I never dreamed that I would learn so much by blogging. I’ve read a lot of other forums, blogs, articles, etc. but now I’m learning from comments left on my own blog – thank you to all!
As I have struggled with how best to advance the glut of students that I have in first or second year, I have questioned whether grade 1 isn’t harder than it used to be; I have also grown frustrated with some of the rigid reliance on particular methods that I see. After yesterday’s post, Beverly Porter (long time teacher and composer) commented that she keeps students progressing through supplementary music until they know their way around the piano and printed page enough to enter the more satisfying grade 2. This was a light bulb moment for me! It’s a logical extension of my thoughts of getting too trapped by a particular method – in this case, the method being the physical grade 1 book.
There are so many terrific elementary pieces to let the students play – pieces that have already stood the test of time, whether for centuries or just a few years (there are a number of contemporary Canadian composers – younger than me – who are perennial favourites among my students). Teaching the skills alongside the proven repertoire, along with a few carefully chosen, unproven new pieces, sounds like a much better way to proceed.
And really, how appealing for the student to think he or she has “skipped” grade 1!
Thank you so much to Beverly, as well as to the other teachers who have more experience than I do. Thank you for your wisdom and the willingness to pass it along. This is, after all, the history of our art.
I so glad my comments were helpful. I, personally, only do a few exams with students. I think it’s important to do one (usually Gr. 2 or 3) before the theory requirement kicks in at Gr. 5. My own first exam was Gr. 8, after about 5 years of lessons, and it was probably scarier than it would have been had I had done an earlier grade before.
This year I only have 3 students doing exams……..an 8 yo (Gr.2), a 9 yo (3)and a 13 y0 (3) 2nd year, extremely musical girl who would have been able to do a higher level but we settled on 3 for the experience. The younger ones, both boys are 3rd year students……one who loves to practice and has learned 22 pieces since our Festival in February and one, very bright kid, who finds practicing to be a chore! The exam results should be interesting.
I try not to “teach only for the exam” although most of them have the graded books as core material. What a wealth of information in the RCM syllabus! I always try to find a special piece, not in the repertoire books, for each student for exams and festival.
We do what we can to help them achieve their musical goals and make their journey as interesting and as relevant as possible.
Meanwhile, Downunder they have added 3 extra exams!
AMEB [Australian Music Examinations Board] has just added 3 exams before their Preliminary Grade. And the new P Plate exams are proving popular, I’m told.
The <a href="http://www.pplatepiano.com.au/"P Plate Piano books are visually appealing and are AMEB’s first full colour production. The pieces in the 3 books are recent compositions, and a fair proportion are from our own century and feature composers from many countries, including our own.
Students only have to play 3 pieces from one of the books in their exams, and can even take Mum or their teacher in with them. All students receive a certificate of completion and are assessed but not graded.
When you complete the third exam you receive your P plate licence.
I couldn’t imagine enrolling a student in all three introductory exams, but i have recently enrolled one student in the third one.
Wow. That’s a lot of exams. And I bet there are parents who are eager to see every certificate on the wall!
I liked Beverly’s comments. I think I have gotten too exam-focused in recent years – and have I never put a student in before the 3rd grade exam.
It’s so interesting to get the perspective on the Yahoo Piano Teachers Forum of all the American teachers, where they don’t have a national exam system, although our Canadian system is worming its way in. By necessity, they approach things differently.
By the way, what does “P Plate” mean?
P Plate is what is put on the back of a car when you first get your driver’s licence. At first you have a red P and later a green P.
I think the idea is that when you complete level 3, you get your P, like a driver does.
I doubt that many would make their students do all three levels.
But I think it is good to have them there for kids and paretns who want a nice friendly, introductory exam where you can’t fail and where you don’t have to do anything except play three piano pieces.
Some paretns [and some teachers] are very keen for students to rocket through the exam system and while they might skip grades, they don’t do what you have talked about in your post LaDona, but simply expect their brilliant children will be able to simply jump from Grade 2 to 4, let’s say.
But they miss so much great music by doing this and many are not really ready to instantly do Grade 4, having done Grade 2.
I agree with the idea of taking a break from exams and continuing to work at improving, but question the idea of trying to get through the system as fast as possible.
I wondered what P-Plate was as well! Now I know. RCM now has 2 exams before Grade 1 and I’ve been told by examiners that the most popular exam in the US is the Preparatory B. Here in Canada we think nothing of jumping into exams at higher levels and never doing the Preps. I also think there’s too much emphasis on grades. I’ve had little beginners ask me what grade they’re in!
Yes – there’s an assumption that the beginning of piano lessons is grade 1. That always takes a bit of explaining.
Thanks for enlightening us about the P Plate thing, David. In my mind it had something to do with tectonic plates in the southern hemisphere or something… probably because my son just finished first year geology so dinner conversation has strayed in that direction.
Just to illustrate the emphasis on exams – some years back (decades, really) when my mother was still teaching piano lessons, she had a student who had started with the grade 2 exam then did every exam till grade 8. At the point the father requested that he go back and do the grade 1 to complete the collection of certificates on the wall! (My mom said no).