Just want to hear your views on whether you start lessons immediately and head for next grade, or take a break and if so, how long a break?

Yeah, i will usually take a break, especially if i've worked hard. Just usually 1-2 weeks. I never head straight for the next grade after í've done one. Grades shouldnt exactly be seen as levels of achievement that you just work towards. They are a standard of playing. I just take lessons and improve, and when(although not recently) my teacher and i feel i am or will be capable of taking a grade exam, then we will start working towards it.

Not necessarily a break from lessons (unless as Alias says, it's just a week or two), but certainly a break from studying exam pieces. This could be a lovely time just after your exams, when you can relax and play some pieces just for the sheer pleasure of it. Make sure that the pieces are in line with your next level so that you are still learning, but without the pressure of having to get every part of the piece 100% perfect for an exam. Concentrate, with your teacher, on learning whatever techniques you need for the next level, using the pieces that you enjoy, then when your teacher thinks you are ready to study your exam pieces, you will already have the techniques and the exam pieces will just fit into place.

I usually work on several pieces on my own, and a few more difficult ones with my teacher in the weeks after an exam, and she will give me quite a bit of fun sight-reading things, such as jazzy christmas carols

I certainly can't face moving straight onto my next grade. I'm not sure I want to play ever again, but my teacher has very cleverly given me some traditional jazz pieces knowing that I will be unable to resist!

we'll just start on the next grade on the next month or following month once after exams, depending on my exam date...

ShArOn

I've just finished my exam but my enthusiasm for the guitar is just sky high. I feel as if I'm on borrowed time as I have a growing tummy (from pregnancy) so I'm making the most of it before I get too big or before baby pops out, which ever comes first!

I'm not taking a break from guitar lessons. I'm working on a piece for fun and a piece for technique that I've decided upon but I'll ask my guitar teacher when I next see him if this is acceptable. I'd love to take Grade 7 as soon as he thinks I'm ready (assuming I've passed G6).

I'm two ahead of myself and have just ordered the Grade Four CD to choose pieces for next summer. I started practicing the grade three pieces a few weeks ago (for Easter) and I'm taking grade one next week.

But then I don't spend a lot of time on the exam pieces - they're just running along side to remind me of the standard I need to be working towards. Meanwhile I play everything I can find of about the same grade in our local music library.

I'd hate to just play the exam pieces. My keyboard teacher often comes across students who have reached a high level on the piano but can only play the exam pieces.

I usually don't go onto the next grade straight away, especially going from 7-8, for a couple of terms I just expanded my repertoire, and worked on technical issues, it was only around June this year that me doing Grade 8 in the near future was mentioned. I am glad it worked out this way, I'd much rather be a top, well rounded and good overall player, than just rushing through the grades.

I don't think that it's a good idea to go straight on to the next set of exam pieces.
After all if you pass grade 6 that demonstrates you are grade 6 level not grade 7. The next grade needs working towards. You don't usually take GCSE then A level immediately afterwards, you have to learn the things you need for the next level first.
I would start on scales for the next grade along with plenty of repertoire leading on to it.

It does depend partly on where you are in relation to the grade you're doing, ie if someone is grade 8+ standard but doing G5 for exam practice then maybe they will go on to another grade straight away.

I definitely think some consolidation time/playing other repertoire/getting away from the exam ratrace is a very good idea between exams.

ya i agree..
only playing exam pieces will be boring..
besides you can learn a lot from other pieces too..
techniques that you'll need in your further grades..
normally my teacher will let me rest for about 2 to 3 months before starting on my next grade's pieces..

I think it is best to work on pieces that will move you towards your next grade but most importantly to introduce some fun pieces after taking the exam. Music should be fun after all... exams are great alongside various other pieces - a mixture of both I think is the best thing

For the past years that i took my graded exams, i usually had my theory exams in March and practical exams around May-August. After my practical exams, my teacher would ask me to play other pieces and get more practices in Hanon, Czerny and other pieces. Then during October, she'd let me play some scales first. By January, she wants me to know all the notes played and the fingerings without dynamics and ornaments before she entered me for an exam. And during Oct to Feb of the next year, she'll concentrate more on theory and doing past years' questions. I think the CONCLUSION is, i had balanced between my theory and practical together and i did each grades a year from grade 6 onwards.

