Thanks all for your kind response.

After seeing that many responses to my posts, especially the one about getting a teacher, I decided to drop in quickly to clarify the teacher thingy.

As some of you have already recognized, I live in Germany. However, we don't have something similar like the ABRSM exams (or any other music exam for that matter). Thus, you either learn theory in school (which you don't) or you don't learn it at all - ESPECIALLY when one is already adult. The German education system sucks! Have you seen the Pisa Study? (I think I have to hide in a mouse hole - it's really a shame).

It took me nearly forever to find a flute teacher. And I live in Munich. One should think, someone in a city that large is interested in playing the flute. But I don't know where they found their teachers. There was only one in the phone book when I looked last time and that guy is a complete mess! I was with him for five years and - I found that out recently - learned nearly nothing at all. I was with my new teacher for half a year and catapulted from grade "beyond evil" to grade 6! And "Volkshochschule" (kind of a public school for adults interested in studying certain subjects) is such a low standard, I wonder sometimes how they even get that far as they do!

So, unless you study with an private instrumental teacher when you are a young child, you will always have problems with the theory. That's the only place were you actually can learn it.


So.

Now, that leaves me, as an adult with my ABRSM Theory book, the Practice Book and the internet.




The really mad thing is that I have to learn the musical term - in English and than I have to translate it in German. So I don't learn one term which my mind can store easily, but two terms which have to built the bridge to my German understanding. I don't complain. I like the English language and I am proud how well I have gotten in speaking and comprehending it. So, sometimes, I might get confused with a term, even when I already have learned it in Grade 1 or 2. Sometimes, it's harder to make the "connection".

My teacher is really, really good. She was with Jean-Pierre Rampal, Aurel Nicolet and many other glorious flutists. She teached masterclasses herself. I still think its a wonder I found her. But she really is really really expensive. I cannot even afford once a week, but only each fortnight. And sometimes I have to give a rib to even scratch up that sum. So, naturally, I work with her on my playing abilities, and only make short notes on theoretical issues.



So, I am doing theory on my own. With my books and the help of the many internet pages that cover the subjects I am searching for. I have gotten quite far and I am a good learner. When you get an university education I always say, you don't learn, you just learn how to learn.

I don't mind learning stuff beyond the current grade 3 level. I am taking grade 4 theory only five months later, so the quicker I get that stuff into my brain as well, the better. But I admit, I currently try to focus a bit more on grade 3. And when I start, I have usually "warming up" problems. Getting into the subject is often not that easy. Especially after a very enjoyable lazy summer!

Have a nice day, I will be back later in the evening.

Yours,
Lemontree

PS: Have to leave now, but there was one book recommendation which I sure will get!

Hi Lemontree
Your situation sounds pretty dire as regards learning theory with a teacher, so keep posting here and we'll do our best. I don't want to sound patronising but I think your English is brilliant!! Much better than a lot of English people.

Is there any reason why you have to do the theory exams so quickly? I wonder if slowing down a little and making absolutely sure you understand everything needed for the next grade would be better. Although my pupils work through the workbooks for each grade, and do some past papers for each I generally only enter them for Grade 5. Works out pretty expensive doing all of them.

@jm-hamilton

Thanks your the comp.

I want to make them so quickly because (i) I want to get level with my actual playing level in both, theory and practical exams and (ii) because I would like to get the DiplABRSM (and later beyond) as fast as possible.

I don't mind putting loads of work into it. - It isn't loads of work, actually, I think. Last grade was more shaken out of the sleaf than learnt. The only thing I didn't really could do from the beginning where the musical terms in the end of the book and the English wording that goes with them. And until now, I pretty much understand what the AB Guide To Music Theory says from first to last page. I knew lots of it already, but some stuff is new. It would probably be more accurate to say that I am filling in the gaps.

Usually, I start learning for a grade by doing a "sheet of requirements" where I write down the topics in the ABRSM syllabus, and than start to scrap everything that fits to the description out of the Music Theory Guide. That's when usually, all the questions arise. The rest of it is easy. I invent loads of excercises for each topic and do them, and while inventing and doing I learn the stuff. And in the end, I correct it with the sheet, I did in the beginning. It's pretty straightforward actually.



