Should I let DD fail Grade 1 or stop her doing exam? Advice please!

[cingolimama]

Hi all - advice and anyone's experiences would be greatly appreciated. Situation is this: DD is taking her Grade 1 piano exam in two weeks time. In spite of a lot of practice (5-6 days/week for 20-30 minutes), I have huge doubts (not just normal nervousness) about her ability to pass the exam and tbh I think I might look for another teacher after this (but that's another thread).

I wonder what is best - let her possibly/probably fail and deal with that? Or withdraw her from the exam and set a bad precedent?

Piano is her second instrument - violin is her first and though she hasn't done any exams on that, she's about a Grade 4 level and flourishing. I'd hate for a negative piano music exam experience to knock her confidence on her violin, iykwim. But then kids can really learn from failure too. She does love to play the piano, btw.

Views?

Mistigri, your DD won't need to do any exams if she wants to be a musician Most professional musicians didn't do exams and they aren't necessary. The kids at the Menuhin school don't do them, for instance-

She doesn't want to be a (classical) musician claraschu and in any case as a later starter that's not realistic. She is however interested in a music-related degree (composition, sound engineering etc), probably in the UK (we're currently abroad), and most of the courses she's looked at seem to have exam requirements.

Just to give a personal experience - I failed grade 1 piano on primary school and was pretty upset by it. I remember finding the experience of going to the exam really scary, so I suspect that's why I failed. I stopped doing piano soon after, and despite going back to a different teacher a few years later, I dropped out again as soon as she started talking exams.

I don't think I would ever have been agreat musician anyway, but I do think i would have stuck with it more and enjoyed it more if exams didn't feature. That's me though, and your dd may be a different personality. I've never been good at sticking with things if i am not good at them, or trying things I don't think I will be good at.

Oh sorry Mistigri. Sometimes people think you need exams to do things like audition for the NYO, when actually all you need is a very brief note from your teacher (or an exam).

My dd failed grade2 - lack of effort.... It taught her that she needed to try harder and practise and it gave her a place to fail that really didn't matter in the grand scheme of life. Aced her grade 3.

Ooh good luck to her!

I pulled my dd out of her Grade 1 exam a few weeks before.

Her pieces wernt good, she hasn't even begun to learn her 3rd piece properly until recently & she appeared to be memorising them so she couldn't actually read the music.

Her sight reading was appalling & the teacher had done no aural tests with her. Dh is a music teacher & I have a music degree so we had some idea.

The teacher had entered her fir the exam via school despite be telling him that she had been cast in a local panto so would miss some lessons, plus she was going on a school residential.

Dd did lots of practice, but it wasn't good practice. She didn't know what she was supposed to be doing.

She took the exam at the next session & got merit.

UPDATE. Please forgive if I crow a little, but DD not only passed, but she got a distinction! I'll remember this next time I start stressing.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and good wishes.

Congratulations! But I am not surprised - all that practice had to pay off! She deserves her success!

Well done to her! She deserves it - that is a lot of practice!

I told you! :))) Congratulations!!!! Imagine if you did not let her do her exam :)

Lovely news, well done to your dd!

Yes - well done!

I think it is always worth 'having a go' at any kind of exam or test; the worst that can happen is you don't pass first time.

So now on to the next Grades?! Remember, you don't have to take EVERY one, but can skip ones if you become confident and capable. Also, you probably still need Grade 5 Theory to progress to the higher playing Grades. 'Theory' sounds daunting, but music is governed by the laws of Physics and is nothing like as 'mysterious' as people might imagine. In many cases, it probably isn't explained or taught sympathetically or thoroughly.

flowery - re violin Grades. Yes, Grade 8 by age ten is indeed ambitious, though maybe not impossible. Remember, you can 'skip' some Grades if he is confident to move further ahead. Also, Grade 5 Theory is probably needed for the higher Grades, and would be a big 'ask' at age nine or ten.

[I follow Nicola Benedetti on-line, but I don't know what age she was when when she got to Grade 8. If I find out, I'll try and let you know!]