Summer Term Music, Musicians and Music Exams thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello again everyone! I know not everyone in the UK has gone back to school yet, and some of you are overseas, but term here starts today, so it's time for a new thread. Please post away about your children, your own musical studies or any questions about music exams/ learning an instrument generally. We have a helpful and experienced bunch of people here to answer queries or reassure you.

I have MiniWaffle, who is 9, and BabyWaffle who is 6. Mini has passed Grade 5 Recorder and Grade 4 Flute, and also plays some trumpet, piano and ukulele. Baby has passed Grade 1 Recorder and Initial Cello, and tinkers with the piano (when it's not in the repair shop...)

This term for exams, we have Grade 3 Theory (Mini) - as a warm-up for Grade 5 which will hopefully take place next year - and Grade 1 Cello (Baby). Both in June. I am doing Grade 2 Xylophone for the NCO Parents' Challenge! We have been challenged to learn an instrument unrelated to our proper ones, and I'm really a clarinettist.

Musicmom1 my sax-playing dd is older, but rather petite and has really small hands, and reach isn't an issue. I think a student coming to sax from another wind instrument should find the transition very easy. DD played descant and alto recorder as a younger child - was grade 5 ish when she gave up 3 years ago - she's already at a similar level on sax even though it is very much a third instrument in terms of the time she dedicates to it.

Julie I'm glad other adults are doing this! I find it a very different experience. My teacher and I are exploring pieces together, sharing ideas. I am motivated to practise - actually I practised scales like a fiend as a teenager, no idea why. I'd recommend anyone thinking of starting or returning to an instrument as an adult to take it up, it's very therapeutic. That said, I am very glad I learned to read music as a child while my brain still worked!

Cooroo - I forgot to add that never having had a musical education at all DH took the flute up last year at 49. He is doing really well .

I find it interesting about sharing ideas, I know what I like and what I want to play, I did Gr8 theory, albeit a long time ago and I think that I am far more 'closed minded' to things I don't like, whereas 30 years ago I would have done what I was told.

My teacher pulled out some jazz pieces today, I hated them - wouldn't have had the nerve to hate them before and would have ploughed on regardless.

Cooroo I'm another adult learner, piano around grade 3, and allegedly doing the exam later this term although I am not sure and the deadline is looming! Also DS2 will be doing G2 and I'm a little worried about the combined stress levels...
I work from home a lot so it's quite nice to fit practice in just before doing some work or while the kettle's boiling. And I have headphones so the family can't hear me if I'm not doing too well or learning scales!

My entries are all in now. I must be mad.

11 Recorder exams with Trinity, 1 Clarinet with Trinity, but different venue and week requested.

5 Clarinets/ Flutes/ Piano with ABRSM.

Mini's Grade 3 Theory with ABRSM.

And my Grade 2 Xylophone.

I make that 19.

And 42 music medals - about 15 done this term, 9 more pending and the rest will be after half term.

Baby is doing Grade 1 Cello, but her teacher entered her, so she doesn't count in my stats - will probably just have to be there with me all morning.

Wow Wafflenose you are going to be busy.
Miss 8 got her grade 5 theory certificate today and is really pleased to have it all behind her.
Good luck to all those entering and taking exams this time round.

Hi, it's been a long time since I did a music exam and my daughter is doing her prep test in piano next month. I understand she can't fail this and that's its a useful experience. She's only be playing for 5 months and has really taken to it. Just wondered if anyone had any tips on keeping her playing fun over the next month. She is only 8.

dd is doing grade 6 theory cos she really enjoyed grade 5. absolutely no work seems to be going into it other than half an hours lesson each week. Im a bit concerned...

kitten if she's done well at grade 5 then i suspect that half an hour a week is fine. My dd joined a post-grade 5 theory class in September having never done formal theory before (she couldn't read the bass or tenor/alto clefs!). She has one 45 min lesson a week and apart from the first month she has never done any extra work. Nevertheless the teacher reckons she's caught up just fine. Learning theory is a cumulative process, so someone with a recent grade 5 should be in a good position.

