Quite a few people have been asking about the AB Teaching Diplomas recently, so I thought that before I forgot, I would share with you my experience of yesterdays DipABRSM in Piano Teaching in case it is useful to anyone!

Firstly, although the syllabus states that no experience of teaching is required or expected, my feeling is that it would be very difficult to get the most out of the exam without having done some teaching previously. I think the conversation would be limited if a candidate wasn’t able to draw on actual experiences.

The examiner started by asking about my experience to date and about what I enjoyed most in my teaching. I talked quite a lot about the great variation in the pupils one is presented with – the different experiences they come with, the different aspirations and the different ages. I talked about the way in which this has enhanced and enriched my teaching experience.

Talking about different backgrounds people come from, this led on nicely to talking about what I did in the first lesson for a beginner. Here I talked at length about the need to ensure sound musical foundations – particularly, the understanding of pitch, pulse and rhythm – we talked about how I taught these and how I had been able to develop methods which remain fundamentally the same, but which can be adapted to the individual pupil.

I talked quite a bit about my dislike for tutor books and I showed them some alternative materials which I had taken – exercises, studies, short pieces etc. This led on to talking about the importance of improvisation, eventually leading to composition. I showed them the kinds of materials I might use as improvisation ‘starters’ and tied this in with the need to emphasise the concepts of exploration and experimentation in the early stages. I talked a bit about taking the front of the piano and seeing how it worked and allowing the students to explore and discover for themselves what the instrument could do. The second examiner asked what would be the case for someone who had an electric piano or a keyboard at home – I said that a lot could still be explored and experimented with, although I hoped they didn’t go home and dismantle their instruments!

We then talked a bit about repertoire for those approaching the Prep Test – I hadn’t really taken anything suitable along with me, so the conversation steered towards the many different styles and genres available. I talked about the fact that most pupils had particular areas of repertoire which they liked best, but I also emphasised the need to try all sorts of different styles; I explained that in my experience, most pupils are open to trying most styles, and many are surprised by the outcome. I did show them one book which has recently come out called ‘Just or Starters’ which included a whole range of styles of pieces for Grades 1-3. I was able to point out that in these cost-conscious days, it was important to choose publications which would serve the pupil over a long period of time.

Eventually, we talked about repertoire for those approaching Grade 6. I’d taken a few pieces along, and I pointed out about the standard books such as ‘A Romantic Sketchbook’ and ‘Keyboard Anthology.’ This led nicely into then talking specifically about the three pieces chosen from the Grade 6 book. At this point I went over to sit at the piano – I thought that it would have been good if the examiner had come too so that I didn’t have to shout across the room, but it seemed to work out well in the end. We worked through them A, B and C and he asked me to play about the first eight bars of each.

For the first piece he asked what I thought would pose problems – I talked about the tricky ornamentation and the need to keep the touch light. I explained about the importance of understanding the phrase structure and how this can help develop an individual expressive interpretation in a piece with no dynamics. He asked whether I thought the tempo marking was suitable – I thought this was an odd question really, and it was practically the only one where I couldn’t really see what he was getting at – in the end, I said that I thought the tempo marking given was a little quick and that I would rather hear an unrushed light touch than a hurried catastrophe (examiners both laughed!)

In the second piece, the examiner asked about the difficulties with pedalling – this is was what I’d expected, although I thought it could be demonstrated much better later on in the piece, so I shuffled the conversation on to there which didn’t seem to matter! He also asked about rubato, and I talked about the need to understand the concept of the word – I talked about various things including waving handkerchiefs in the air! The third piece was mainly concerned with balance and expression – I talked about the need to have heard other music by Satie – I emphasised the importance of drawing on pieces pupils may know already, for example the first of the Gymnopedie’s, often heard in adverts and suchlike.

Finally, they asked me to clarify a few points in my written submission; although they didn’t really ask any questions directly about its contents, I thought that its subject matter – aural and sight-reading – really set the tone for all the other parts of the viva. They asked one question about child protection, and I talked about the need to present oneself as professionally as possible – contracts, support of ISM, respect and trust.

