My 9 year old son curls up and dies with embarassment when he has to do the singing in his exams. We have now reached the point where starts and then bursts into tears! Any suggestions please - it's only his Grade 2 piano but he has now decided that this will be his last! java script:emoticon(':wacko:', 'smid_20')

Oh dear. I am so sorry. I don't have much in the way of a suggestion. I really feel for him though. He must feel really dreadful. Give him a big hug!

I have a 9 year old pupil who's exactly the same - he's doing Grade 1 and refused to sing a note...

We've got round it now by him humming. He can do that and not feel too self-conscious - and he even hits the right notes! As long as he hums loudly enough for the examiner to hear him I'll be happy

Good luck to your son - I know it's excruciatingly difficult for some of them...but it's only worth a tiny amount of marks - and all he has do is "attempt" it - even if that is just squeaking one note - it will be much better than not trying at all.

I'm not sure that I have anything concrete to offer - except to say how sad this post makes me.

I spend my life enabling children to sing on their own with confidence. I don't teach a single child who wouldn't stand up and sing on their own in front of the class - or even the whole school.

This is because they sing on their own from the very first lesson. Also what they are asked to sing is within their capabilities and whatever they produce is accepted (although they do know if something isn't right and could be improved). This gives the children such confidence.

Also I am very matter-of-fact about it all. I recently observed a Year 4 lesson where the head of the school was also observing. 'Oh, you WERE brave!' she said to a boy who sang on his own. I pointed out gently that telling a child that they are 'brave' to sing on their own sends out the message that singing on your own is difficult/scary/embarrassing. Once you make the slightest hint that you think any of these things you have lost the battle...

IF ONLY all children had this sort of affirming and comfortable experience with singing at school then we wouldn't have sad posts such as yours, claireh. I feel for your son...

I'm afraid aural tests don't help in that quite often the ONLY experience of singing on one's own that a child has is when he/she is being TESTED. Is it any wonder that many children freak out???

*ENORMOUS SIGH*

The biggest thing in favour of the Kodaly and Dalcroze approach to musicality is get gets children singing and responding physically to music. So much childrens music is not written to suit their ranges and not presented to them by practitioners that understand childrens voices. Kodaly practioners understand children and hence learn about the whole person and how there voices work that way. A vocal practioner that works with children is trained to understand how the child's voice is a different instrument to an adult voice and how to listen to what is comfortable for each child.

Whatever the training, statements that patronise do nothing to enhance childrens self esteem and self belief.

I'm with you on this one Cyrilla.

If this is quite common, expecially in boys, maybe teachers should allocate 3-5 minutes at the beginning of a lesson from day one so that by the time they are ready for an exam they are used to doing it.

One of the reasons why my son (7) is not doing Grade 1 piano at the moment is because I know the whole aural test would send him into a blind panic. He hates not knowing what he's meant to be doing, doesn't like strangers, and talks so quietly and quickly that most people who don't know him well can't understand half of what he says. I can see the sense in MNW's idea - but, if a child actually dislikes singing, might it not put him off lessons all together?

I'm working on the assumption that eventually he'll either get his nerve up - or get used to the idea that he can play the piano without a piece of paper to prove it.

What about Trinity? I have a kind of brand loyalty to ABRSM (why?? ) but presumably their requirements are different - and maybe preferable in this case?

Trinity does not require any singing (apart from the Initial - pre-grade 1 exam).

I think this reluctance to sing stems from the lack of singing in everyday life and education for young children. I sing all the time in piano lessons and am just as likely to sing something as to play it - that way singing is an integral part of the musical conversation that is going on. A lot of my younger students join in and sing along as they play.

Perhaps it would reassure him to know that aural is only worth 18 marks in the exam, and if he opens his mouth and at least tries he is guaranteed 6 marks at least, so it isn’t that big a deal.

I had a look at Trinity today - not sure why - and noticed that the scales are also easier than ABRSM.

It’s no picnic though - you have to do additional exercises instead. I like the flexibility in the supporting tests - useful for avoiding sight-reading or aural altogether if a student has a particular bugbear.

