Hi there,
I know there are some very knowledgeable people here on this topic. Hoping for some guidance (many thanks in advance!).
DS is Yr 9 and about to do options. He is artistic and reasonably bright with some ND and for the last 6-12 months his special interest has been music. He spends almost all his free time composing on various DAWS and a little on piano also (though he has not had lessons and can't read music). He also sings in the school choir. As a younger child he was very resistant to activities outside school (school itself was enough!) and has therefore never had any instrument lessons. Anyway, he has now decided that his No 1 choice of GCSE is Music.
I think we can teach him enough music theory for GCSE but, for the performance element, his school ask for Grade 4 level (ABRSM/equivalent) at the start of Yr 10. I am now considering our options and whether Music is going to be feasible for him - before potentially discussing with school. He is very keen on piano but I can see that getting to Grade 4 (or being able to play 2 grade 4 pieces) by March of Year 11 is unrealistic. One option would be to now get him some singing lessons and to assess whether he could reach the required standard in this (not sure what Grade 4 looks like in voice). The other possibility is to consider the 'DJing' option that I think his board (Edexcel) offer.
Does anyone know what is permitted in the Edexcel DJing element? I am probably going to explain this really poorly, but he says that he could use his laptop to set off various clips of music and beats he has composed and to layer them as a live performance. Is this the sort of thing examiners are expecting - and would it be possible to get decent marks doing this? I'm happy to get him some music production lessons to help him along (assuming this is what I should be looking at?). Also interested in any views on the singing option.
Thanks so much for any help. I did lots of traditional music as a child, but now v lapsed and a bit lost!!