All About Piano Theory Examinations

[monmon31]

SnowieBob:

Hi,


It is not necessary to take all grades for theory. My recommendations for my students are grade 3 & grade 5, if the parents didn't request for all grades. Grade 5 is the compulsory one because you need it for higher grade practical. However it depends on students understanding and practical pace. Naturally some teachers will wan to make sure the students learning and ask them to go for exams. Personally i feel grade 1 & 2, past year papers are sufficient.

Thanks. A couple of people I asked gave me differing views but most of them says it is ok to skip n then take Grade 3 like u. What about practical exams then?

Thought of signing DS up for Grade 2 practical exams.

[SnowieBob]

Welcome.

Practical exams must depends on more factors. Her techniques, rhythmic sense and amount of practice too. Most of my students go grade 2 to start off. However if they are very shy and afraid of failure, I ask them to go for grade 1, because at their level of playing, the rate of getting merit and dist is higher which will also gain their confidence. This will make them feel more sense of achievement and willing to go more exams instead of stressing.

But if students are weak to start with, I suggest not to rush for exams. Music is not all about qualifications too, esp young children, getting the interest is very important for them to continue far if they want

[jce]

If the child is relatively young, theory grade 1 is recommended to start off. Same reason as in the practical, grade 1 is relatively easy to score and hence give the child a boost in confidence. After that, theory can skip to 3 but must still go through the motions of doing 2 though not the exam. Can choose to take or forgo the exam in 3 and head off to 5. Again, via 4.


Practical, as Snowiebob adviced, really depends on individual. Some can skip whilst others can’t. The goal here is not "who can reach grade 8 first" but rather "who has the standard of a true grade 8".

[monmon31]

jce:

If the child is relatively young, theory grade 1 is recommended to start off. Same reason as in the practical, grade 1 is relatively easy to score and hence give the child a boost in confidence. After that, theory can skip to 3 but must still go through the motions of doing 2 though not the exam. Can choose to take or forgo the exam in 3 and head off to 5. Again, via 4.


Practical, as Snowiebob adviced, really depends on individual. Some can skip whilst others can't. The goal here is not \"who can reach grade 8 first\" but rather \"who has the standard of a true grade 8\".

My DS is 8 this year and has just taken Grade 1 Theory. So likely I will go as per advise to run through but skip Theory 2 but definitely will be taking Practical 2.

He does not have the talent from the way I see it. We used to join Yamaha JMC/JXC, you could clearly see who are the talented ones. With his foundation at JMC/JXC, i am assuming it would be ok to skip to practical 1. ( I personally have no musical background)

I totally agree with you. If my son ever reaches Grade 8, it is more like getting there and not really having the standard of true grade 8.

[LLK]

SnowieBob:

Welcome.

Practical exams must depends on more factors. Her techniques, rhythmic sense and amount of practice too. Most of my students go grade 2 to start off. However if they are very shy and afraid of failure, I ask them to go for grade 1, because at their level of playing, the rate of getting merit and dist is higher which will also gain their confidence. This will make them feel more sense of achievement and willing to go more exams instead of stressing.

But if students are weak to start with, I suggest not to rush for exams. Music is not all about qualifications too, esp young children, getting the interest is very important for them to continue far if they want

my niece has piano grade 8 for practical (high distinction) and just took her grade 8 theory exam recently. She is just 14 years old and her parents now wonder if she should go further to obtain the diploma. My niece is from a top school and very busy with school works and CCA. Any advice pls?

[csb]

Hi, I saw from the ABRSM website that the theory exam is 2 hours. When I look at the past year theory examination papers, there are 4 papers/sections (A, B, C, S) of 2 hr each. Or are all 4 to be completed in 2 hours? Sorry if this is too fundamental a question. Ds hasn’t taken any theory exams before.

[SnowieBob]

csb:

Hi, I saw from the ABRSM website that the theory exam is 2 hours. When I look at the past year theory examination papers, there are 4 papers/sections (A, B, C, S) of 2 hr each. Or are all 4 to be completed in 2 hours? Sorry if this is too fundamental a question. Ds hasn't taken any theory exams before.

Hi,
The A, B, C, S are papers for practice. As for the real theory exam, is one of the paper(eg: paperA) for 2 hours. So 1 booklet has 4 papers for practice

[csb]

Thanks SnowieBob

[SnowieBob]

LLK:

SnowieBob:

Welcome.

Practical exams must depends on more factors. Her techniques, rhythmic sense and amount of practice too. Most of my students go grade 2 to start off. However if they are very shy and afraid of failure, I ask them to go for grade 1, because at their level of playing, the rate of getting merit and dist is higher which will also gain their confidence. This will make them feel more sense of achievement and willing to go more exams instead of stressing.

But if students are weak to start with, I suggest not to rush for exams. Music is not all about qualifications too, esp young children, getting the interest is very important for them to continue far if they want

my niece has piano grade 8 for practical (high distinction) and just took her grade 8 theory exam recently. She is just 14 years old and her parents now wonder if she should go further to obtain the diploma. My niece is from a top school and very busy with school works and CCA. Any advice pls?

Hi,
It depends what is the aim of getting the diploma. Does she want to teach? Or just the qualification? If she wants to teach, I would probably suggest her to take it after her o levels. Meanwhile she can try to play as many songs from different period and composers to understand each of the pieces. So in the future when she teach, she'll have a better understanding on what she's teaching. And not stop learning after grade 8. Diploma is a big jump from grade 8. Especially for the quick study and viva voce. You need to play the quick study as if you are performing and not the usual sight reading. Hope this helps!

[LLK]

SnowieBob:

LLK:

[quote=\"SnowieBob\"]Welcome.

Practical exams must depends on more factors. Her techniques, rhythmic sense and amount of practice too. Most of my students go grade 2 to start off. However if they are very shy and afraid of failure, I ask them to go for grade 1, because at their level of playing, the rate of getting merit and dist is higher which will also gain their confidence. This will make them feel more sense of achievement and willing to go more exams instead of stressing.

But if students are weak to start with, I suggest not to rush for exams. Music is not all about qualifications too, esp young children, getting the interest is very important for them to continue far if they want

my niece has piano grade 8 for practical (high distinction) and just took her grade 8 theory exam recently. She is just 14 years old and her parents now wonder if she should go further to obtain the diploma. My niece is from a top school and very busy with school works and CCA. Any advice pls?

Hi,
It depends what is the aim of getting the diploma. Does she want to teach? Or just the qualification? If she wants to teach, I would probably suggest her to take it after her o levels. Meanwhile she can try to play as many songs from different period and composers to understand each of the pieces. So in the future when she teach, she'll have a better understanding on what she's teaching. And not stop learning after grade 8. Diploma is a big jump from grade 8. Especially for the quick study and viva voce. You need to play the quick study as if you are performing and not the usual sight reading. Hope this helps![/quote]SnowieBob, Thanks and I think my niece should take her time to learn more new pieces before taking her diploma. But more often then not, many students learning piano or other musical instrument do not have time to practise. They are simple too busy.