Miss 11 is just finishing up the past paper for grade 6. She is really loving that she can move on to grade 7 - because she is worried her little sister is catching up.

Missymew - duets work well for my children - and playing things from my shelf that they know - cats, Joseph, queen, - just pick an easy key and if the rhythm isn't quite perfect then don't sweat it.

thats a relief then, I shall let her get on with not doing it!

Out of interest can anyone tell me whether it's a big jump between Grades 1 and 2 cello and piano? Dds school don't really like the children taking more than one exam per session so although she knows her Grade 1 cello pieces (although they are not polished) she won't be sitting her G1 cello this term as she's doing G2 singing. I was wondering whether it made more sense to skip G1 or whether it was important to do the first grade? Likewise with piano - she doesn't have the pieces yet so quite the same situation.

Hi chauffeurmummy, personally I don't see any issue with jumping the grades. So long as your DD is covering off scales, sight reading and playing at that standard, not sitting the practical should not present an issue. Many teachers actually don't like exams, some presenting their students at mid points like 3, 5 etc. My DD's violin teacher hates ABRSM exams with a vengeance but ensures she covers work with technical studies and wide repertoire.

Conversely, her piano teacher is a stickler for going through each grade which works for that instrument..

The problem with exams is the huge gaps between period and period and the having to register so much in advance. DS is now onto gr7 piano as well as percussion. He has sometimes been short of a month to be ready for an exam so didn't dare to book, but then he can't move on and has to wait months and if he doesn't keep practising the pieces occasionally then they go rusty. So I hate the whole thing. Best thing he's ever done is when he has skipped grades!

Chauffermummy - dd did g1 and g2 cello in consecutive terms and it was not a big jump but mainly because her teacher had held back the g1 exam until dd2 was already doing g2 syllabis etc. we are so musically uneducated we didn't even realise what she was doing. So it was all very natural progression and dd was very relaxed and got a big confirdnce boost from the experience and she then skipped g3 (seems a significant majority of kids skip g3 cello
)

Don't see any problem with skipping exams - sometimes there isn't a big jump in the early grades and if a child is already learning another instrument it doesn't always make sense to take 2 exams. My experience with percussion is the same as drummersmum's as timing means DS would either have got bored with pieces he knew really well or have an insane rush to meet the deadline. He plays several instruments and has skipped exams in all of them!
I think cello grade 2 is a big jump - DS2 took grade 1 last December but won't be taking grade 2 until next December. He's got grade 2 piano this term and at the moment I am all for him not doubling up on exams! Also I think ensemble playing is really helping his cello and increases repertoire so that has been more important than an exam in my view. Interesting to hear it's common to skip grade 3, though.

Interesting discussion re cello. I spoke to my son's teacher the other day and her view was that unless I was mad keen on him doing exams, she would prefer to wait until G2 (absolutely fine by me). It appears he is already working through the G2 syllabus - I simply wasn't aware of it. In comparison, DS completed the G1 trumpet exam in December and is already being entered for the G2 exam now. Different teachers = different approaches. I watch on the sidelines with interest.

Hello All!

Similar question here, anybody knows how big the jump is from grade 1 piano to grade 3? Dd's teacher said that she will be doing grade 3 next with her as she doesn't believe grade 2 is challanging enough for her abilities. She said she puts kids in for grade 1 exams when they are comfortable at that level and she assessed that dd was already playing around grade 1-2 when she took the grade 1 exam.

This now means that she'll rather put her in for grade 3 but I am curious how big the jump is between the two.

Just to clarify, she is doing the syllabus for grade 2 (scales, and grade 2 pieces from various books) and she didn't start the grade 3 pieces, just the scales. She is playing from various books to build repertoire and tehnique, a book is about grade 2 level and some of the other assigned pieces around grade 3 I am being told (Bach, Burgmuller's arabesque and similar).

Is there a big jump? Would she still be able to take the next exam within a year of the last one (grade 1 in March, will she be able to do grade 3 next March?).

