Grade 1 piano Options

[pianolady]

Hi all,

I have 2 pupils to prepare for grade 1 piano taking place Nov/Dec this year.

Could I ask for advice from about how long generally you spend with students on preparing for this exam. I realise this depends on how quickly/slowly each individual progresses/practices etc, but I would be interested in your opinions. In the past I've allotted about 3 months to prepare for grade 1 - includes everything - pieces, scales, aural, sight-reading, and anything else we might want to do along the way, and alittle extra time should anyone be ill/not available for lessons etc. The problem I find is that if I allot too much time the student gets bored and the pieces sound stale. Not enough time then everyone gets stressed. Rant over, I'd be interested in your comments.

[jenny]

I usually start work on exam pieces anywhere between 4 and 6 months in advance and get them up to a reasonable level, which means being able to play with hands together but probably a little slower than required in the exam. Then I give them a rest and bring them out again around 6 - 8 weeks before the exam date, when we get them up to speed and work on details. This, of course, can vary from pupil to pupil, with some learning quicker than others. I work on scales and sight reading in every lesson with all pupils, so there is never a last minute panic over these. I work on aural tests every 2 or 3 lessons, but include them in every lesson as we near the exam date.
My golden rule is that I never put anyone in for an exam unless I'm sure they will pass. My families all know this and seem happy to trust my judgement. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[porilo]

My golden rule is that I never put anyone in for an exam unless I'm sure they will pass.

Better not to say that. I happened to mention a few months ago that I have never had a failure in 25 years of teaching and following my post I received lots of negative comments along the lines of "well, you only enter pupils if you are sure they will pass". Of course I do! I never enter anyone if I think they will fail. What is the point of entering someone for an exam unless you are as sure as possible that they will pass? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[maggiemay]

My general guideline is that we work on scales and broken chords during the preceding term, (if they are not already familiar), and start the pieces during the second half of the preceding term.

Then, if the intervening holiday does not wreck practice! we aim to go ahead. My ideal is to have most scales secure and two or three pieces half-familiar by the closing date. A bit more flexibility perhaps in the autumn term which is longer. Of course there is huge difference in candidates and being a first exam, it is sometimes tricky to take this accurately into account. I set a deadline (my own) for completion and we work towards that: this term it's the middle of May. Some of my pupils have a 'leavers' trip' week followed by the half term break - not ideal, and normally there is a week's gap between half term and the start of exams, but here, at least, it's not the case this time.

My feeling is that for first timers, the trickiest thing to take on board is that once learnt, things must be kept up.
'I could play that two weeks ago' has caused a few mishaps! I find that this is often the hardest lesson: that I don't hear everything every week but that most youngsters need to keep playing things now and then once they are known.

I have a couple this time who are probably not going to be put in for the exam. One worked on pieces moderately well in the Easter holiday, but not scales. The other dragged her feet last term on scales and arpeggios, and re-learnt a piece (attempting to catch up!) with wrong rhythm in the holidays.

As has been mentioned, I like to feel fairly confident by the closing date that the candidate stands a good chance of success. There are not many who would be helped by a fail. If in doubt I make a point of discussing it with mum or dad. Assuming we are talking about youngsters here.

[Seer_Green]

It's very hit and miss as there are so many unknown quantities! For example, someone sitting and exam in the summer (which in theory could be any time from the second week in June) usually starts at least after Christmas. This isn't because it takes a full six months to prepare, but because in reality, with school holidays etc, it often only adds up to about 20 lessons which isn't that many.

That said, an adult pupil who's been doing just this is ready now with about six weeks to spare for the first possible date. That's not such a bad thing as we can just put the exam stuff aside for a few weeks.

I agree with Maggie that by the closing date, most of the sections need to be reasonably passable. Three months prep might be OK, but it depends where they are level-wise at the beginning of that three months. First-timers are particularly tricky as you just don't know how they'll respond to the 'pressure' of a 'deadline' - some go full steam ahead, others wander about then suddenly realise they've only got a few lessons left. I tend to find that once they've done one exam, they find it easier to plan their prep for future ones.

[lorraineliyanage]

I take longer to prepare my students for piano exams. The shortest period has been about 5 months, the longest around 4 terms, although I try not to let it go to 4 terms and this is usually only when I have a particularly lazy student!

I mostly start off on the scale book and aural, then chuck in a non-exam piece or two that is quite easy but with the aim of building sight-reading skills. I drip feed the pieces to them but I don't use any of the published exam book pieces, so quite often they may have already learned an exam piece but not known it because it didn't come in an ABRSM book.

I also only enter students when I think they can comfortably pass. Most of my students will have done a few mock exams plus played their pieces at 2 or 3 festivals so that is good for boosting confidence and preparing for performing on the day.

[Czerny]

I also only enter students when I think they can comfortably pass. Most of my students will have done a few mock exams plus played their pieces at 2 or 3 festivals so that is good for boosting confidence and preparing for performing on the day.

Sorry to go off topic briefly - which festivals do your pupils compete in?

[lorraineliyanage]

Sorry to go off topic briefly - which festivals do your pupils compete in?

Mostly the South London ones as we are out in the sticks - Croydon, Coulsdon, Bromley. Do you enter any for those (not sure if you are local?)

[Czerny]

Sorry to go off topic briefly - which festivals do your pupils compete in?

Mostly the South London ones as we are out in the sticks - Croydon, Coulsdon, Bromley. Do you enter any for those (not sure if you are local?)

East Dulwich is Zone 2, isn't it?!

Occasionally, but not many pupils have been keen to participate.

[lorraineliyanage]

East Dulwich is Zone 2, isn't it?!

Occasionally, but not many pupils have been keen to participate.

The very edges of Zone 2 but no tube here, plus a bus ride away to the nearest train station (which is not East Dulwich!). I used to live in Zone 1, so it's all very weird getting used to not being able to walk or bus it to the centre of town in 15 mins!

It takes a lot of cajoling to get some students to play in the festivals. I have a bunch of students that can't wait to do the festivals as they love them, but the majority are too nervous of making a pig's ear of it, so they don't do it. Or the parents don't return the payment on time so they miss the deadline to enter.

[dolce@piano]

The last couple of years I've entered pupils in the Nov/Dec slot.

My kids (in France) have a huge summer holiday and so my recent rule of thumb is to have learnt one piece before the summer holidays to a reasonable standard, to have started the basics of another (maybe just a couple of pre-piece exercises or whatever), to have done at least half of the scales, and sight-reading and aural are constant works in progress.

So when we kick off in mid-September with two/three months to go, there's one piece to be learnt from scratch, one to be worked on and one to brushed up and polished off. Plus the rest of the scales etc.

It's been a bit stressful, to be honest, but previously, when they were entered in summer, I used to start too early (couldn't help myself) and we'd all get bored and they'd all pass fine but I wasn't really sure they were the proper level, more just polished up for the exam if you know what I mean.

[pianolady]

Thanks for your comments, I appreciate it. Yes the pupils I am preparing for grade 1 are aged 10. I guess my hesitation came from the fact that they both took prep test this time last year. One girl had learnt everything in 2 weeks, and was SO bored by the time the test date came around. The other one took a lot longer (which I was surprised about because they are very similar when it comes to learning new pieces). I'm going to start them on grade 1 pieces quite soon, we've already started aural and scales as part of each lesson anyway, and their sight reading is good because we sight read duets together a lot.