I'm a fairly new teacher and was looking for some clarification around the ABRSM exam pieces. For example if you have a student working on the current pieces (2009-2010) do they have to take their exam by the end of the year? What happens if they just aren't ready? Also how long is it before the new pieces usually come out, as if I have some students wanting to study for exams from September they may not be ready to take them until 2011. Thanks!

The new exam syllabus for sessions sat next Jan 2011 and later comes out next week I believe. But students studying now on the 2010 syllabus can use their pieces until the end of the first sitting (Spring) 2011 exam session providing they use pieces only from that syllabus and don't mix them with any from the new syllabus. See the general instructions for more details on this!

Hope this helps...

If they are not starting work on them until September it might be worth waiting for the new books and see which you prefer. The 2010 books are valid for the first session 2011, but there are a few tweaks to the aural tests that will need to be used from January 2011 even with the old pieces.

I didn't know about this. Where can I find more information re what the changes are please?

http://www.abrsm.org/?page=exams/gradedMus...estsReview.html

Here?

Please, please, please - if your students are not going to be ready to take exams until 2011, don't give them the exam books in September 2010 - they will be sooo bored and fed up with the pieces by the time they get to the exams! Why not start them off on all the supporting tests and scales now, and give them other pieces to work on at around about the same level - when they can tackle a new piece in 3 - 4 weeks at that level, they are ready for the exam, and you can enter them and give them the book a couple of months before the exam. Working laboriously on 3 pieces learning note by note for over a year is a downer for you and them....

The new syllabus for 2011-12 comes out next month. You can still use the current one up to the Easter term exams in 2011, as a kind of overlap. It's all on the website.

I'm inclined to agree with Sue! You and they will be so bored if you start with exam pieces which they go on to play for 6 months.

If you're quite new to exams though and you feel that leaving all the pieces until January, say, with the intention of doing the easter session will stress you out, maybe give them one of the pieces in September (along with other stuff).

This will not only get one piece under your belt before launching into the others but will also help you guage how ready they are for the exam (are they taking for ever to master the piece ? Are they suddenly working harder becasue they know it's an exam piece ?). You can then drop it in Novemebr/December, say, and pick it up again a few weeks before the exam.

This system is ridiculous: ie. that the next two years syllabi are not published till July of the preceding year. Especially from Grade 4 upwards, pupils and teachers may, very reasonably, want to start to prepare materials upto 2 years before, never mind the, approximate, year in advance we have at present. What do other teachers feel re this.? I have addressed it with ABRSM directly. They could have a longer overlap period for instance.
thanks Steve

I agree, that some students may take longer than 6 months to prepare, especially if they are starting learning late, especially difficult instruments like piano.

I took 4 years to prepare for my diploma, because in between I had work and family comittments that just had to come first. Plus my teacher went away on holiday for months at a time.

I think the pieces should stay in the syllabus for 4 years, to give everyone a shot at it.

Many of the instrumental syllabi do have a 4+ year span - eg the sax syllabus hasn't changed since 2006, and the jazz syllabus hasn't changed since 2003 . As far as I know, piano is the only one which changes every 2 years, possibly because it's just so popular an instrument that examiners and teachers would be driven mental by a syllabus which lasted longer than 2 years.

I'd be driven mad by pieces if they lasted longer, but then I already am sick of l'Autumno! I kind of agree that for the upper grades more prep time is needed. And re starting the pieces months in advance - I tend to start them well in advance, get them to a decent standard, then leave them for a while. Nearer the exam we go back and perfect the details. It seems to work for most pupils, plus if they struggle with one of the pieces you can keep that one going the full 6 months or so along with other new pieces to keep them stimulated and motivated.

Absolutely, ditto for Top Cat too!