Also I am asking the above because dd seems to have really enjoyed the exam. She keeps asking when is the next one and she was a bit deflated to hear about straight to grade 3 as I explained her it may take longer than a year, working from the basis of 1 grade every year therefore being a jump it may even take longer.

I am certain her teacher will not put her in until she is happy she is indeed grade 3 level which is fine by me, I want her to learn how to play piano and not collect certificates but she keeps asking when is the next exam.

She seems to get a lot of motivation from exam deadline.

I suspect the 'jump' is as much to do with the relative pace of progression of each child to different elements of the exam; dd always plays vast amount of repetoire from each grade and the grade ahead because she is quite competitive with herself; but she rarely will venture forward in her sight reading, aural and even scales. The latter two she has some natural skill in so 'manages' but sight reading is always lagging. I must admit I am now so much more relaxed re taking grades or not than when she started - def benefit of hindsight; dd of course still loves those certificates.....

Not experienced at skipping grades so not sure exactly what it means, I assume from what I get from the teacher that it is about the ability of achieving a higher grade faster so rather than taking time to prepare for a lower grade exam is better to move on to the next level. At least that is how she explained it to me, grade 2 will not be a challenge at all for dd so we won't do the exam as it will keep her away from progressing faster, but move towards grade 3 which requires more tehnique. Not sure what that means. :)

Dd loves playing and she loves scales. Aural comes natural to her and she got full marks and a comment stating she has a very good musical ear. Teacher knew that and she only prepared her once for aural just to show her what it is about.

Sight reading though...this is a different story. While she recognises the notes, key signatures, time signatures, dynamics, she fully hates the sight reading exercise itself. She hates counting the whole exercise, she doesn't ask herself the right questions (what key signature is it, how many sharps) so if the teacher does it she gives the right answer but she doesn't do it herself.

I guess it is an age thing? she's only 7 so not sure if she fully understands the importance of it.

Our experience is that it is an age thing, and they do change as they get older, and their skills adapt, especially when getting exposure to more ensemble/orchestral work. Duet work as well as studies can enhance these skills (though some can be a little boring).

My DD at 11 is not a great singer but can recognise signature keys, works well now in choir etc. She flew through her violin grades and did pretty well, getting distinctions in all but G6 where she was gutted at a 127.

But for last 18 months, she's had to go back to basics and really hone her technical skills, unpicking some bad habits that whilst are not atrocious, they will hold her back in being 'exceptional', if that's what she wants.

This has been frustrating, but deep down she knows that this is necessary, and regrets not placing earlier value on the scales/aural/sight reading that comes back to haunt her now, as these were her downfall on her last piano and violin practicals. To me, falling few marks short of her benchmark given all the other stuff kids do extra curricular wise was not a big deal, to her it was!

My non musical head gets the fact that pieces are not the be all...she's finally catching up with this concept!

Ealingwestmum - yes I am sure age kicks in as a factor at some point; we are also doing a lot of technical work - her teacher believes a lot of children drop music in their teens as they fall into a big hole technically and don't feel they are progressing however hard they may work; so we are very study focused this year and I can see glimpses of the impacts on dd's playing already. So with my non -musical hat on I really have no idea if there is a perfect path. For dd she def is motivated by ensemble playing as well as her own measures of advancement (which is certificates and festivals and auditions i guess - realistically she is 9 so I think is pretty natural in lieu of a more mature sense of progress)

In terms of technical exercises I can see there is a lot of discussion around things that didn't seem to matter previously, like hand stretch where previously would have been a jump, picking up proper speed, elbow position.

She does Czerny exercises assigned to her on weekly basis so I did wonder if this is the jump in terms of technique from grade 1 to grade 3 that the teacher was talking about.

I find it amazing that some pieces that look easy are in fact quite hard to execute once she starts learning them. She was playing a Minuet by Bach that to my eyes looked pretty easy, it wasn't.

I guess I don't want her to fly through grades unless she is still happy to play which she seems to be but she does seem to be a certificate chaser. She keeps saying she can't wait to do her next exam.