(not sure whether i'm out of this topic?!!)

Dennis~~

This is similar to how my daughter worked it for the lower grades but now she is exploring other repertoire more, although she has never been an exam pieces only person, she tends to start the exam pieces off herself whilst working on other stuff with her teacher and alone.

I think it's quite good if you can start lookingat the next lecel pieces early as you're sight reading more difficult stuff than you need for the exam. We do buy the CD's but haven't ever bought them for the next grade early.

I have to admit to be rushing a little towards grade four a little as I want to see what grade four music looks like (& I'm sure everyone knows why by now).

I often tell my pupils that the "first lesson after" is the best bit of the exam - it's behind you and you can get enthusiastic over what you want to do next!

Rushing on to the next grade is not usually something I consider at this point, unless there is a very specific need to get that grade done by a certain date. We often play through lots of possible pieces and pick something that appeals. If it's near enough the end of term, something with an appropriate holiday flavour is fun to do, but ideally anyway, something that provides a good contrast to the exam pieces just done. After an exam with a fairly heavy "classical" ( in the wider sense) content, it's often a wonderful time to explore a book of jazzy pieces.

I did my exam on Monday and am just enjoying playing anything I want to. I have, however, started on the scales etc. for the next grade and I think it's a good habit to play your new scales at the beginning of each session. DOes anyone know how you can find out what the exact techniques are for the next grade - for pieces?

http://www.abrsm.org/resources/pianoG40608.pdf

Car Expert

I must've missed something but there's loads of lovely music on the current G4 lists (IMO) I'm sure you'll enjoy it

I have to admit that my teacher in hk sort of rushed through the exams with me. He is the head of music in my former school in hk. The first year he taught me he asked me to take grade 6 and 7 piano at the same time in the same exam period. The next year he entered me for grade 5 and 6 recorder in the same exam period again, and i had not had any recorder exams before.

Now as an occasional summer part time teacher, I realise why parents want their children to get through all the grades as soon as possible. It is becos of all sorts of reasons - maybe for ucas points, maybe for bonus marks in the school's internal exams. It is very common that when parents gather together in the music centre, they will discuss with one another about their son's / daughter's learning progress. The thing 99% of them will ask is "what grade is ur son going to do?". Some of their sons who have been staying at a particular grade for a long time, they will then say that the teacher is trying to "ripoff" their money by having more lessons. Therefore, teachers will enter their students into exams as soon as / mostly have not reached the standard. However, the teachers really want their students to pass. So every lesson is about exam: 3 exam pieces, scales. However, many teachers will leave aural and sight reading to the time when exam is near - becos they take relatively fewer marks. Some teachers even ask the pupils to practise scales on their own becos it is only a memory game. For aural, some will say: if you have perfect pitch you don't need to practise - just need to familiarise with what you are going to be asked and look at some study guides for the last part of aural (as there are study guides available for aural); if you don't have perfect pitch, then sing what you can!

After passing the exam then parents will ask "when can my son do the next grade? Oh actually, i don't want him to do the next grade. Let's skip a grade or two." Then the hard work is down to the teacher again! It is a fortunate case if the student is willing to practise. Some students don't practise but their parents want them to finish all the 8 grades asap.

It is also expensive to learn a musical instruement in hk, espeically taking exams. It costs about HKD$1200, ie about £85 to take grade 8. This is why parents would prefer the children to skip grades. Few years ago my younger sister took grade 5 and her teacher asked her to skip grade 6 and 7 and took grade 8. Now she is preparing for her ATCL performance. If, from parents' point of view, their children will still get the certificate and good marks for a particular grade anyway, then what's the point in taking every grade and spend loads on the exam fees? This is a normal behaviour of a consumer.

