Clueless mum - music exams/prep test?

[mumoffourminimes]

I also posted in the music section but was directed here. I can seem to find a music mums thread so please point me to that one, I'm being dim 🤦‍♀️

My children are just starting out with instruments and are really enjoying them at the moment. DH and I had limited musical careers in primary school so clueless about these apparently musical children we've created...

I have a question about the instrument exams. Really just what's the craic? Should they be doing them or not? I've heard different things like they can be detrimental to the love of the instrument.

The situation in summary:

DC10 (yr5) flautist, has made slow and painful progress over the last couple of years, she's essentially just lazy but loves the instrument. Her teacher has now said she should aim for grade 1 and this has spurred on lots of practising and progression and she's very happy with this (I am happy with this too!). So that's her set really. It's a trinity exam and she's started working on the first piece this week, seems to be going okay and she likes it (I'm just so bloody glad we're out of jingle bells/London's burning territory).

Assuming the exam goes well in the summer then should I suggest she does gd2 at the end of yr6? Is that a realistic timeframe? How does it work transitioning to high school music wise?

Also how best can I help her: at the moment it's 15mins practise daily plus some breathing exercises, plus scales. Sound reasonable?

DC7 has done a term of piano and ABSOLUTE BLOODY LOVES it. Her piano teacher says she's very impressed (we've had some lovely notes and emails from her) and has said she can prepare her for grade 1 as quickly as possible. She's also suggested preparing her for the prep test? Any experiences of that?

Because DC10 is aiming for the exam DC7 is just assuming she'll also be doing them - but she's so little that I'm worried. She's also a very anxious child, although this doesn't seem to apply to piano where she seems to becomes a different child entirely.

DC7 will happily do 30 mins practise a day and is bored by the set homework so I've bought her some other fun music to work on in between and keep her busy. It seems to be going well.

So what should I do/ask/guide the children towards?

MTIA for all the music wisdom here 🙏🙏

Sorry silly long post, thanks for reading

Follow the teachers' advice! Some children are motivated by exams, others are terrified. I do think they have a sense of achievement when they get good results but if it's causing any stress, it's really not worth it. Music for 99%+ is for enjoyment.

The Prep test is a lovely exam - very supportive and not pass/fail

www.mumsnet.com/talk/extra_curricular_activities/4716260-spring-23-music-thread

The long running music thread. We are all very friendly there.

Exams can be great and can really motivate some children but they are not essential. My ds has not done any.

Prep Test is good for beginners/younger children as it gets them used to the exam situation without the pressure of a Pass/Fail. You get a report with constructive comments.

Thank you :)

I think the prep test looks great. A bit anxious about gd1 for the little one, but she'll really want the certificate!

I think you are over thinking it. If the kids are keen go for it. The teachers will guide you. They will say when they are ready for gd2 and if the dc want to they can, if they don’t, they dont have to.

Unless you have and end goal of music scholars or classically trained musicians etc just let the kids enjoy what they are doing. It’s best you set aside a time for practice and you can push a bit to keep them motivated and of course if they refuse to practice you can tell them you aren’t paying out every week for a teacher if they aren’t keeping up. But otherwise let them enjoy it.

Children vary, one of my kids loved exams and shows one didn't.

I probably am overthinking it, I'm just trying to work out what's going on really. It's easy to tell someone they are overthinking when you come from a position of knowing.

Like the difference between practice and performance exams?

The piano teacher is very communicative, however the flute teacher (DC thinks she's great and has always enjoyed lessons) isn't so much, so I feel in the dark and don't know how to help or what to ask for etc.

Im looking to work out how I should guide the children, especially the one with clinical anxiety - holding her back from exams she wants to do will damage her confidence so it's not that easy just to say no exams for her in case it's stressful. The prep test looks perfect for her though, I'm keen to hear from others who've dc have done it.

I've asked some friends IRL and it's a 50:50 split of "exams killed my enjoyment and I never play now" vs "I needed exams to progress and I enjoyed them" - no help at all 🤣

I guess I just have to see how they get on?

