Grade 5 Theory, Entering theory at Grade 5 Options

[Hulk]

Hi, I just have a question about theory.

In my school, they decided that when a pupil reached grade 5 on any instrument, that is when they would start Grade 5 theory, reagrdless of whether they had done any other theory.

I wanted more opinions on this matter, do you think it is a good idea, or should pupils (including myself) have prior experience to theory, at lower grades?

Cheers, Hulk.

[saxlover]

i would start theory at a lower practical grade rather than wait until they are grade 5 on an instrument

[Hulk]

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Mar 10 2005, 07:02 PM)

i would start theory at a lower practical grade rather than wait until they are grade 5 on an instrument

I thought about that as well, but on some level, we (the pupils) do learn some theory in our normal music classes.

[neil.clarinet]

Theory should be treated on its own, and people should not read too much by what practical level you are at. Obviously you need this exam for any above grade 5, so maybe this is why.

[noodle]

It would be a good idea to start theory sooner and work through all the workbooks rather than begin at grade 5. I'm sure you have picked up some theory from your practical work, so you will know about keys etc, but it would be a good idea to learn the rules for grouping notes, writing rests, compound time etc before you start working on the grade 5 book. You really need to work on the rudiments of theory from the beginning so that when you get to grade 5 you don't lose marks for something you should have learnt at grade 3 perhaps. It would be a bit like starting to watch a film 40 minutes from the end.

[jo.clarinet]

I make sure that my pupils begin doing some theory work as soon as they've been doing lessons for a few weeks. In this way the theory keeps pace with the practical, and when they need the Grade 5 in order to do Grade 6 practical, they've usually already got it, so there isn't any problem or delay.

[Andy-piano-flute]

I think theory should be done parallel to the learning of an instrument like my kids do - they do piano & the theory workbooks & exams as well. In my day - a long time ago I was told one week that I would be doing the Gr 5 theory exam the next week cos I would need it do Gr 6 cello. I hadn't done any other theory exams or any sort of structured theory & scraped a pass ( probably on common sense & good luck). Wouldn't recommend it as an ideal way of doing it.

[Deborah]

It can be done - I hadn't done any theory before Grade 5, although I had picked up quite alot through playing (Italian terms, compound time, key signatures and ornaments spring immediately to mind). That said, it's hard work, particularly if you are only used to treble clef. In my day you only had to know bass clef for Grade 5 theory, but the current syllabus includes alto and tenor clefs too.

To make matters worse, one of the peris ran a theory class after school, and I didn't join for about a term and a half, so had even more to catch up on. In spite of this, I still passed.

If there's any way you can learn theory as you go along, then go for it! It'll be much easier in the long run.

[Rainbow]

I think that theory should definitely be started well before Grade 5 practical is taken. I'm probably not taking grade 5 viola till 2006 but I passed my theory last November and I think that it's helped my understanding of what I'm playing.

[sbhoa]

As Noodle suggets, I would go through all workbooks from grade 1 to back everything up.

Although you have not done formal theory you have probably picked up quite a lot in your instrument learning (sounds as though you have from your posts).
Grade 5 was the first theory exam I did and i went through all boooks from the start and found that useful even though I had pretty well picked up enough theory to have passed the exam by that point anyway.

[all ears]

Viohazard is facing theory starting from Grade 5...I think it isn't impossible if you already have a good practical understanding of music - it's mostly a matter of fitting names to concepts. At this point, I think that what he has to learn is chords and cadences...and even there, classic guitar helps with learning chords.

edited to say....no matter how much you "sort of" know, it's worth starting at Grade One with the workbooks...

[AmandaL]

I've inherited students from teachers who consider music theory a totally seperate subject. I agree with lots of other views here, it should be taught alongside the practical work so that the student is at least at the same theoretical level of understanding as the music they are playing.

I had one student for whom Grade 5 theory and Grade 5 practical became a glass ceiling. Her previous teacher (and RCM graduate at that) had taught her to play the violin by numbers, rather than learning to read the music - yes, there are teachers out there who number the fingers and cross reference it with strings, ie. E1, D3 etc. This particular student eventually gave up on achieving Grade 5 theory because she was struggling even with Grade 2 material. It was a pity, but it proves the point that theory and practical musicianship should go hand in hand from day one.

It's interesting to note that I find students who have a reasonable music theory understanding before they take up an instrument, generally tend to progress much quicker in their practical achievements.

[Semele]

Theory should be taught alongside the practical.It`s accumulative knowledge.No one would consider entering a child for SATS without working through the syllabus first.

If I have start teaching a pupil who has been to a previous teacher where theory has been neglected,we work through the ABRSM workbooks from Grade 1 up to their same level of playing, sitting past papers between each grade.

[Fletch]

Would the decision on when to introduce theory, not depend on each individual who is taught?
Some can easily store knowledge on a particular subject that others are not so hot with.
I think we can all agree that some pupils have a natural ear and/or talent, which means that a not necessarily academically gifted student, may well be a gifted player of a particular instrument, even if they are learning the instrument from scratch. And although that student may well advance in short order through practical examinations, they may struggle with written examinations.

[sbhoa]

Theory is not only for exams.
The necessary theory can be incorporated into lessons with very little written work if that is a problem.
Understanding note names, time values key sigantures and other performance directions is a part of learning to play an instrument.