Has anyone ever gone for an additional instrumental music lesson or something else to support in the run-up to a grade exam?

[BadSkiingMum]

Hi, my teenage DC is hoping to take a Grade 5 Trinity strings grade exam this summer. We want to do it this year because next year we will be in the run-up to exams.

They already have a weekly lesson and practice regularly. Their teacher is wonderful and has worked with them for a long time but I am wondering about getting in some additional support to really focus on their pieces and scales.

There are some additional needs in the mix, including some health problems which has meant that they have had some long gaps in practice at times. So they have been at this level for a while and a boost would be welcome!

I am not asking for practice tips as such, as they are not that kind of typical MN highly-able child who will just hear a tip and then immediately apply it 😂 - they do need that adult input! They have also gone beyond the level at which I can effectively support them with practice, as although I can read music to a certain extent I don’t play the instrument myself.

So I was thinking of something like an online tutor (but just to work on the pieces set by their actual teacher - would a teacher agree to this?) or a music student to supervise practice over Zoom? Has anyone else tried such an arrangement to supplement existing lessons? Or an Easter course?

It’s fairly typical for the teacher themselves to add in a couple more lessons leading up to exams when needed. Approach the teacher rather than switching techniques with someone else.

Yes, she has sometimes done that in the run up to an exam - I just wanted to put in some additional support now, ahead of time and make sure that they are at the right standard to enter the exam with confidence.

As per my OP, it’s not so much tuition that I am looking for as much as supervised practice.

DD has two teachers in her main study, and we sometimes add in extras for masterclasses.

It works well as she's being training long enough that there won't be confusion and she knows very quickly if she's happy with their techniques.

But teachers are often reluctant to share - I had a lot of questions from second main teacher when we started (DD was G6/7 at the time) about how it would work. We ended up dividing genres with one focused on one and one on another. 5 years on, it's worked brilliantly and each of them focus on slightly different things, but both have a similar teaching style and they work well together - if there is something coming up, then both will work on the one piece with her. So far nobody's got upset or felt undermined.

However, you might find that you have a teacher who is very unhappy at the idea of adding another in the mix, or find it hard to find someone who is just happy to supervise practice sessions rather than teach (especially if they don't agree with first teacher).

Be ready to answer lots of questions and sit in the middle being diplomatic!

Mine had an extra lesson a day with same teacher in the week before Grade 8 ... really don't put another teacher in the mix ... and that counted as their practice but I knew it was being done properly.

I don't think I'd add in a different tutor in the run up as it could easily back fire , they might have a different approach or style and it could undermine confidence or confuse. I'd arrange a couple of extra lessons with the regular teacher and tall to the teacher about what else might help.

We always arranged extra sessions with the accompanist before music exams. This makes a massive difference imo, especially at higher grades.

Mine have had aural lessons with someone else - if it's an exam that includes aural? Perhaps the same would work with scales?

I tried this and it wasn't very successful. Talk to the teacher.

The teacher should know that the child is on schedule or not

They would normally do extra lessons as they deem necessary

An alternative teacher would more likely confuse things

Ask the teacher what they recommend

I am a private music teacher and have done this in the past. Is there a possibility of àn hou's lesson a week rather than half an hour? This can really pay dividends.

Perhaps you could ask the teacher for a really detailed practice schedule. Often young people don't always know what effective practice looks like. That could then be something you could support with.
For example it might say long notes with a tuner. D, EF#G work up to holding for xx seconds, staying in tune all through the note.
Scale of X, XY metronome mark xx

Scales pot - put all scales on scraps of paper, have three pots -starting pot, secure and needs work. Start of week, all in pot one and randomly select say 3 pieces of paper. Play them. If secure, move to secure pot, if needs work, check knowledge etc, do again and put in needs work pot. Then next day , select some new ones from pot 1 and some needs work ones, leave secure ones be. So each day you are reinforcing the needs work ones and less focus on the secure ones. Start of next week, all back in starting pot. So the secure ones still get revisited, just not as often. And hopefully they move from needs work to secure.
Or use a random scales generator online.

Piece 1 practice starred bars slowly, then add in bar before, then up to speed. Etc etc

Or whatever would be most helpful for them. Effective practice is rarely just playing the piece through. This is something even a non musician could support with. Another teacher is not usually a good idea.
Also looking at the exam criteria or watching a mock exam will help them know what to expect.

Our school music service run a 5 week aural training course at the start of ea h term, for students taking grade exams at the end of each term (both abrsm and Trinity always seem to be at the end of term). This has really helped in the past. Maybe something similar?

Horseymum I am going to borrow that three pots idea, working on my grade 6 piano scales and it is such a headache keeping track of which variations need most work! I might add separate pots for different speeds.

Thanks, I will give it all a bit more thought. There is a lady nearby who teaches another instrument but does theory and I would assume aural lessons too, so maybe that’s a possible route.

To be honest, by posting on here I was rather hoping that someone would magically come along and say, ‘Oh my Penelope’s a music undergraduate and a string player who would love to help your DC with their practice via Zoom to earn a bit of pocket money’ but I will keep considering the best approach.

Often a music teacher will be able to recommend an older student who can run through the pieces with the accompaniment once a week (it used to really put me off when I'd been practising for months, and suddenly everything felt different with the piano accompaniment!)

Speak to the teacher in the first instance before you start looking for randoms online.

GD used to practice once a week with an older student who was recommended by the music teacher. When I heard her practice I had to explain to her that she didn’t need to play the pieces over and over but to work on the short passages that were causing problems.

I did this for my younger sister back in days.

She was learning to play competition pieces from memory, and I was able to follow the music, control that she did play it correctly and hint the next part if necessary.

I agree with the recommendation to ask the teacher, it is much better to do this with her knowledge, so she wouldn't get annoyed if their tips would accidentally colide.

Yes, that's pretty normal