However, I don't agree that if people skip grades they must not have a good foundation or knowledge. I knew a person who was studying at my school in hk. He was in his 2nd year of secondary school life. At that time, he had already got two LRSM performance diplomata - violin and piano. Im not sure if he "rushed" through all the grades, but even if he did i am pretty amazed!

In my opinion, grades are important - they are indication of what level you are at. I "pretend" to look for a part time job in music shops in the summer. The first thing they all asked was "what grade are you?" I know the fact that some well-paid music shops in hk reject candidates who do not have a diploma. They would definitely prefer candidates who have done a degree in music. I can't really say "I know a broad range of repertoires and musical knowledge but just don't have the grade you require" in the job interview at music shops. If grades / exams aren't important, then there will be no university exams and no classifications of what honours we get.

However, every person is an individual - everyone has their own targets and aims. We need to recognise clearly what they are and work hard for them.

maTThew

I have found reading this thread quite depressing. What has happened to learning music for the pleasure and exploring the instrument's repertoire?

I no longer live in the UK and it seems things have got much more exam orientated since I was a child. I had recorder lessons from age 6 to 11 and took no exams. With the violin (over a period of seven years) I took grades 1, 3 and 4. I had a bad experience with grade 4 and refused to take any more exams although I had lessons for another three years. On the piano (over a period of nine years) I took grades 1, 3, 4, 6 and had prepared grade 8 (although I didn't sit it as I was too stressed by A levels). Exams were just things which happened occasionally and there was certainly no idea of just a few weeks of different pieces between them.

When I was learning clarinet and then cornet in school I didn't know that instrumental exams existed.
We just played in the school and music centre bands.

One of the problems with doing exams is that it is difficult to spend much time doing non-exam stuff in the last few weeks of preparation time, and then, afterwards, there's nothing else which is quite as "up to speed" as the exam pieces - hiatus, arrrgh. I do tend to browse through the lists of music for the next exam up, but for inspiration rather than with another exam in mind - and I also go back and look through the rest of the music which I bought but didn't work up to performance level for the exam I've just done. The worst time I think is about one to two months after the exam, when everything I'm playing is new but not yet up to scratch, and the pieces I'd done for the exam have gone a bit rusty. I feel very lucky to have other musicians to play with - I didn't, much,for a couple of decades - so that I can doodle about and have some fun, even if not playing at performance level in those between times.

After exams i had not ever played the exam pieces again....

I didn't do the performance diploma, but i thought i still need to keep my playing at performance standard. However during term time i am extremely busy. The only period that im free is summer. I practised pieces like fantisie impromtu, revolutionary. I am currently working on the 3rd movement of the moonlight sonata. Need to bring it up to speed! Challenging!

maTThew

Surely that's a waste of money?! When you have grade 7 piano, you don't mention your grade 6 piano, it's the top grade that is looked at. A grade 8 by someone who took it as there first exam is seen as the same as someone who took every grade. I just don't get why your teacher would want you to take to exams in the same instrument in the same exam session, why not just work towards the higher one? That's my opinion anyway.

With my lessons, after an exam, I would do things like sightreading and playing some nice pieces for fun that my teacher thinks I would like to play. I wouldn't take a break from lessons. but it would be a time for relaxing whilst still playing.

Surely that's a waste of money?! When you have grade 7 piano, you don't mention your grade 6 piano, it's the top grade that is looked at. A grade 8 by someone who took it as there first exam is seen as the same as someone who took every grade. I just don't get why your teacher would want you to take to exams in the same instrument in the same exam session, why not just work towards the higher one? That's my opinion anyway.

I was just wondering that, why take both grades at the same time when you can just take the higher one(assuming you are capable)? As i mentioned at the beginning of this thread, i dont believe grade exams are levels that you work through like a video game, they are there to test your standard of playing. The exams dont always give an accurate representation of a person's musical ability because you cannot judge a person purely by the grade they have reached.

idiotmatthew, you'll find its not uncommon for people to skip grades, but unlike what you say, for the most part its not because parents want to rush their children through exams and that they dont want to spend money on exam fees. As is reflected from the teachers on this forum, most teachers will not enter students for their exams unless they feel the student is absolutely ready for it, regardless of the parent. Money does come into it of course, as it is awfully expensive to take every grade exam, but what counts even more is TIME. Slow progress is generally ensured if a student takes every single exam as there is little time to expand musical repertoire or technical skill because they spend too much time perfecting the exam pieces and only practising the set scales.