From 10 years teaching experience, and nearly 20 years playing and learning, I cannot say that I agree with this. Not once have I come across a pupil who finds this a problem. I don't believe that I'm just lucky, but I do believe that it is entirely bound up in the way teachers approach it. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but the few pupils I've come across in the past who've found these tests a problem have come almost exclusively from teachers who gave off such negative vibes about the aural tests (and not just the singing) that it was no wonder the children that developed such a phobia.

Short of posting you our kids (not necessarily a bad idea ... ) what would you suggest we poor saps of parents do to make our children (or possibly even their teachers) less aural-phobic?

Has singing been a natural thing in the home? Nursery rhymes and the like?
My 4 year old granddaughter sings all the time.

Hello, I have a daughter who is learning violin here in France and she is encouraged to sing her pieces before playing them to help her find the notes on the violin. She has a tiny voice and is quite shy but sometimes the teacher will get another child (who is waiting for the next lesson) sing with her, then she is not so self conscious as there is not just the sound of her voice. Would it help if the teacher sang with him? Also, my daughter has been encouraged to join the small choir where she has lessons which she has done and it has really helped her confidence.

On a separate note, I am like your son when it comes to the singing part of the aural and seriously considered pulling out of Grade 2. Funnily enough, my voice is great when I sing in the car...

Daughter has always sung - sang in tune as a baby in a pram. Son is a very different kettle of fish - his response to music has always been to get up and dance rather than sing along.

He can whistle his test if he finds it easier.
I teach a boy who chose to whistle for his GR 3. By the time he got to Gr 4, he was fine with singing again!

Would love to send my shy 9 year to you wonder-teachers who would have him singing in no time!!

I have never approached aural tests in a negative way - have tried to include singing before exams are even mentioned.

And I've still got this lad who apparently sings at home no problem, who just can't utter a note in lessons (like I say, he hums now - and it is working - but don't know what will happen in his exam.

I have not come across this problem to date, but there is always the option of playing back rather than singing.

As a child, I didn't have a problem with singing- I was in every choir that was available to me. But as soon as I hit 12/13 I just stopped and haven't done it since. I have a huge phobia of it, which meant that for my grade 4 exam and onwards I chose to play the thing back to them. Of course, at this level there was also the sight singing, which I failed every time because I was too afraid to even try.

I don't think I ever said I was a 'wonder-teacher' - I was just trying to make the point that it IS possible to get children to sing naturally and comfortably without being scared or embarrassed. As others have pointed out, they need to do it regularly, and in a safe environment where they are not being TESTED.

I too found singing in aural tests excruciating as a child, and also didn't sing (other than to pop music in my bedroom ) after the age of about 12 or 13.

There are all sorts of factors which cause this problem, which I don't have time to go into now (have to get off and get 150 children singing on their own today ) - I'm just trying to say that the whole situation makes me very sad but it is more than possible to overcome it.

It is that last bit safe environment and not being Tested/ judged that is important. When I teach aural I am listening for recall of a phrase not the most wonderful tonal quality. I want to hear musicians singing the correct pitch and rhythm not a potential top treble. My teaching studio is a safe environment as my pupils only have me listen/ comment on them and in a constructive manner. I focus on the positive what they are doing RIGHT first and how to improve the rest.

Again like Cyrilla I would not say I was a wonder-teacher as this is the type of good practice that many teachers employ. Cyrilla succeeds as she believes in her methodology and the methodology has a proven track record. I do not believe it is a panacea, but there is a lot right, and if it is the approach employed for classroom music teaching very early on it has the highest success rate. (IMHO - and Cyrilla knows I have a Kodaly trained colleague I respect dearly). Unfortunately this is not how Kodaly musicianship tends to be used in schools, because if it was, the benefits for the musical education of the current generation of Primary School Children would be immense.

And I also agree with Cyrilla.
I have just put a batch of 16 children through exams (piano and recorder Grades 1 to 5). They are very ordinary children - no budding Mozarts. Only one of them has what I would call a beautiful choir boy voice. All the others just open their mouths and out comes something varying from can't sing at all and have to whistle (boy with damaged vocal chords) to nice child like sound. In between we get sore throaty type growling, a bit of squeaking, some breathiness, some accurate reproduction of the test and some approximations.

