Abrsm - Trinity Options

[Reid1810]

I have currently passed my Grade 5 piano with ABRSM, however, i found they marked me quite harshly as i though i did better. I am considering moving to Trinity for my Grade 6, would you suggest this for someone who has done grades 1-5 with abrsm or do you think infact it would have a negative effect on my playing? As i found that one of my weakest points is scales for grade 6 ABRSM you need to learn about 60 scales more than what you do for trinity.
all comments will be very helpful. Thanks

[SueHM]

There is no reason why switching exam boards should have a negative effect on your playing. The requirements and marking scheme are slightly different for TG, and there are technical exercise in place of some of the scales. Also you don't need grade 5 theory for TG higher grades, whereas you do for AB. The standard required for both boards is very similar, so it won't be any easier to do well with TG. It might be worth finding out a bit about your local TG centre - as with AB, they can be quite variable...

[porilo]

for grade 6 ABRSM you need to learn about 60 scales more than what you do for trinity.

I know nothing about Trinity exams but if for ABRSM you need to learn 60 scales more, then how many do you need to learn for Trinity?

[Clari Nicki1]

I have pupils who do both boards.... switching isn't a problem. The way the exam is marked is slightly different. Make sure you read the Trinity marking guidelines and the syllabus options carefully. The aural requirements are different too. For some of my pupils the way the pieces are marked is beneficial and they have had higher marks than they had in AB (or maybe that was just because with the options, you can play to the candidate's strength and eg, not do scales!).

Lots of the pieces are on both boards' syllabi

[jm-hamilton]

Yes, you do have to do a lot more scales for ABRSM, but for Trinity you need to do three exercises as well as some scales. If you feel your weakness is in playing scales then maybe Trinity would suit you better, but I don't think it is any easier than ABRSM, just different.

[sbhoa]

Piano scales for Trinity grade 6 are Bb and D major and Bb and D minor (harmonic and melodic).
Both scales and arpeggios in these keys are 4 octaves.
Chromatic scale in similar motion starting on Bb and D.
Dim 7 starting on Bb and D.
Dom 7 IN Bb and D and ON Bb and D.
All these are hands together legato, staccato, forte, mezzo forte or piano as requested by examiner!

Also C major in double 3rds hand separately one octave and legato only.

I Think I prefer playing scales in all keys without the added complication of articulation and dynamics.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

There are also 3 short technical exercises. These are a choice of 3 out of 6.

Demands for pieces are about the same with the marks for each piece being split 3 ways..... Technical , musical and communication if I remember correctly.

[Aquarelle]

I am teaching Grade 6 Trinity for the first time and definitely don't much like it. This is purely personnal and I'm sure lots of teachers like this syllabus or prefer it to the ABRSM.

I don't like the Trinity approach to scales and I heartily dislike their technical exercises which I think are rather pointless.. I think it is much more useful for pupils to have a solid knowledge of all the tonalities and although I do have some grouses about the AB (for example about the huge leap between Grades 1 and 2) I certainly prefer their approach. I'm not that keen on the present Trinity Grade 6 pieces either.

However I certainly don't think switching boards would have a negative effect on one's playing. If you prefer the syllabus - go ahead. You can always do the AB Grade 6 later if you feel like it.

[Robodoc]

My impression (shoot me down if you want) is that far more people think they were marked harshly by ABRSM examiners than think they were marked fairly and almost no-one thinks they were marked generously. I am tempted to wonder whether perhaps most people (including me) listen to their own performances with the aural equivalent of rose-coloured spectacles.

Why switch to Trinity? Why not? Does it really make that much difference in the long term? I suspect probably not, given that they examine slightly different things.

Whatever you choose to do, and wherever you decide to go with your music, good luck & enjoy the journey!

[flobiano]

My impression (shoot me down if you want) is that far more people think they were marked harshly by ABRSM examiners than think they were marked fairly and almost no-one thinks they were marked generously. I am tempted to wonder whether perhaps most people (including me) listen to their own performances with the aural equivalent of rose-coloured spectacles.

Interesting observation - there is a thread on the teachers forum about predicting exam results with the opposite conclusion, that people tend to assume they have done worse than they have.

I'm guessing the reality is somewhere in the middle - some people think they play better than they do, some people think they are worse than they really are...but the people who think they have been hard done by and undermarked are more likely to be vociferous about it. People very rarely complain about doing better than they thought they had! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I thought the marks for my exam were fair and each section was generally within 1 or 2 marks of my estimate , though in all cases the examiner was more generous to me than I was to myself so my overall mark ended up being significantly higher than expected.

