2 (aged 5) who is taking Initial Grade Recorder this term, started the cello a month ago, and can play a few tiny, baby tunes on the piano and ukulele (again, no lessons on these).

I only have one pupil doing an exam this term, other than my girls - a Grade 2 Recorder player. I'm doing 11 Music Medals though.

Poor miss 10. She is really trying to perfect her scales on violin. The B flat set is 3 octaves and she is only playing a half-size violin as she only turned 10 last week. 3 octaves slurring 7 notes to a (little) bow makes her more than a bit frustrated. She can either get them with two but not three parts -all slurred, fabulous intonation, amazing tone and vibrato. So more tears.

I tell her not to worry and she gets cross with me. I tell her to practise more (nicely) and she gets cross. I leave her and don't help- she cries. I help and she shouts. Then cries. All the time whilst trying to practise them. I am starting to hate them, so what must she feel like?

The only thing I've found that helps is chocolate ice cream.

Not strictly this term, as they took them at the end of last term, but we only just got the results.

DD got a high pass (nearly merit) in her grade 1 flute.
DS2 got a distinction in his grade 1 clarinet.

Both got full marks in the aural.

V.proud of my two beginners!

Sounds like next year for DD1 might be sorted - I just spoke to her new school, and they have offered to find her a small bassoon, and to fix her bassoon lesson for a break-time so that she's only missing lessons for clarinet in her first term. It sounds like she'll take a break from singing lessons for a term as there isn't currently a group working at her level, but there is a group taking grade 4 at Christmas so she could join them in January. Sounds like that might be quite a nice way to ease herself in to a new routine and new school. Phew!

Mum of three here...I am quite musical (piano, double bass and singing) but not a teacher!
DS2 (8) just received his mark for Grade 1 violin and got 134 so very proud of him. As a result he is taking Grade 2 in the summer (the teacher entered him today after hearing how well he had done over the Easter hols learning the pieces and scales- that child works HARD!). He is also doing Grade 1 piano in the summer.
DS1 (10) is taking grade 3 cello after skipping grade 2 (distinction in Grade 1) and grade 2 piano.
DD (6) has just started learning piano- and she also sings but doesn't have lessons (yet)
After last summer when DS1 did Grade 1 cello and piano in the same term I swore I would never do it again and somehow seem to have them taking 4 exams all at once.... gulp...

Bramshott re lessons in school - we only ever got one set and they were funded (yay) by school from GCSE ( but only 30 mins).

As it happens, because they had private lessons from year 5-6 on 1st instrument because it wasn't taught at their level at primary (yep recorder) these were 2nd study ( or 3rd or 4th depending in whether you count piano - which we've never found taught in school , or singing- which they've never had lessons as such ).

We've not had much problem with thrm getting out of lessons for peri sessions but it's only the years7-9 that have in lesson clashes, everyone else before/after/break times for lessons.

I do think 3 lessons a week out of curriculum time will be too much.

I remember a stroppy teacher in year 7/8 writing a snide comment on my report as I always missed 30 mins of her subject for a cornet lesson. Regardless of being high up in the class on results. It clearly sticks with me even now...

A big summer for us too.
DS 1 16 taking grade 6 percussion (and GCSE's)
DD2 age 8 taking Violin grade 1 and piano prep test.
DD3 age 7 taking tuned percussion grade 2.

I foresee a lot of gin drinking (by me)

Shaky sorry to hear about dd - which grade is she doing? is her teacher aware of her difficulty ( i say that bcos i know that a teacher can presume that a child can work things out even if things are a bit wobbly and so not spend too much time on the problem)

Are her scales generally secure? dd messed up one arpeggio - claims she played the first note, froze and muddled through the rest - examiner wrote that it was hesitant but that the rest were very secure. she got 17/21 for scales despite that so it seems that they will take the overall picture into consideration.

Thanks maggiethecat (great name) - she is doing grade 6 so harmonic AND melodics for the first time. They are secure. But they're not perfect. And she demands perfection of herself.

She had a meltdown yesterday over trying to get some nasty seventh position bit with just the right amount of vibrato. Fortunately today the children decided to play together - she transposed at sight (which would have made me cry at her age) and they had a great time improvising afterwards.

My guess is that all the tears are self induced exam pressure. So if we can just keep an even keel over the next few weeks then she will feel so much better once she has taken it.

Miss 7 is just sailing through work. No stress. Go figure.

Shaky, tell her not to worry too much about the vibrato. Intonation and flow are far more important, and in fact dd's cello teacher tells them not to do vibrato in the scales, because it is about perfect intonation. I really wouldn't worry too much about the vibrato at all, it's not going to be a significant thing in the scales!

Her intonation is great - having perfect pitch really helps. But there is no telling her...

If she starts getting stressed about them though, the first thing to drop is the vibrato

Has anyone used the "Audiobook" app to prepare for Aural tests? I was looking for Aural Trainer but it's only for iPhone and I have an android.

She had a much better day today. Practising first thing in the morning helps enormously. Miss 7 is still chilled about hers. Back to school work tomorrow...