In the early stages of teaching the echo test I sing back with them. I can sing in tune but the quality of my voice is downright tin can. I ruined it smoking in my twenties and have never got it back. The children therefore know that this is a fun thing we do together even if we don't actually make a very good sound. I let them give me the test if they can make up a little tune or read examples in the book. I also tell them that in the exam they should carry on singing something even if they think it's wrong. I tell them they may well get the shape of the melody right and the rhythm even if some of the notes are wrong.

One of the secrets of aural is that it has to be fun. Some are confident and have a good ear.They will get on with it. But for those who are shy or lacking in confidence you simply have to make this a fun thing and it also has to be an amusing part of the lessons right from the beginning and not just test stuff either. Getting all worked up about the aural test in an exam to the point where one considers changing examining boards seems to me to be out of all proportion. Whatever board you take will have its difficulties and in a learning situation difficulties are there to be overcome whenever possible rather than avoided. Anyway the singing test is only worth about one or two marks.

One of my Grade 3 candidates who isn't terribly good at the echo singing regularly laughs and says "I was out of tune, wasn't I?" I told her that if she was absolutely sure she was wrong there was no harm in telling the examiner that she thought she was out of tune. At least he would know she had heard her mistakes. In fact yesterday she came out of the exam quite pleased because the examiner had pitched her first attempt too high so he stopped and gave her a lower range test. Make it fun and they will love it.

Out of my 16 candidates yesterday one got 15 outof 18 for the aural, two got 16, two got 18 and everyone else got 17 - and as I said there were no geniuses in this lot. So please, get them to relax and enjoy it.

On another aspect I have a couple of pupils totally incapable at the moment (thought they will eventually improve, I am sure) of passing the sight reading test. I don't make an issue of it. I just say I will be happy if they aim to limit the damage. Just keep going and play something. Judiging by their marks - the lowest was 11 - they did just that. Examiners don't expect perfection. I am sure if hey get it it makes it a red letter day for them but on the whole they, like we teachers, have to be satisfied with a good effort and, hopefully, a candidate who shows that they like music.

Some excellent advice here, imho, especially this last one from Aquarelle. Keep it light-hearted. Include simple aural and some singing or humming right from the start, and it will be much less of a big deal.

However I sympathise with anyone who is faced with doing aural tests in an exam with little preparation. This is said with feeling, as I've recently been doing damage limitation with a boy in his mid-teens, who is one of my pupils, but is doing a higher grade (4) on another instrument with another teacher (in school).

It seemed he had 'run through' the aural in the last lesson, but then turned out he had done no sight-singing at all. Had no idea it was part of the exam. The exam is this morning, and there was not much we could do in the time. He has a limited range of about 5 comfortable notes: at least he is willing to have a shot , and I was able to give him some idea what to expect. But *sigh*.

Not quite the same problem as the OP's. But another facet of regarding aural as only something you do a week or two before the exam.

the few pupils I've come across in the past who've found these tests a problem have come almost exclusively from teachers who gave off ... negative vibes about the aural tests

We haven't had this problem with DS (so far)! He turns 10 this week so I'm sure that we have the 'puberty effect' to kick in in the next couple of years.

Not sure why this is - but I have always sung around the house with them and sometimes do my "Hilda Ogden' or my 'Opera' voice when I am cleaning, which the boys think is hilarious. We do sing 'properly' in the car and around the house and are constantly singing or humming the latest pieces that DS is playing - DS2 (3 year old) can currently hum Tambourin to a tee!! We aren't particularly good, but I wonder if it has made DS1 aware that you can have fun and not take it all too seriously. Either that or listening to his Dad sing (completely out of tune!) has made him realise that he sounds better than that!!!

As far as the Aural in the exam, well we've always just taught him as much as we could, listening to music and getting him to sing back - Pop, Rock, Lady Gaga, Classic.... in the car, in the bath, etc. encouraged him to describe how it makes him feel, how that's achieved etc and just told him that it's just part of the overall test so not to worry about it. He's never done fantastically in the Aural but he's always passed it comfortably.

