![]() Do students really need more stress in these overly stressed times? Don't they have enough exams at school anyway? ...but on the other hand, wouldn't taking an exam be a great challenge, a clear goal, a wonderful achievement? After playing the piano for a while, some students and/or parents feel the need to have an objective opinion about the progress they are making. Each country has its systems of exams and assessments and although they differ from one another they have a lot in common. The main boards are RCM for Canada and MTNA for the USA. The big ones in the UK are ABRSM and Trinity. Generally, in all of these, the student prepares the required material, plays for the examiners and gets a grade or assessment. The international schools in Switzerland work with the ABRSM and it is the system I am most familiar with. This is the biggest and oldest international examination board and has set standards worldwide for grading music students. ABRSM basically offers a sequince of 8 levels and several diplomas to follow grade 8. Passing an exam level is a bit like achieving a Karate belt with a new color. The exams themselves don't take very long, and the student gets a detailed handwritten (!) paper with remarks on each section, and a number of points that add up to the final result. A fancy certificate is delivered to those who pass, a few weeks later. When I think it would be a good idea for the student to take an exam, or when approached with the question by a parent, the first inquiry I make is - does the student want to do this. Over the years I learned how important this is. Exams can be a great goal to work towards, an opportunity to stretch and expand beyond the comfort zone and end up on a new and higher level. But if the student is doing this solely to please the parent or teacher, the price is too high. Exams can be motivation killers. The student has to keep playing the same pieces and scales for quite a while, has to stick with them until they are perfect or as close to perfect as they can get, and then there is the fear of not making it. When the exam question comes up, it is good if the parent and the teacher have an honest talk regarding how best to go about it. Once it is clear that the student really is keen on taking the exam and understands what it involves, the next question would be which level to aim for. One option is to take the exam when the student has more or less reached the required level so they have a paper confirming it. This is the less stressful option and is often a good approach for the first exam the student is taking. The second option is to choose the next level up, that would challenge the student and require a lot more work. The final decision on this too, should be made with the student. It is the student who will have to spend all those hours practicing the pieces and scales, drilling them over and over, and they are the ones who will be the proudest when they achieve the goal they set for themselves. Pianoways Facebook page
7 Comments
Claire
1/10/2016 11:08:15
A great blog post, Nurit. I totally agree - if taking exams takes the pleasure out of playing, it's just not worth it. Fostering a life long love of playing the piano is more important.
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Nurit Reuveni
1/10/2016 18:16:58
Thanks Claire. Yes, when exams serve as boosters for music making they are great. Otherwise, they should be treated cautiously.
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Fiona
2/10/2016 12:23:26
Really interesting post Nurit and fully agree with you. Piano playing should primarily be for enjoyment and exams only undertaken if the student really wants to. It is also important that they like at least some of the selected exam pieces or else practicing will become a real chore.
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Nurit Reuveni
3/10/2016 12:33:35
That's so true Fiona! The student has to like the pieces enough to want to practice them. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Sarah Dutler
27/12/2016 08:21:34
Hi Nurit, just checking your blogsite out.
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Nurit Reuveni
9/1/2017 14:09:44
Thanks for sharing this, Sarah!
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3/12/2017 18:44:17
I appreciate this post. I'm an intermediate adult student who has taken lessons from 5 different teachers during the course of my piano "career". It is only with my current teacher that I feel that I am finally learning about piano/musicianship. I think a value of exams is that they are logical building blocks leading to more technical mastery and a deeper understanding of music. Not every piano teacher is fully qualified to teach piano, not every teacher teaches piano/music in a progressive way.
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