I've been looking at some private videos of my children and videos on YouTube (sad, I know) of kids who've posted examples of their exam pieces. It got me thinking: if a child was to play a grade 5 piece to the same standard that they played a grade 1 piece a couple of years earlier, so same tone, same number of hiccups, similar level of musicality, then would they get roughly the equivalent mark or are higher grades judged differently? One would expect a child to have better tone and musicality by the time they got to grade 5 but let's say they didn't, would they still achieve a similar mark?

Not sure if I've explained myself well...

I believe grades 1-3 are judged to the same standard, Grades 3 & 4 are held to a higher standard, and 6 to 8 higher still. It's explained in the syllabus.

The assessment criteria are on Page 38 of "These Music Exams". http://www.abrsm.org/resources/theseMusicExams0607.pdf
They are the same up to Grade5 then get tougher.

Yes, but some grades are more equal than others.

I think an examiner would expect higher standards of tone production/ dynamic range/ musicality from a grade 5 candidate than from a grade 1 candidate. It isn't just about getting the notes/ rhythm right.

According the "These Music Exams" Grades 1-5 are assessed with the same marking criteria, so you need the same things "right" to get the same mark, however for Grades 6-8 there is a different criteria, meaning you need much more musicality to get the same type of mark as in the previous grades.

Supposedly.

Here is the link - These Music Exams

Yes, but I still think these are applied on the context of the grade. So what is considered "good" tonal awareness and control for a grade 1 candidate may not be considered "good" for a Grade 5 candidate. I think there is an expectation that there should be some progression.

....and for Trinity there are different criteria for Gr 1-3, 4 and 5 and then 6-8......

Thank you for directing me to this booklet although it means nothing to be. how does one know if someone plays musically or with a musical awareness?

It sounds like more than just a succession of notes or a well executed technical exercise.
Phrases will have shape and a sense of direction. As the player gets more technically proficient there will be a variety of tone colours. Pieces in different styles will be played with appropriate style and not sound similar. The music will start to tell a story, paint a picture or set a mood.

Yes I agree.

A lot may depend on the instrument. I have got a bit tired over the last three years of examiners complaining that my Grade 1 recorder players don't have much dynamic range. I got the impression this year that the examiner expected to hear the same dynamic variations as for a Grade 1 piano exam.

But the criteria in "These Music Exams" are on the whole pretty fairly administered and the point is not whether more musicality is expected at Grade 5 than at Grade 1 but that the pieces are more difficult and therefore it is more difficult to achieve that musicality - which is why it's a Grade 5 piece and not a Grade 1 piece. The chanllenge lies in the level of difficulty of the music rather anything else.

Not sure if I'm being very clear - knackered this evening.

I have a constant battle with ABRSM on this one. Glad I'm not alone.

You most definitely are NOT alone on this one!

Recorder-Bag x

How on earth can we make them understand? In fact my Grade 1 and 2 recorder descant and treble recorder players can't normally get any real dynamics out of their instruments without playing either sharp or flat. I do not believe this to be the fault of the player but rather the fact that at the stage where they are playing this is a skill which should not be expected. It is much more important to establish good intonation. One can bring in the musical interest with phrasing and articulation but not with widely differing dynamics at this stage.

This year I did have a Grade 2 pupil aho played "To a Wild Rose" as his B piece and did actually manage to get some nice little dynamic subtleties in without either going sharp or flat.. They were subtle and musically felt and I didn't even comment on them in preparation as I knew if I did he would overdo it and play sharp or flat. And still the examiner commented that there could be more dynamic interest!!

On recorder dynamics and examiners: I appreciate it must be hard to find qualified examiners in every region, but in my own professional field, I would Never, Never have the cheek to examine someone on a subject in which I was not reasonably expert. To me, that would lack honesty. Perhaps music is different, but I'm far from convinced.

One of the features of ABRSM is that the examiners for graded exams are 'generalists' so they are likely to be more knowledgeable about some instruments rather than others. I agree though that examiners should have sufficient knowledge to make a sound judgement.

Little singers are sometimes unfairly marked regarding dynamic variety I find, some of my 7 year olds take grade 1 and some of them have tiny, tiny little voices which they are using well and which will grow in time. They take criticism about dynamics as an invitation to shout and push their voices which is not good!

It's sometimes similar with piano-centric examiners (evidence found via Google!) and Grade 1 strings' intonation. One of the first things to be affected by nerves is fine tuning - so is it really necessary to criticise it three times, for all three pieces? I've had passes and merits from these examiners where the comments are almost entirely negative.

I believe it is for this very reason that all the Brass Peripatetic Teachers in our area have moved to Trinity Guildhall exams. With TG they can book specialist exam sessions with a Brass Specialist as Examiner, who will hopefully have greater understanding of the technical issues.

I suppose that is one of the good things about having a variety of examining boards. but the practicalities on a worldwide scale, unfortunately, can't work. When I made enquiries about a centre in France where my Grade 6 candidate could do his TG exam I was told that I would have to provide the equivalent of 4000 euros worth of exam fees before they would open a centre. They simply didn't have one in France. My pupil eventually went to Spain to do his exam as it was easier than going back to England.