All About ABRSM Grades & Support

[sleepy]

karenmok:

some \"benchmark\" rates of progress.

Can someone guide me please?
Karen

Just my personal observation, my dd2 will typically spend a couple of weeks to familarize with one exam piece ie. play whole song smoothly without referring to notes frequently. So 2 months+ to play all 3 pieces smoothly. However, this kind of standard only will get a pass according to her teacher. The tedious part is how to bring out the dynamic, colour and mood. All these will take her many more months to meet teacher's expectation. She practises 60 to 75 minutes 4 to 5 times a week.

[Fat cello]

sunflower2005:

Fat cello:

Hi


He finish 7 or 8 song out of 9 in grade 1,6 or 7 song out of 9 in grade 2,just play not master,finish all the scale for grade 1 and 2,and other songs..........I'm think with cd will be faster!!!now grade 3,he can play all the major,minor but a bit slow......

How long does he take to learn Grade 1 for all 7/8 songs ? and also grade 2

Hi
He only play but not master,take ard 2 mth for grade 1 include sight reading and all the scale ,grade 2.....he still play some of the song now but all the scale finish,part of sight reading....

[waiyean]

Fat cello:

Hi
He only play but not master,take ard 2 mth for grade 1 include sight reading and all the scale ,grade 2.....he still play some of the song now but all the scale finish,part of sight reading....

Your son is progressing through the grades rather fast. Why not slow it down by mastering the pieces instead of just playing them? Better to build a good foundation.

[Fat cello]

Hi


How about theory?normally how long it take for a kid to clear one grade?within how many years can take grade 5 theory?

[Dreamaurora]

waiyean:

Fat cello:

Hi
He only play but not master,take ard 2 mth for grade 1 include sight reading and all the scale ,grade 2.....he still play some of the song now but all the scale finish,part of sight reading....

Your son is progressing through the grades rather fast. Why not slow it down by mastering the pieces instead of just playing them? Better to build a good foundation.

I concur that good foundation and developing maturity by mastering pieces are more sound than trying to go through the requirements as fast as possible. I myself was guilty of compromising in the past but now I try to be very thorough as I believe we teachers are training students to be competent musicians/music lovers, not just paper chasers.

[Dreamaurora]

Fat cello:

Hi


How about theory?normally how long it take for a kid to clear one grade?within how many years can take grade 5 theory?

For theory, as I mentioned in other thread, it is possible to one shot immediately take grade 5 as the requirement is cumulative. As long students can read reasonably i.e. identify pitches and count rhythm correctly, they can prepare for grade 5 theory. I recommend at least a pass in grade 3 practical first before attempting grade 5 theory. As for how long, it depends on how old and how mature the student is. I have prepared numerous grade 5 theory exams for students and generally the older ones (teenagers and adults) are much faster, I would say approximately around 10-16 hours. For younger students, I would recommend minimum 25 hours of study.

[sacredmusicals]

Dreamaurora:

Fat cello:

Hi


How about theory?normally how long it take for a kid to clear one grade?within how many years can take grade 5 theory?

For theory, as I mentioned in other thread, it is possible to one shot immediately take grade 5 as the requirement is cumulative. As long students can read reasonably i.e. identify pitches and count rhythm correctly, they can prepare for grade 5 theory. I recommend at least a pass in grade 3 practical first before attempting grade 5 theory. As for how long, it depends on how old and how mature the student is. I have prepared numerous grade 5 theory exams for students and generally the older ones (teenagers and adults) are much faster, I would say approximately around 10-16 hours. For younger students, I would recommend minimum 25 hours of study.

Dream, there is no doubt that you are a skilled and dedicated teacher and you have achieved impressive results with your students. But im pretty sure not all teachers are as skilled as you and not all students will be as talented and dedicated as your students. Your experience with your students may be very hard to duplicate by others and i worry that parents may have misconceptions on what is realistically possible to achieve.

[ngl2010]

sacredmusicals:

Dreamaurora:

[quote=\"Fat cello\"]Hi


How about theory?normally how long it take for a kid to clear one grade?within how many years can take grade 5 theory?

For theory, as I mentioned in other thread, it is possible to one shot immediately take grade 5 as the requirement is cumulative. As long students can read reasonably i.e. identify pitches and count rhythm correctly, they can prepare for grade 5 theory. I recommend at least a pass in grade 3 practical first before attempting grade 5 theory. As for how long, it depends on how old and how mature the student is. I have prepared numerous grade 5 theory exams for students and generally the older ones (teenagers and adults) are much faster, I would say approximately around 10-16 hours. For younger students, I would recommend minimum 25 hours of study.