Which exam board was this with idiotmatthew? I've always been told that you can only enter 1 grade on each instrument in the same exam period. However, you seem to have been able to enter 2 on each instrument so I've obviously been given duff information in the past.

Having made the mistake of just working on exams pieces and reaching g8, I am now unable to play anything. It is definitely better not to rush through grades. I can't even play my old exam pieces. Anyway that is now being remedied with the fantastic new teacher I have. While we are on this topic, do teachers think it is better to teach the theory together with the instrument?

same here just that i'm not grade 8 now! and i totally agree with what you said!

ShArOn

I have been educated in Hong Kong and in the UK and I have experienced the cultures of both. I have found the attitudes of teaching and learning very different. In hk, even if you explain to parents that their children are not ready for the next grade, they will tell you all sorts of reasons (eg, their children need the grade for secondary school interviews, internal school exams). If they have failed to convince the teacher, then they simply ask the music shop to change for another teacher or go to other music shops. I have never seen any teachers (both who teach in music shops and private) who refused to enter them to higher grade exams. There are two main reasons: 1. They don't want to lose the student. There are large competitions in teaching piano and you can find loads of music shops in the same area. 2. Teachers and the piano centre can both earn more if the student proceeds to higher grades. (The higher grades you go the more expensive the lessons are). Private teachers rush grade (if demanded by parents) for simliar reasons.

In my A-level school in the UK (though im not very familiar with the system in the UK), no matter which grade the student is on, the school will only pay a fixed amount. And generally, students and teachers don't generally rush through grades.

HK is a very competitive city. Parents do want their children to have different skills - so after they grow up and if they are not able to find a job in their area of study, they can then perhaps find a part time or even full time job in teaching a musical instrument. This is one of the reasons why I didn't choose music at uni. As i mentioned in another post that i know some teachers who earn about £35 per hour and £45 per hour for teaching grade 8 and the first level of diploma respectively.

Yes - it is true that exams don't always reflect the real ability of a person. It is the same that some teachers in my A-level school who hold a PGCE but are bad in teaching. (an example only, no offence at all to people who hold a PGCE) However, it was discussed in the the teachers' forum that people who got a PGCE will be paid more. So it is a matter whether we choose to study music as an interest or as a career. For people who choose music as an interest, there is no need to rush through all the grades. For people who choose music as a career, the higher grades they have the easier they can start their career. But of course, we cannot draw a clear line between "interest" and "career".

Also, rushing through all the grades does not necessarily mean that the person can't play other pieces well.





I have been using ABRSM all the time and been sitting exams all the time in hk. I don't think there is a rule on how many grades/times you are allowed to enter in a season. My friend retook ABRSM diploma quick study 3 times within one season and he passed all three and got 3 certificates!

maTThew

Sorry Sarah - I meant I was rushing up to grade four as I've started on grade four composition now and I want to be surrounded by examples of music at that level. I'll have to slow down a bit after that - I won't be rushing on to grade six next.

My students do not spend months and months preparing for exams. I feel that they should be able to get grade exam pieces learnt in a few weeks if they are up to that standard anyway. I have had pupils who have been taught by other teachers who have started on prep test material within days of their first lesson and who have then moved through the exam grade system, taking an exam each year and spending each lesson and practice time between lessons on nothing but three exam pieces. They reach grade five having played only fifteen pieces ever and often they have not kept more than the current three in their repertoire. What a boring way to study an instrument! Take plenty of time to reach a decent standard before even thinking about an exam. Then spend time working towards the standard needed for the next one before starting the pieces for it. Skip grades if you want to but don't let exam work be the only thing that you or your pupils do. After an exam is over the pupil is usually so geared up to working to achieve perfection that for a while anyway, he or she will not be satisfied with giving a poor or badly prepared performance of any new work given. Have a rest from exam things and play for the sheer fun of it. I am always disturbed when I meet new people and, on learning that I am a musician, insist on telling me what grade their offspring are. I would much prefer to hear about their favourite composers, instruments, latest concerts or compositions and their favourite pieces than about any grade exams that they may have passed. Exams are important but so having fun with music is far more so.