Mum of two musical DDs here. Played myself as a child /teen, so know some of the jargon but would have trouble reading music and playing at the same time these days. DH also plays and writes a bit, but everything by ear

DD1 (16), after over 18 month break from grades, taking Grade 8 recorder and Grade 5 piano this term. Just starting AS exams too, including Music, but the performance already done for that. Also plays violin, but not taken grades. Planning apply for music at University

DD2 (11) far more complex. Has perfect pitch, refuses to read music. Played violin for over a year and gave up. Loves singing, but refused to carry on with lessons after a year as teacher wanted her to read music. Hoping she will pick up again when she starts Secondary in September.

Shaky, she's sounds like she'll be fine. Dd's teacher sometimes asks her to strip away the vibrato so that she can focus on intonation which is more important.
Could be that she's just tired - almost end of school year so I would encourage rest and just enough practice to keep things fresh (she sounds like everything she needs is already there).

End of term 1 here - we live in New Zealand. Just had 3 weeks break and heading into term 2! She hates taking exams - so skips them when she can and then stresses out when she takes them. She stressed out over scholarship exams and her grade 5 theory. She is stressing over this one. I guess she is just one of those kids who do this to themselves.

Hubby and I both took music exams...and we try and keep things low key and stress free at home- but it doesn't seem to work very well.

Hi everyone, dd1 is doing grade 2 piano this term and ds1 grade 2 violin. Dd1 still hasn't started learning her pieces and is stressing out, however she should be fine as has been playing such a huge variety of pieces that she should be fine!
Scales and arpeggios are good.

She got a merit for her g3 violin and was v upset about it (cried). She failed her aural but didn't do any prep for it so I need to make sure this is covered for g2 piano...

Arg.... after working all over Easter hols with DS1 on Grade 3 cello scales and arpeggios he was doing really well and had them all down with just some fine tuning to do... then yesterday I realised he has to slur the arpeggios too!!! Didn't need to for Grade 1... so now we are frantically trying to learn that too... most of them are OK but the 2 octave G and F major are fiendish to slur... good job I realised...I think DS1's cello teacher is a bit allergic to scales!!
Hoping the exam date is not too early ...he is also really struggling with the weird 4 note broken chords for Grade 2 piano...I don't remember them as a child.

Non-musical mum and dad here....

DD1 - 13- is doing g4 piano this term - she is also studying but not doing exams for g3 theory ...

don't care which exam date we get - she is never ready - til about 2 days before the exams.... g2 was particularly memorable, with the 3rd piece only going hands together 2 weeks before the exam!!

stress.... what stress?? currently have one piece - beautiful, to speed, dynamics, pedal, off metronome, one speeding up, and one going hands together.... scales lovely, aural great, sight reading - meh..... still, much less stress this time....

DD2 - 11 - did g1 3 years ago, but decided to not do any more exams.... still learning all the required elements - scales/sight reading/aural etc so teacher can say she is playing g3 standard - and can enter her for exams if she ever feels she wants to.....

Audiobook seems like a hit with DD! It sings her various melodies, gets her to sing them back, records them, and then ticks her off when they're not quite right! The bonus is that I don't have to do it...

Okay, so entries have gone in...

Six prep tests on piano, ranging in age from 7-10, all learning for roughly a year. We go quite slowly through things as I'm a fiend for technique, and these children seem to range from "stops halfway through a piece to have a conversation" to "probably able to take grade 1 next term if we didn't have summer holidays in the way." Also, most are young and I think it's worth doing the prep test for the experience of playing to the examiner.

One grade 1, also piano. Plays... okay... needs a better instrument at home. I think this is his third instrument though.

Violinists will be doing medals instead - last term's coppers will be taking bronze (as will my keyboardist) and last term's grade 1 will be taking silver because we've learnt that her sight-reading is really poor compared to her playing and I'm going to make her learn lots of easy-ish tunes this term, as well as one or two harder ones. I also like having them do the ensemble playing, and having an assessment makes the most flippant one practise more! The youngest of them is simply too young for me to put her into an exam situation - she freaked out just being filmed and played totally out of tune last time, when she's normally little miss perfect violinist.

Oh, and I'm finally taking grade 6 theory, which I need if I'm ever to take my diplomas with ABRSM, because my music degree modules were mainly history and musicology. Debating general musicianship grade 8, but it's expensive - I want to find out what the exams are like!

Entries put in; all piano including a grade 1 and a grade 2 jazz. Others all normal, one grade 5, four grade 3's,four grade 1's and a prep test. Just realised I've forgotten someone because there are thirteen entered and that only adds up to twelve!
DS2 is the grade 2 jazz piano and DS1 is doing grade 5 violin, so should be a stressful term!

I took the plunge and have entered for the general musicianship, for which I have so far done no preparation other than having a music degree and having glanced at what is actually on the syllabus.

But I play viola so alto clef for sightsinging is not a problem, which means I escape transposition! Yay! And figured bass is also optional.

Julie I did Grade 8 practical musicianship after just a few hours' preparation spread over a couple of weeks... I was going to do it the following term, but ended up doing it sooner to help out at work. They didn't have enough candidates for a special visit, so I offered to let them enter me to make up the time. I got B Grade (Merit) so was quite pleased.