As for the Quick Study, I thought this was very easy – more like Grade 3-4 standard than 6. I certainly didn’t need the five minutes preparation time – I’d have been happy for them to mark my first play through!

Finally, they asked whether I had anything else to show them – I’d taken some photos of some student concerts and they were obviously impressed – it gave me a very brief opportunity to talk about the importance of performing and playing with others (duets, ensembles etc.). I took a couple of pieces I had written so as to point out that when I can’t find anything suitable, I write my own, and that was it! They both wished me well and thanked me for coming.

Overall, it was very informal. There was a lot of scope for talking about what you want to talk about rather than necessarily being led entirely by the examiners’ questions. They came across as being genuinely interested in what you did and what you had to offer. There certainly weren’t any questions which I wasn’t able to answer, though they challenged a few of the things I said. In general though, I stuck to my guns – I think that sometimes, they’re just interested to see how easily they can change your point of view!

The main problem is that the exam is so short, meaning that I didn’t always have chance to clarify some of the points I’d made – it felt hurried, and the examiner did tend to interrupt me in full flow! I thought that even an extra 10 minutes would have made a lot of difference overall. I’d taken about 20 books including all the grade books, though in fact, we referred only to the Grade 6 pieces, and to about 4-5 of the other books. I think this is quite difficult, as you don’t know what the questions are going to be! If I had to make a criticism of anything, it was the fact that there wasn’t anywhere safe at the venue to leave bags and coats, so I had to take two bags of music, coat and umbrella into the exam with me!

Generally, I found it a really enjoyable experience, but we shall see what the results say…

This has turned into a bit of an essay, but I hope it’s helpful for anyone considering the DipABRSM in Teaching!

David

Well done David, sounds like you've done the job

Thank you David, this is enormously helpful - great you remembered it all, even 24 hours later I think I'd have struggled to remember what happened in an exam.

Well done, David - it all sounds very positive and you were obviously very well prepared.

Thank you so much for letting us know what your experience was like - I'm sure this be very useful for a lot of people on this forum.

Do let us know the outcome, won't you? And all the best for your upcoming break from teaching!

Sounds good David

I agree with you about feeling rushed. Actually I think I was asked too many 'closed questions' that I could only answer yes or no to. Like 'have you done some teaching?' rather than 'tell me about your experiences so far?'. I wasn't invited to elaborate and the examiner launched straight in to questions about tutor books for beginners. I felt I started on the wrong foot. Also my whole exam was at the piano and the second examiner was miles away across the room behind his desk. All other teaching dip takers on here have all said they did most of the Viva at a table away from the piano.

I wanted to do it all again as I felt I came away with only a rough 'draft' of how it could have been. The atmosphere was jolly though and I enjoyed most of it.

Good luck with the result. I expect you have done very well indeed

Hi David, thanks for this - its very helpful.

I hope I don't have to spend too much time behind a piano - but then I play the classical guitar

Anyway, could you give me some idea as to how you presented the Written Submission? Did you write it in the form of "I do this and I do that..." or "It is expected that a student would do this..." etc... The former is more personal but the latter is perhaps more formal.

I probably did a mixture, but more of the 'I do this...' - I felt it was important to draw on 'real life' experiences, so where I was citing a particular method or approach, I was able to relate this specifically to a pupil whom it worked for or suchlike.

Sounds like you had a pretty similar experience to me. Fingers crossed for a good result!

Thanks for this - a friend of mine has her exam on Saturday and I think she will find a lot of your experience in this encouraging and useful.


Louise

Glad to hear it went so well, David. You have a lot of teaching experience, which must have been very useful, as it gives you lots of examples to draw on.

Now the long wait for the result!

Thanks for that, David. I really enjoyed reading it and now have some ideal of what to look forward to in a few years time.

Brilliant report David . Fingers crossed for a good result now.