The story you describe Petrat is too familiar, and one I will avoid with any of my pupils. I have someone very keen to do either grade 2 or 3 clarinet next term, and although we will look at set pieces very soon, it will only be serious work on the set pieces quite soon before the exam, and even then with other music around it. Spending months on three pieces is the most mind numbing thing anyone can inflict on themselves musically, and is totally pointless. I wonder how said people cope with sight reading in the exam.

More recently I've discovered a wealth of more fun music that can go around exam preparation, and afterwards, including playalong CDs. There's more to music than exams, though they are still good markers of progress on an instrument.

the week after my exam, while waiting for my parents to get the books / materials for the next grade, i will work on some other pieces not in the exam syllabus.
helps to build up technique, etc, etc?

I dont quite understand... what do people mean by ''i cant play anything else other than exam pieces''? That they can only play the pieces that they have practised for their exam, or that they can only play the genre of pieces chosen to be used in exams? Because a lot of pieces that i have/am/will play are or similar to those chosen for exam syllabuses... i dont see what's wrong with being able to play nocturnes, preludes, sonatas, e.t.c... afterall, what else can you play?

I dont quite understand... what do people mean by ''i cant play anything else other than exam pieces''?

I think what they mean is they have worked through only the pieces required for the exam syllabus - ie with three pieces per grade they have got to grade 8 by learning just 24 pieces (and nothing else!).

There's nothing wrong, as you say, with learning lots of pieces that are (or could be) on the syllabus, but I in some cases that's not what they do. The difference is LOTS of pieces, and having a choice between exams.

The "exam only" approach is difficult to understand for those of us who teach and learn in a broader or more "all round" sort of way. If you do exams and nothing else at all you miss out a lot on the way of course, and in some cases end up learning the pieces almost by rote, because other skills can get neglected with this sort of approach. I hope this helps - I'm sure what you are doing is fine.

I once joined a group that had all got G1 in the summer term (except me, I was planning to take G1 at Xmas). The autumn term was spent learning the upper register. Immediately after Xmas, the teacher recommended the group to skip G2 and go straight to G3 in the summer term. The whole of the period from January onwards was then spent on G3 exam pieces and we played nothing else but the three exam pieces which the teacher chose (although I still decided to take G2 with my 1-2-1 teacher instead of jumping to G3).

Everybody passed G3 as it happens, but we're all now with a different teacher, playing lots of different pieces ....

When I was a child I was only motivated to practise exam pieces. The majority of non exam pieces that my teacher tried to teach me I just didn't practise. As an adult, I'm trying to be as good as I can, I enjoy playing and I don't have parents pressurising me for results so things are different now.

After exmas, I usually have a rest from exam pieces for about a couple of months , try to expand my repertoire far from the exams stress.

I'm taking my gr 3 in December and my teachers already started me on my gr 4 pieces.

What usually happens is that I take a week or two off. I play for pleasure. I still play for pleasure until I get my exam results and If now I pass ( taking Grade 6 on Friday ) I will do Grade 8 as much as I love the Piano I really want to start the Clarinet. I will still play Piano for pleasure and teach a few people but I want to start my clarinet as soon as possible..

Oh how I agree with both of you Petra/Neil. I cannot think of anything worse than spending all your playing time on three pieces for months on end, and worse, having played those 3 pieces over and over again, then immediately going onto another 3 pieces, and doing the same thing. It is SO important to have a broad education in the instrument of your choice, and to play lots of different pieces, and that isn't going to happen with 8 groups of three pieces.

There is more, much more, to playing an instrument than just the exam syllabus......

I cannot imagine just playing 3 exam pieces... I'm in too many ensembles for that!