EXAMS

NB: If you decide to study for exams with me, we will not be taking any short cuts.  I feel so strongly that theory, aural knowledge and skills are important and inter-relate that I will not leave them out.  Aural testing is of course included in the exams but traditionally it has been left to the last minute to prepare for, resulting in marks lost in the exam due to lack of ability and preparation.  


This means that if a student and family are not prepared to put the work in and accept that they need the foundation skills embedded first, then exams will not be studied at Merry Music. 


This page will give detail on:

  • why exams are useful - the pros
  • what the negatives are - the cons
  • the positive solution to who should do exams 
  • why exams are not necessary & what else can you do?

For information on what the requirements are for the different grades see drop down menu above.


Exams are great for:

Pros:

  • covering the "right" material to play harder pieces in the future
  • understanding and connecting music literacy (theory) to practical piano playing 
  • good preparation for Music GCSE / A-Level and beyond if that's what a student is aiming for
  • having the experience of playing music from different eras (the syllabus insists that candidates do not just play modern / 20th Century music but from a variety of ages)
  • understanding the work involved in preparing for an exam.  These are transferable skills to any exam or test they may encounter and I prepare students fully and in a detailed way ie:

    • Analysing the testing material and what exactly needs to be learnt
    • working out step by step mini goal plan with deadline dates in order to be ready for the test date
    • practising performance techniques
    • how to successfully deal with nerves in a test scenario
    • giving a physical, well respected-throughout-the-world reward for all that hard work 
    • Grades 6-8 earn UCAS (University application) points -  such is the respect and understanding given to the amount of work, knowledge & skill needed to pass such levels

But often pupils or parents want to do exams before they are ready.  


If pupils start exam material before they have the foundation skills, it often results in:

Cons:

  • frustration - too big a co-ordination / skills leap from where the student's starting point was
  • boredom - 3 pieces to learn plus technical exercises and aural can take a year or longer if the student isn't at that level when they start
  • Limited playing ability - if the student is only playing 3 pieces in one year 
  • Reduction in literacy - this sounds weird but often because the student is playing the same 3 pieces over and over again they end up learning them off by heart.  Reading sheet music diminishes and they become very rusty at it.  Any future pieces/music then becomes a struggle to learn from reading and frustration is increased.
  • dislike - the student develops a dislike of the piano and looks at it as boring, too hard and they can give up
  • They are expensive:
    • Music books:  the grade book, any supplementary books for other pieces, sight-reading exercises, practice tip books
    • aural practice apps
    • exam fees
    • possibility of extra lessons needed


The Solution!


Only do exams if:

  • Student has got the foundation skills and appropriate grade level skills already
  • Student is prepared to practice regularly and effectively
  • Family is prepared to encourage, cajole and celebrate with the student

Doing exams requires three elements:   teacher, student, family/parent support.


Alternatives to exams & exam variations:

We can still achieve the benefits of an exam (see pros list above) but replace "exams" with "performance" or set a student's personal goal. Plus we can include modern piano skills that we wouldn't have time to cover in exam preparation because they aren't in the syllabus:


  • playing from lead sheets (melody line written only - student plays this in the right hand while left hand plays chords - either suggested on the lead sheet or of their own choosing.  Students can also make up their own left hand patterns within the chords).
  • playing from chord charts: sing a song and play chords with patterns chosen by them (see above)
  • improvise and create own tunes/pieces
  • play pieces purely chosen by the student


Exam material and Boards

Nowadays there are many different options for Exam boards and hence material and syllabus.  ABRSM has been the gold standard for many many years and the syllabus matches skills needed for GCSE and A Level Music preparation but Trinity and MTB are both good exam boards with accreditation. 


The way an exam is taken has also changed with different options:

  • Traditional exam board such as ABRSM taken in an exam centre/building with examiner present.
  • Performance exams that can be recorded and sent to the exam board for assessment (these can be handy if a student just wants a recognised goal to work towards rather than the test experience)