Thank you @Bramshott that's what I was hoping to hear :)

If it’s the exam itself you’re worried about, I know ABRSM now does performance-only grades where you send in a recording and it’s assessed rather than going to an exam centre - I’m actually thinking about doing one of them myself as I never coped well with the standard exam format.

More details here: gb.abrsm.org/en/our-exams/performancegrades/

Entirely dependent on the child - and to an extent the teacher.

I have a DD who is focused on music college for 6th form and ultimately a career in music. First study is singing with piano and ukulele as second and third studies.

She's never done any singing exams, has done a few piano exams and has taught herself the uke with a few masterclasses here and there to check no bad habits and tighten up technique.

She detested doing the exams, although got distinctions. She was bored being restricted to the exam pieces so much when there was other stuff she wanted to focus on with the teacher. They've now agreed to stop and he just teaches her to play and they work on things they both like. Still do scales and exercises as well though.

We haven't found lack of exams to be any issue at all. She has a music scholarship at secondary school, and none of the schools we applied to (state or private) for music places had any problem with having no exam certificates. We were just asked to indicate approximate grade level on the applications.

Some children really enjoy doing them though (my sister loved them), and a lot of teachers prefer to teach through exams in a structured way.

So don't feel that you will be at a disadvantage if one or other child chooses not to do them but still wants to do music seriously.

Same for my ds. He did use a couple of graded pieces for his uni/conservatoire auditions but only so we could have an idea of his current standard in regards to their entry criteria.

Thank you that's good to hear. I think maybe I stay try grade 1 for the experience and then go from there as to whether to continue or not

The eldest is doing a trinity exam, not sure what the difference with the exam boards is. I think
The performance exams look good.

Your youngest sounds very similar to my DD - another fairly anxious child who loves piano. Mine did her prep test last year when she was 7, and had had a couple of terms of lessons. She's now about to take grade 1. I think the prep test was a great experience of exam conditions for her, and now she's less concerned about the actual exam as she has a good idea of what to expect. I have not pushed her to do the exams at all - her teacher asked me if I was happy for her to do them as she thought she was ready, and I asked her if she wanted to - but she is quite a motivated child and enjoys having something to work for. She's now 8 and has picked up a second instrument this year which she's making rapid progress with.

That's good to hear, good luck to your dd for gd1 :)

What's her second instrument out of curiosity?

My little pianist also enjoys recorder and does a group class for that, she'd like more lessons but the cost of lessons for 2 instruments for multiple children is a bit mind boggling!

Thanks :-) Her second instrument is actually harp! I was hoping she'd pick something a bit more portable like the flute...but no, she was insistent on harp. They had a demonstration of it at school and she fell in love with it. But yes the cost is pretty high - we just have the one child, if we had more it would definitely not be manageable!

Oh goodness! I felt so sorry for the harpists parents when ds did a concert and a show last year!!!

Any halfway decent teacher won't put a child in for grade 1 without being certain they'll pass. I'd definitely be guided by the teacher on timings, especially for future exams, you don't need to tell them when to aim for for gr2

I have a (now not so) little flautist who quite likes an exam - and a violin/viola player who hates them, so one does them and the other doesn't. Both progress. Most secondary schools will have flute and piano teachers so you can just switch to them if you want to (something to check at open days) or they can learn privately or at a Saturday council centre etc after that.

You don't have to do ALL the exams. They get very expensive, and can actually slow them down if they're progressing fast. So DD1 did 1, 3, 6, 7 and will do 8 on her first instrument, but only 5 and then I suspect 8 on her second. Also started on 5 on her third. The teacher will guide you!

Haha amazing! I'd love to have a harpist in the family 😁

My kids are all grown up (23 & 21) but both did various instrument and singing exams. One was fine, the other was anxious (but still did them).

As a PP has said, you don't need to do graded exams, but it is sort of the way your standard is established in the music world, so when DS1 went to uni and wanted to join a music group you had to be 'Grade 5 or above'.

Scales used to be the bane of everyone's life, so the performance only exams look great!

Music festivals are another way to have performance opportunities. Ones near us have competitive- you get a mark and there is a class winner, or recreational where you get comments but no mark or class winner. Some have set pieces, others you can choose.