Piano and keyboard, tuition and performance
Piano and keyboard, tuition and performance
I am very happy to teach pupils who have no intention of sitting exams. Exams are a good way to assess progress with an external body, such as ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music), LCM (London College of Music), Trinity (formerly Trinity/Guildhall) or VCM (Victoria College). The grade exams of the relatively new “Rock School” are also receiving very good reviews.
Piano grade exams can be a bit nerve-racking. However, the examiners of today are trained in trying to put pupils at ease. Please please keep in mind that piano grades are not to be considered if the pupil is not ready for them. The approach that pupils will only practice if they know that they will be sitting an exam in 6 weeks time is generally far from ideal. An alternative is entering for festivals, or LCM “Leisure Play” assessments. Leisure Play has no scale/sight reading or aural requirements, but the (four) pieces are marked to the same standard as grade exams.
Exams can be a stimulus to very healthy practice and I admit that I (as the teacher) gain a tremendous sense of achievement every time they pass. Pupils usually surge ahead in the development of technique when they prepare for exams. To pass an exam, you really need to have something of the ‘performer’ spirit in you. It seems obvious, but many people seem to miss this fact: but you are performing to an examiner.
The Falkirk area does not have an exam centre. The nearest centres for the main examining bodies are Edinburgh and Glasgow. (Until recently there was also an ABRSM centre in Stirling, but that option is in doubt for the future.) Each centre has its unique pros and cons: some people prefer a centre with a practice piano. Others prefer the nearest to their home/school.
Exam boards (not teachers) set fees for each exam. Basically the more advanced the grade, the longer the pupil will be in the exam room (around 10 minutes for practical Grade 1). Therefore, the higher the grade (pieces are longer and more scales to be heard etc) , more of the examiner’s time is required: they are experts who deserve considerably more than the minimum wage. Exam boards are not charities. It is not my policy to charge extra myself for exam preparation: I make NO extra money out of helping pupils through exams, unless the pupil/parent requests extra lessons.