QUOTE (elmo @ Apr 12 2005, 04:30 PM)

Grade 5 didn't help me in the slightest! Just made me think ov rules and whether I should use them or not! Same with AS harmony

Yes, AS harmony helped me understand grades 6 and 7 theory, but it wassupposed to be the other way around...

I hated it! Everything I did had parallel 5ths in it, and I couldn't see them til my teacher went through it with us in class and would say "look there's another one!"

Then I tried to use parallel 5ths in my composition and she said "Isobel, I'm getting worried, coz your compositions aren't very good really are they!?"

Can't win! Si I decided to ignore every rule I've been taught, and carry on composing my own way! I seem to do better that way!

GCSE music does get better! We have to do composing at AS level, and we've been doing it since December...


I remember when I started GCSE music, all we did was learn about composition techniques at the beginning...

I hate composing, but, luckily, as A2 I can go down the performing route...

I havent got as much out of my GCSE music course than I thaught I would at the beginning. The course I am doing (Edexcel) is basically all composition and history based. My main interest has always been performance - and although it is good to learn history of music I have found the balance isnt very good. Like with composition, Our coursework is entirely composition based. Although its good to have compositon skills, again there is not a good balance between this and performance. However I wouldnt not take the course because of this. Music is music, and if you enjoy music you are still doing music.(does that make sense?!) Its just a shame there isnt much of a chance to perform.

Iz

I know what you mean about wanting to perform more. I think my teacher may be able to read minds, as when we were studying Pavans and Galliards he asked us all to bring in our insturments so we could play them together. It's really good fun, and helps more than just being told how something should be.

QUOTE

he asked us all to bring in our insturments so we could play them together

Cool, wish we could do that in my class!

At least you're getting taught something. Quote my teacher:

QUOTE

For the benefit of the singers in the group, I feel this is pretty useless stuff and I don't really see the point in teaching you it [talking about cadences] so if you get a question on it, just guess.

That's basically what we get taught. What to look for in the listening test and how to guess them well.

Everything I've learnt has been through self study or prying the teacher for information. So frustrating!!!

I think that standard of classroom music teaching has gone down alot. Even since I've been at school I've noticed a change from year 7 where the music tuition was excelent - to today in year 11 where the things we study are reather boring and similar.

I think it depends on the teachers you have. My year 7-9 lessons were boring, I literally didn't learn anything, excpet what a cappella meant, and I didn't learn that til year 9!

In year 10 I liked my lessons, it still wasn't very difficult, but Idid (most of the time) feel like I was learning.

WE HAVEN'T DONE ANY THEORY YET!!!!!!

I just thought I'd rub it in, lol!

So far, we have been doing only compositions, but it's mainly us going in our practise rooms, and we just improvise, and then only when we've got the music sorted out do we write it down. It's great fun! 2 hours of music, it's just so relaxing after just coming from Science and Geography.

Wobby

When we first started our GCSE music course I thought it was really fun cos we got to compose anything we wanted, and we got to go on loads of trips, but now I think it is really boring cos we are learning more theory (even though I like thoery) and we are always working...

Trips?? We don't have trips....to where??

We had a trip! lol. It was more a case of I drove the AS class and remainding person of the A2 class (me in other words!) to a church in a nearby city, met our teacher and then watched the other person in our A2 class perform in a concert!

Apart from that, we haven't really had any!

we had 2 trips to see liverpool philharmonic rehearse. great excuse to get out of school

i think GCSE music is quite boring. before i started it i cudnt wait to start composing but there are to many rules like we have to have a modulation to the dominant in bars ....... a flat side modulation in bars.....

and the theory side is just a waste of time because i already know everything he is teaching us and i only have g4 theory. and we get tested on things like: write out the d major scale!!!! very frustrating

AND WE DONT HAVE ANY TRIPS!!!

QUOTE (Saxophonist @ Apr 16 2005, 12:09 AM)

i think GCSE music is quite boring. before i started it i cudnt wait to start composing but there are to many rules like we have to have a modulation to the dominant in bars ....... a flat side modulation in bars.....

We never had any rules like that. We had to modulate but it never was said "you have to do this" sort of thing. It was advised we modulated to the rel minor or dominant, but you didn't have to!

We only had our "trip" because we said to our teacher, "we're going. are you coming aswell?!" He didn't organise anything, except payed for us once we got there.
We had a trip to the last night of the proms concert at our local leisure/arts centre, but it was just the 2 music classes who turned up again!

Organise one, then you'll get to go on one! We never had any at GCSE though.