Oh, buy the way, my mom plays recorder in three different orchestras. She was even a master class student with Zahnhausen, those of you playing the recorder probably recognise the name. But I really doubt, she would know one minor scale. She could probably do F, G, D and C major, if she had to, but that's about it. And she is professional level. It's absolutely crazy!

.

Ok, we will try to help as much as we can! But perhaps slow down a little - you are obviously an intelligent person/tree so I think you should concentrate on understanding the concepts and how they relate to each other and build on that. I do appreciate, though, that some misunderstandings have been down to a (slight!) language barrier.

.

Are you using just the AB Theory Guide, or do you have any workbooks? There are a lot of workbooks available that have exercises on every topic you need. It might be useful to have at least one of these to supplement the exercises you invent yourself. All of these are available from online shops.

I'm assuming this is an abbreviation?

Oh, it gets longer than that. German is known for needing at least 100 words where the English-speaking world can get away with 20, thus our tendency for writing really dense text with 5mio. commas, prepositional phrases and, if that's still not enough - (text in brackets, sometimes even introduced by a dash). We just can't brace ourselves ... I hasten to add that we really love long words that are made of at least 10 other words. I really miss that here

In all seriousness though: "Studienvorbereitende Ausbildung" means something like "preparatory course" if you want to study music. It is usually offered to instrumentalists/singers who want to become professional musicians and contains weekly lessons of theory, aural and ensemble.

I found the AB workbooks rather hard to read and explain to an eleven year old and can imagine that reading them in your second language must be a similar disadvantage. There were lots of other workbooks out there that seemed much more accessible, perhaps you should order some other material at the same level, so that if it is unclear in the first book you have an alternative explanation to hand.

I found the AB Guide ("the pink book") totally incomprehensible, and my first language is English. I know other people don't have a problem with it, but I couldn't relate to it at all - it could have been in a foreign language as far as I was concerned.



At the top of the Theory forum is a thread which you can use to test yourself on the terms for each grade - Test Yourself - Theory terms



When you first starting posting, I didn't realise at first that your first language wasn't English!


Your experience sounds very frustrating. Even with books to help me, there were still some things which I had a blind spot about and it was useful to be able to ask my teacher. And sometimes it was useful to ask on here, where I could see the answer written down and I could study it. Sometimes different people will answer the same question in different ways, which is also very useful because you might understand one explanation better than another.

At some point it will be useful to get some past papers, and you can also get model answers. I did loads of past papers, and I discovered that there were certain things to look out for which were designed to trip you up!

Hi Lemontree,

I can only agree with Mezzo's comments about music education in Germany. I understand that your personal experiences might be different to mine, but all I can say is that our family has had a very happy 4 years at the Kreismusikschule Erding (that's out near Munich airport). Admittedly there isn't much in the way of music theory taught in the normal course of music lessons, over and above what's necessary to play and understand the pieces being learnt, but the music school also prepares pupils for the state music exams, which includes offering a theory course for levels D1 to D3.

The exam system here works differently to the ABRSM in that the exams are fewer and spaced further apart - instead of roughly one per year we have two lower level exams which are very informal, then the three D exams. D1 should be taken after about 3 years' tuition, and D3 is the level required for entry to a Musikhochschule, ie. conservatoire, and is equivalent to Abitur-level music at Musikgymnasium.

If you want to know more about the exam system in Bavaria, here's a link to the website of the Verband Bayerischer Sing- und Musikschulen: http://www.musikschulen-bayern.de/
Look at Leistungsprüfungen in the blue box on the left of the page.

And here's a link to the website of the Verband deutscher Musikschulen: http://www.musikschulen.de/

Another possibility for flute lessons could be your local Stadtkapelle - I know the one in Erding provides tuition and enters pupils for the music exams, with very good results.

Having said all that, adult pupils often have trouble getting a place at our local Musikschule because there are so many children applying for places. Often adults are put on a waiting list and might have to wait a year, but perseverance pays off - ie. if you keep pestering them you'll probably get a place.

I hope I have at least been a bit of help and wish you luck and much success in your music studies!

Regards
Shelley