[Robodoc]

. . . People very rarely complain about doing better than they thought they had! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Good point!

[anacrusis]

Both boards have their pros and cons, and the qualifications you get at grade level are considered equivalent for each. Both will demand parallel standards of playing, and since there is no one way to make progress in music, you should go for the one which allows you to learn well. Sometimes it can be hard to know as a student what it is you need to know, not least because it depends what you want to do with your music as you learn it. Since both boards provide a spread of tasks for candidates to demonstrate their abilities, they will also probably provide enough of a range of skills for most purposes, which is what is important.

I do happen to believe in playing to your strengths - yes, make sure you know what your weaknesses are, and seek to work round them if they matter, but don't let them get in the way of progress (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif).

[Reid1810]

Thanks to all who commented greatly apprechiated.
I felt i was marked genorously on my sight reading (as frankly i am awful) but it was just one of my pieces, i worked very hard on this piece and when it came to the time i didnt do any major mistakes and i couldnt understand why he gave me such a low mark, but as you said i could be looking at it with rosy- coloured specticales.
The fact of having to have grade 5 theory for ABSRM doesnt bother me as i currently passed my grade 4 in Nov. and am starting grade 5 in Jan and whether i do switch to Trinity or not i still want to carry on with my theory.
Howver i was just wondering dor ABRSM the new books are for 2011-2012 which means the last date which you can take the exam is at the start of 2013 ( i think i am right :S ) but for Trinity it says on the book ( from what i have gathered from the website) 2011. so does that mean the last date i can take the excam is at the start of 2012, as i poersonally dont think i will have my grade 6 completed in a year.
All comments greatly apprechiated (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Enharmonic Change]

Very interesting TG vs ABRSM discussion and at the risk of opening up a hornet's nest .... I have a fair bit of experience in accompanying pupils in ABRSM exams and generally I'm pretty good at guessing the final mark - and never does it vary wildly from my estimate - I find there is consistent marking at ABRSM. As far as I can recall I've never accompanied in a TG exam - until this term - when I accompanied a Grade 7 flute - a musical child but totally unprepared. She did scales first so I stood outside - a total 'mare - not one was fluent and some were aborted. The 2 accompanied pieces were musically interpreted (nice phrasing, lots of dynamics) but with many technical faults and poor intonation. I didn't hear the rest of the exam. Anyway, as I usually do, I predicted a final mark in my own mind - border line pass but possible fail. How wrong was I - 80/100 ! The girl was as flabbergasted as I - I know this because she's my daughter!
I'm not saying TG is easier, maybe just different - the comments (which were much more comprehensive than anything I've seen from ABRSM) seem to give great attention to musicality and performance and only a brief mention of technique and inaccuracies - and why not.
Vowing to gve up the instrument on leaving the exam room my daughter is now thinking about Grade 8 - with TG of course !!

[andante]

If you read the TG syllabus it says the marks for each section are split into three parts, and then it goes on to describe them as something like "Me and the instrument" " Me and the music" "Me and the audience" .

Found the relevant bit:
The mark out of 22 for each piece is made up of 3 component marks, awarded for:

? Notational Accuracy & Fluency: How well the notes are prepared and realised. More conveniently thought of as: ?Me and the Music?

? Technical Facility: Instrumental control and the ability to draw the most from the instrument; tone colour, articulation, pedalling etc.: ?Me and the Instrument?

? Communication: How well the candidate interprets the music, engages the audience and conveys a sense of the meaning of the music they are playing:
?Me and the Audience?

This clearly shows what they are looking for in a way I haven't found the other boards explaining as clearly (although it may be there and I haven't found it)

If you then go on to look at the marking scheme:

For the first two of the above three elements pass is 4 marks, merit is 5 and distinction is 6 or 7, for communication it is pass 5 merit 6 dist 7or 8.

So if they think your technical facility in a piece is worth a merit there is only one mark they can give! The marking scheme description I have seen for AB feels a bit more wooly. ( Are there 2 Ls in wooly? woolly? looks weird either way)

However it feels to me that it is hard to get a really top mark, because as it is only out of 100 they would have to give full marks for things and few of us are perfect!

[Alicia Ocean]

The last Trinity exam I did was G5 Singing and the marking system really helped me. I passed despite not being very tuneful - the technical stuff was only a third of the marks and I'm just not a natural at keeping to a pitch (or finding it in the first place), but I was given credit for my interpretation (at one point the examiner stood up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush.gif) ) and presentation of the songs. While I'll never be one of those with a pure clear tuneful voice I felt my (great) efforts at learning to sing and deliver a song were rewarded by Trinity in a way the AB wouldn't have done.