LRSM - viva voce how much background is required? Options

[Clari_notts]

One other thought for you, when the result comes in maybe you could ask your teacher to contact the board and query any commentary with the examiners. I did this for my dip as some of the comments were a little strange and we wanted to understand how to change things going forward. We found the board and the specialist examiner more than happy to explain a bit more of the backgound to the comments - but you do have to get in fast to give them a chance of remembering your exam!! Maybe worth a thought.

[Lucysop]

One other thought for you, when the result comes in maybe you could ask your teacher to contact the board and query any commentary with the examiners. I did this for my dip as some of the comments were a little strange and we wanted to understand how to change things going forward. We found the board and the specialist examiner more than happy to explain a bit more of the backgound to the comments - but you do have to get in fast to give them a chance of remembering your exam!! Maybe worth a thought.

Thanks will bear that in mind. I'm getting a bit more of a general feel for the areas to be covered and have done the majority of what seems to be being discussed. I'm happy to keep expanding my knowledge regardless of the outcome and if I need to resit it will only be a positive thing for my background knowledge!!! You might guess that its something that I often tell my graduate students when I can't pass them on some of their vivas too, it is true though.

Good luck with your FRSM preparations, not easy deciding on your topic!

[jod]

One other thought for you, when the result comes in maybe you could ask your teacher to contact the board and query any commentary with the examiners. I did this for my dip as some of the comments were a little strange and we wanted to understand how to change things going forward. We found the board and the specialist examiner more than happy to explain a bit more of the backgound to the comments - but you do have to get in fast to give them a chance of remembering your exam!! Maybe worth a thought.

Thanks will bear that in mind. I'm getting a bit more of a general feel for the areas to be covered and have done the majority of what seems to be being discussed. I'm happy to keep expanding my knowledge regardless of the outcome and if I need to resit it will only be a positive thing for my background knowledge!!! You might guess that its something that I often tell my graduate students when I can't pass them on some of their vivas too, it is true though.

Good luck with your FRSM preparations, not easy deciding on your topic!

That sounds very positive. I suppose the one thing I originally missed when I graduated was the environment I'd been in that made it very easy to expand my knowledge. Then I realised I could do it anyway. The real turning point was after having my first child. I was not going to be stuck in a world consisting of 'Peepo' and Tellytubbies', and with the birth of the internet, found I could access 2nd hand bookshops via the internet, and various journals that way too. Bingo I was back in business. Since then if has been a subject I've been interested in I have not stopped. I have talked my way into libraries and found various scholars through networking (not just the facebook kind) and talking to people. It has been tremendous fun.

Close proximity to Cambridge is an advantage. Academically it is a large village, and often friends of friends can make useful introductions, especially when they find you genuinely want to learn. I could have gone the nepotism route. My mother, uncle and step-father all have Cambridge degrees, but I'd rather do things on my own and only mention my relationship to them at a later date. It works far better. I already had an experience at a conference being trotted around as 'mother's name' daughter and was actually quite embarassing! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush.gif) Even though the other delegates were saying some very pleasant things about her. However then hearing 'no wonder you are so articulating was positively nauseating. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ill.gif)

Besides, by then I had friends in other circles I had met myself who were making other introductions.

The best advice I can give is start as general as possible. You really went in at a too detailed level too early. The one volume general guide is often better than the multi-volume work like Grove. Also look at the works themselves and bring some of you into it. How do see the character? What characters in Opera does this character remind you of. Music is an aural medium , listen to it. Whose compositions other than the composer's does this remind you of? Ferret around do something original.

The greatest compliment I got from my musicology lecturer was that even without the spelling mistakes, he could always tell which essay was mine without looking at the name on the front page as it was different from the others- good different, not bad. I looked answered the question from my own perspective, reasoned it and came to my own conclusions. If you have to resit, try to do this with these programme notes and your viva. Make it yours. You would try to with your performance, now approach the programme notes and viva too.

[Wai Kit Leung]

My personal experience was, the more I was able to answer, the more the examiner asked. It is normal that they want to explore your limits in the exam, in order to get a good assessment of your breath of knowledge. For my Advanced Certificate (pre-DipABRSM days) on bassoon, I was quizzed on stuff like Elgar's teenage years and Leon Goossens's family. Even though I only managed to answer 70% of the questions (most of them very hard), I got a high mark for my efforts. It is good to have someone asking you lots of questions prior to the exam, to keep you on your toes. If you need help, please let me know.

[Lucysop]

My personal experience was, the more I was able to answer, the more the examiner asked. It is normal that they want to explore your limits in the exam, in order to get a good assessment of your breath of knowledge. For my Advanced Certificate (pre-DipABRSM days) on bassoon, I was quizzed on stuff like Elgar's teenage years and Leon Goossens's family. Even though I only managed to answer 70% of the questions (most of them very hard), I got a high mark for my efforts. It is good to have someone asking you lots of questions prior to the exam, to keep you on your toes. If you need help, please let me know.

Hi
Thanks for sharing your own experiences. The few extremely learned professionals I've spoken to, think that the examiners may well have been stretching me too. The results will be out in just over 2 weeks time so I will find out soon enough. Your offer of help is very welcome too.
Will keep you posted. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[jod]

Having just heard that Dawn has passed her DipABRSM and the night before she was picking my brains re her viva. I hope your result is as successful.

[Lucysop]

Hi there
Can I thank those of you who have contributed to this thread, it has been useful to me and tomorrow when I am feeling less frazzled I'll make a summary from my own experience and your suggestions.

I recieved my results today and was very pleased to have passed respectably. I managed 20 in the viva voce which suggests that the examiners were, indeed, stretching me!

Lucysop (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif)

[muffinmonster]

Congratulations! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)