Hi all,

I have recently taken a pupil through her grade 5 flute (she failed the first one but I'm still waiting to hear whether she passed the second time). I don't think she will want to carry on up the grades, also I can see Grade 5 Theory being a problem for her!

Her mum is quite keen for her to keep up her playing even if she doesn't do any more exams, so any ideas what I can do to keep her developing but keep it fun at the same time? It would be nice to do a bit more than just learn piece after piece - I was thinking maybe duets or popular play-along arrangements, but how can I keep her enthusiastic between lessons too?

I think this is difficult! Grades give musicians something to aim for. I would suggest joining a windband, or something like that! Get the pupil playing with others, and other students may encourage this particular pupil to continue with Grades, if they themselves are doing them. Maybe the student just needs a break aswell? They might want to get back into it after a few months

A half of my pupils do not take exams through choice. It can be quite stressful for some; it can be rather limiting in thier repertoire learning, etc. I certainly do not think taking the exams is the only way to learning to play a musical instrument or to understand music.

For those pupils who don't take exams, I encourage performing in public such as concerts, festivals, assemblies at school etc, so that there is sometimes a goal to achieve, although I do this to all of my pupils. Playing with others is particularly important for all musicians as playing music develops social, communication skills. So joinging local band or even arranging duet, trio etc with your other pupils would be great fun!

At Grade 5 level, there are a plenty of materials.
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Thanks for the help!

I don't think a break would be good for her as I fear she may never start again. I had been thinking of arranging a mini-concert by my pupils sometime anyway so I could arrange something for them to play together, or for her to choose a piece she enjoys playing rather than being required to for the exam. Now the only problem is finding a day that suits them all....

Keep your suggestions coming all! She still has quite a bit of technique to learn so how to make this fun?