I do feel for your son. I hope that he's comfortable with humming and does well in the exam.

The puberty effect and boys... another old chestnut. Boys can sing through transition they just need to be guided over the best way how. Yet another reason for vocal practioners to advise classroom music teachers.

There has been lots of research done on this subject. If boys stop singing during transition they stop. Better to follow the advice of Jenevora Williams who in turn is an advocate of John Cooksey's models.

This approach keeps boys singing, and when applied to aural just means care needs to be taken in selecting tests of an appropriate range.

Ah Sorry Jod - I meant the puberty effect as in being more self aware and hence embarrassed to sing in front of others!

DS' voice dropping hadn't even crossed my mind! Useful to know for the future though.

I thought you meant voice breaking as well. My 7 year old already has a funny little gravelly voice though - heaven knows what he'll sound like post-puberty.

Looks like my mind was working on a completely different plane!!! I was following on from the comments about self-consciousness!

Haven't noticed DS' voice changing at all, got all that to look forward to. DH says his voice just suddenly went without much trouble at all, so fingers crossed both my DSs follow suit. I remember one boy at school who was very macho etc having this very high squeaky voice for ages!!! Didn't quite match his persona! Brought him down a peg or two though!

ESD has gone from being a 'Pretty treble' (and a bit of a wimp) to being a macho prop forward with a voice in at least stage 4 of transition, his angelic curls all gone and a new more streetwise hair cut. He now plays cricket too, his size 6 bat should see the season out without the need to purchase a Henley but he still sings - a rather pleasant lyric tenor emerging from where there was a rather beautiful treble before.

He is twelve. His nursery teacher asked whether I was walking with him the other week. The temptation to say... no I've left him at home... I have a thing for 12 year old boys was soo great... of course it was my lad. He just looked sooo grown up

However he still does and wants to sing. He knows how to, and as long as I monitor exactly where his voice is he will be able to.

Just a small point I would like to make about teaching of aural (and to an extent sight-reading) during instrumental lessons, following a discussion with my own children.

When, within the lesson does the aural take place? Usually at the end of the lesson, it seems, when the next pupil may be listenning while waiting outside the door (or if in school, the next pupil may be in the room getting his own instrument out ready).

What the children like, is the teacher who does all the embarassing bits like aural and sightreading (and maybe asking about how it's all going) in the middle of the lesson, when the coast is clear of eavesdroppers. Lessons begin and end with pieces, doing these with someone listenning is ok and may even be a confidence booster.

Good point.

I like to get aural done when the coast is clear and nobody is listening. If it is done earlier in the lesson then if necessary the majority of a lesson can be dedicated to supporting tests with the promise a piece will be listened to and the next lesson will concentrate on other things with only a small section after x being spent on aural (for consolidation purposes).

I teach back to back and when children preparing the same grade follow each other we often do aural together. They usually arrive just before the start of their lesson and are quite happy to overlap and play aural games together.

I am not keen on leaving children unsupervised in the school corridor so they come in and wait quietly if they arrive a few minutes early. I discourage arriving very early and if they do that they have to wait in the next door classroom where I can see them through a connecting window. But if they turn up at a time when I happen to be doing sight reading at the end of a lesson I usually involve the second child in some way or another. This of course only works if they are not more than one grade apart but it does give rise to some useful talking about key and time signatures. On the whole my pupils like listening to each other, being listened to and helping each other.

I've got one boy who I think would be embarassed to struggle with his poor sight reading in front of anyone else but then as he needs such a lot of work on his reading we tend to do it at the beginning of his lesson.

I know this is really radical, but I don't teach aural. I teach music which at all stages and levels contains a certain degree of aural training. The biggest mistake teachers make (apart from thinking that aural=aural tests) is to package it up as some rather annoying thing which has to be done whether that be at the end of the lesson or elsewhere.

I would also agree.I think we ought to have the same aproach to aural as to pieces. You do a lot as you go and then you pick out the things you have to do for an exam - if you are taking one - and polish them up.

On looking at recent aural training, regular training on detecting crescendi/diminuendi, time signatures and clapping in time would help many pupils regardless on whether they are prepaparing for exams.