Dream, there is no doubt that you are a skilled and dedicated teacher and you have achieved impressive results with your students. But im pretty sure not all teachers are as skilled as you and not all students will be as talented and dedicated as your students. Your experience with your students may be very hard to duplicate by others and i worry that parents may have misconceptions on what is realistically possible to achieve.[/quote]My son took once a week lesson (group class) for 6 months and he got 95 for Grade 5 theory when he was Primary 3 (the class started when he was Primary 2). He had never had theory lesson before and never sat for practical exam although he was playing Grade 5 pieces when he attended the Grade 5 Theory classes. His teacher, like Dreamaurora, also prefers to teach theory at one go. About 70% of my son's classmates obtained more than 90 in the exam. The oldest in the class in Primary 5 and the youngest was in Primary 2 when they took the exam. Parents must sit in the class so we got a lot of pressure to make sure our children do the homework. The children were looking forward to the lessons every week because the classes are fun as they are all about the same age and some kids really made the classes lively. Even I enjoyed the classes

So, anything is possible. Just need to find a good teacher and work hard on it.

[Dreamaurora]

ngl2010:

My son took once a week lesson (group class) for 6 months and he got 95 for Grade 5 theory when he was Primary 3 (the class started when he was Primary 2). He had never had theory lesson before and never sat for practical exam although he was playing Grade 5 pieces when he attended the Grade 5 Theory classes. His teacher, like Dreamaurora, also prefers to teach theory at one go. About 70% of my son's classmates obtained more than 90 in the exam. The oldest in the class in Primary 5 and the youngest was in Primary 2 when they took the exam. Parents must sit in the class so we got a lot of pressure to make sure our children do the homework. The children were looking forward to the lessons every week because the classes are fun as they are all about the same age and some kids really made the classes lively. Even I enjoyed the classes

So, anything is possible. Just need to find a good teacher and work hard on it.

Sacred does have a point though. I have noticed the discussion in this forum seem to involve students and parents who are in the top percentile of music learning population. If the results and achievements discussed here are treated as the 'normal' benchmark, parents may start wondering if their children or children's teacher are doing fine or worse, start to impose unrealistic expectations on the children or teachers.

When an impressive result is achieved, we do need to view it in the overall context on how it is achieved e.g. how many hours are put in, teacher's skill level, parents' musical background and commitment level, performing experience, etc. Not considering these factors and expecting our own children to achieve the same results without reproducing the proper context may lead to extreme frustration and anger.

So, I hope whoever visit this forum to peruse our thoughts and opinions understand the context of our discussions.

[ngl2010]

Dreamaurora:

ngl2010:

My son took once a week lesson (group class) for 6 months and he got 95 for Grade 5 theory when he was Primary 3 (the class started when he was Primary 2). He had never had theory lesson before and never sat for practical exam although he was playing Grade 5 pieces when he attended the Grade 5 Theory classes. His teacher, like Dreamaurora, also prefers to teach theory at one go. About 70% of my son's classmates obtained more than 90 in the exam. The oldest in the class in Primary 5 and the youngest was in Primary 2 when they took the exam. Parents must sit in the class so we got a lot of pressure to make sure our children do the homework. The children were looking forward to the lessons every week because the classes are fun as they are all about the same age and some kids really made the classes lively. Even I enjoyed the classes

So, anything is possible. Just need to find a good teacher and work hard on it.

Sacred does have a point though. I have noticed the discussion in this forum seem to involve students and parents who are in the top percentile of music learning population. If the results and achievements discussed here are treated as the 'normal' benchmark, parents may start wondering if their children or children's teacher are doing fine or worse, start to impose unrealistic expectations on the children or teachers.

When an impressive result is achieved, we do need to view it in the overall context on how it is achieved e.g. how many hours are put in, teacher's skill level, parents' musical background and commitment level, performing experience, etc. Not considering these factors and expecting our own children to achieve the same results without reproducing the proper context may lead to extreme frustration and anger.

So, I hope whoever visit this forum to peruse our thoughts and opinions understand the context of our discussions.

Agree. We (the children and the parents) really worked hard on it and we were lucky to have a good teacher. Most of the parents have no musical background other than from what we learnt together with the children. However, we were extremely committed to ensuring that our children pass the theory exam. That translates to hours of hard work for our children and ourselves.