Abrsm practical musicianship

[BeardySchnauzer]

has anyone done this instead of the theory so they can progress past grade 5 on their instrument?

or is it not really done!

No.

my dc who hated theory did jazz instead which apparently counted

I have a friend whose dd just did the theory and there’s no way my dd could do it just from the length of time and being at home. I will have a look at the jazz

she’s pretty much ready to do her grade 8 on her instrument so she needs to get something to allow her to do it!

Could always do a different board grade 8 that doesn't have prerequisites. Trinity for example doesn't require theory or alternative.

Thanks. Is it a similar exam in terms of what you do?

Similar in that the main thing is pieces and there are supporting tests like scales, aural, sight reading. Slightly different supporting test setup, and some optional swaps.

Ok. I’m the least musical person you’ll ever meet so not 100% what that means 🤣

she’s good at playing pieces and an excellent sight reader. She does know the theory but intuitively instead of academically iyswim

It is not necessary to do exams at all. Most of the musicians I know didn't do them...
My own feeling is that they are not helpful and even get in the way of people's musical life, but I know I am in a minority saying this.

I don’t disagree and she has just been playing for herself really for the last few years. But she is very low on self confidence and I think she feels like ‘proving’ she can do it shows her over achieving friends that she’s good at something too. Not putting her under any pressure to do it but won’t to make sure she can if she wants

at the moment she’s working on fantasia no 3 by Mozart, piano man by Billy Joel and the theme from Mad Men so no guarantee she would even find 3 pieces on the list she wants to learn!

Sorry! Short answer is it's pretty similar, worth a chat with her teacher if you think theory is going to present a problem. Some teachers only want to deal with one board, others have students doing whichever they think the supporting tests will best suit them. ABRSM (the one that requires theory) and Trinity are the two my kids have used, there are some others too. Or if she prefers more like the modern half of her repertoire there there's also things like Rock School exams. Many options these days.

Are you sure the theory isn't going to work? Older or more advanced students can find it very quick to tick off. If it makes any difference they don't need to sit out the whole time if they've answered as much as they want to.

Greenfinch, true, but Grade 8 is a common one to want to tick off if you do any. In our area at least the 'normal' school to music college kids have usually ticked off a grade 8 or two on their way. The international soloists probably not!

Thanks. I will ask her teacher - I don’t think he’s particularly wedded to a board.

written exams are a struggle for her so would prefer to avoid! I want her to enjoy the piano and not dread it!

You can't do the theory exam "intuitively".

I speak as someone who did G5 theory (abrsm) in the 1970s, I did it so I could progress further with my piano exams. I'm learning a different instrument now and since I did G8 piano, obviously can read and understand music v well. But I had a look at G5 theory papers online - and I wouldn't pass now without some swotting up!

But as someone else has said, exams are not compulsory. I think that they are useful for some students as they give targets to work to. But my experience is that having to learn set pieces, rather than pieces that I chose and enjoyed, hampered my enjoyment of playing. I also get absolutely horrendous stage fright/exam nerves! I'm very clear that I will not do another music exam (on my current instrument) and enjoy playing a lot more for that decision!

She could start with the grade 1 theory and work up to it? That might have the confidence building effect too. The early exams are shorter and if well prepared probably won't need the full time. Having experience of the exam format and exam technique from starting with the easier exams can make the higher grades less stressful and more achievable.

They're digital exams that you can sit on demand, so you're choosing multiple choice and dragging and dropping notes onto the stave etc. Parts of it like music in context might feel intuitive. Depending on why written exams are difficult for her, there may be reasonable adjustments they can make.

I have done the theory exams as an adult and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it gave me the motivation to learn new and different pieces, and made some things easier. It can support your playing rather than just being an annoying gate to pass through (which is how I saw it as a child when it just ended up as an obstacle I couldn't overcome!).

The Trinity performance grades incorporate more theory than ABRSM. That's why they don't have the requirement to pass the separate theory exam to proceed past grade 5. However, Trinity do have a repertoire-only pathway and digital performance grades, so there are different options.

That said, some of the different options for performance grades were introduced so that more people could access them. I don't think it matters how many other people are doing the same type of grade 8 exam as her as long as it works for her.

I know you can’t do it intuitively - that’s the problem! Her teacher has said she knows the theory but if he asks her a straight question from the paper she can’t really answer. Not sure how to explain it.

she did do grade 3 theory back in primary school. That was an in person exam which works a lot better for her. She’s not great with exams at the best of times and with her GCSEs coming up I don’t really want to add another

it seems no one has any comments on the practical musicianship exam. The trinity with theory might work better for her so will look at that

Have a look at the syllabus https://www.abrsm.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/praccomplete10.pdf

Grade 5 theory is quite hard now and I would have to study a lot to redo it, but I am not a by ear player and would crash and burn at Practical Musicianship. It would take some study. I suggest seeing what your daughter wants to do.

I did theory and practical ABRSM exams to grade 8 when younger. The theory seems way harder now!

Just a thought: I know ABRSM exams from grade 6 upwards count for university points. Is it the same for Trinity? Some former piano pupils of mine wanted the ABRSM “points”, although others preferred to just play without doing exams.

No experience with practical musicianship, just thinking if she's at the nearly grade 8 stage then studying up a whole new exam type and waiting for an in person exam to be scheduled might hold her up.

Bimbles, I only did grade 5 theory but I think the online ones are way easier! You don't have to laboriously write out scales any more. And far fewer terms to memorise than there used to be. Maybe indicative of what I personally disliked about it!

Yes it is.

Have a look at the Grade 8 Trinity syllabus - there's a really wide range of pieces at all grades which also makes it easier to pick pieces that inspire. And yes, the UCAS points are the same as with ABRSM

Trinity have performance grades and then you don’t need the theory

Thanks for that info re the UCAS points. I stopped teaching piano quite a while ago so am a bit more out of touch. Very interesting to hear about the online theory exams too.

DS5 did Prac Mus Gd 5 with his flute teacher even though he’d done Theory Gd 5, they both found it really interesting!

My son hated exams as they were all classical music but his piano teacher was obsessed with them.
He only did grade 5 but has a very successful career in music.

Exams aren't the be all and end all.

My DD did 2 piano grades and refused to do any more exams in anything musical at all. They made her hate playing and as soon as she ditched them she made far more progress. In her main study and second study she's never even looked at a syllabus. Whenever we needed 'grades' for music scholarships, colleges etc we just gave a grade estimate. They were far more interested in what she could actually do.

She's semi-professional turning professional.

I totally get the "knows the theory but can't articulate on paper" thing. We have the same issue... years of theory classes, 1:1 tutoring and she can use very complex theory effortlessly for composition. But would look completely blank if you asked her anything beyond what key she's in. It's a bit like being able to speak a language fluently but you are not able to parse a sentence because you have no clue how to explain what the tense is called or what a noun or a verb actually is. She also can't read music - and neither can at least half the professionals she works with... some of whom have been incredibly successful musicians and composers for 30+ years.

ABRSM doesn't cater for that - although you can now have aural repetition in place of sight reading - but there are other boards, or just no boards at all. The UCAS points are only useful for courses that accept points rather than grades so for many kids not much use at all.

She’s had a look at the trinity and likes the look of it!

@OhCrumbsWhereNow

sounds exactly like dd!