Simple things like detecting whether a piece is major or minor, then identifying cadences and modulations then are then next step.

regular clapping back and singing back tests also are vital.

As far as sight-singing for non-singers... I'm not completely convinced whether an instrumental lesson is always the right place for this, but I am for all the other tests that are included as the aural tests get harder.

Instinctively I'm a big fan of sight singing in instrumental exams because it's the only part of the aural that my daughter is very very good at - and it helps to compensate for deficiencies in other areas. However - I've never been sure what the point of it is. Someone musical please enlighten me? Is it because, if they can prove they know how it's meant to sound by looking at it, then they will be more likely to play it correctly?

Son has now finished "Piano Time 2" and the question of an exam has come up again. If he can get his sight reading up to scratch over the summer I'd be tempted to steer him towards Grade 1 or 2 in the reasonably near future but, for him, it's the aural - even more than the sight reading - that puts him off.

Give him his due - he does sound remarkably like an asphyxiating frog when he sings - whereas strangers in church come up and compliment me on Daughter's 'angelic' voice - yeay - snuck a really good 'moast' in there!

A propos du bon moast - check this out! moasting products

Certainly being able to know when you've played something wrongly because it sound differently to what you see on the page is a useful skill. Without it you are possibly reliant on a teacher to check you've learned the right notes for longer.
I'm not sure whether sight singing is the best way to test this and TG 's spot the difference test possibly tests it in a better way.
Also if you are able at least to get an idea of what something sounds like without playing it you can get an idea of whether you may like a piece before you buy it.

Sometimes it's the child, I'm afraid. The only reason I am posting this is that I'm the annoying counterexample- for a few years I was terrified about singing in aural, but I had encountered only supportive attitudes to singing. I learnt music through Yamaha group classes which were very focused on singing and solfege. My parents sang around the house (not necessarily very well) and I was quite happy singing in Sunday school. I wasn't even bad at aural, I was just terrified of singing alone. Think I'd grown out of it by age 12.

I find it very disheartening that so many children are put off of singing owing to peer pressure; especially at high school. I am sure there are some with wonderful voices who will never know the joy of singing because they are too afraid of what others will think. Equally, I am sure many are put off of playing instruments for the same reasons.

I was lucky enough to attend a choir school myself, so singing was part of what we did. There was certainly no 'shame' or embarrassment about singing a solo part in front of the class, or even in front of the whole school, (even though not all were choristers).

Our son does sing, and is an active member of his college choir, but our daughter (13), who had an excellent singing voice when she was very young now refuses to sing at all for fear of what others will say.

I am sure that with encouragement at school she could be persuaded to sing, and would enjoy it, but unfortunately teachers seem unwilling to encourage individuals to do anything above and beyond what the others in a class are able to do.

I wonder; is this a purely British disease, or is it more widespread?

SB

I find this very sad too. Only yesterday we were talking about how children can be bullied for being 'too clever' and then dumbing down their abilities so they don't stand out.

Thankfully, so far DS' school have been very supportive of his playing. His class teacher made big deal of him going to his G4 exam (even though we'd tried to keep it secret) and they all cheered when they heard his result. But DS did come home a few weeks ago saying that he thought that the others felt that he was a Geek. We've never used that term, so either he's heard it elsewhere or someone has called him that. But I do get the feeling that as his playing is moving on, the other kids do see it as a bit too far above them.

We've always told him that he is who he is and that he should be proud of that and be true to himself and if others don't like it that's their problem. He's a lovely kind and caring boy so it's not hurting anyone else. But we also know that as he goes into the secondary school years the divisions get stronger and in the wrong environment he could be in line for bullying himself. It's a horrible thought.

Hi there - are you teaching him or does he have a teacher?

My 10-year old's new teacher (we've just changed teachers a few months ago) is amazing. For singing he starts by playing some pop music on the piano and asks him to sing it in the same manner as he is playing - which is usually slightly different to the actual song and my son loves it. He doesn't want to stop! If you son likes pop music this approach might help him.

Good luck - hope he get's over this soon.