| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 16:17:09
All but one of my students is over the age of 11, and whenever they do rockschool grades they usually get merit or higher. But I have one student who's about 7 and a half and I've been teaching him for about 2 years. He did the entry level 'Debut' exam, passmark is 70, he got 85%, although they don't have merit or distinction for debut.
He's just taken grade 1 and got 68% which is 3% over the basic pass, or 7% short of merit as another way of looking at it. While it's a pass, I can't help feeling a bit disappointed. Not at the student, but just me feeling a bit flat that it wasn't merit. His father, by text said " Cheers. At least it's a pass. Tthanks for letting me know". I don't really know if that's disappointment or if he's relieved. They're a very relaxed family, but I always get a bit paranoid at times like this, lol.
On the other hand, I feel at 7 to 8 years old, unless you're some whizzkid at drums, it's generally very young to be taking drum exams and expecting to get much more. I feel he has another 3 or 4 years yet before he's mature enough to play drums at the sort of level that would attain higher scores. What do you think? Should I be worrying about this? It's not like he failed, which is great. But I'm never really happy with basic passes. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Pegdrummer |
Posted - 11/04/2012 : 08:47:48
The parents sound concerning 'pushy' for a child of that age....
I have a couple of younger students who play great, but when they get into the exams, they mess up a little as they're so nervous. They're capable of getting Distinctions, but on a couple of occasions have scraped Merits - a possible answer anyway. Exam situations aren't for everyone - and they won't be for this lad much longer if his Dad is like that! |
| swampy |
Posted - 11/04/2012 : 08:28:48
The lad is 8 with the attention span of a, well an 8 year old. He probably thought about a funny squirrel or something. I wouldn't worry about it. |
| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 21:18:56
quote:
Originally posted by moosetication
The new syllabus is released May 1st (previews of a grade 5 and a grade 7 piece are out now). The 06-12 syllabus can be examined up to period B (June) 2013.
http://www.rockschool.co.uk/2012syllabus/
Nice. Thanks for the link. I remember ringing Rockschool in November last year about something, and was told September 2012 for the new syllabus, but either it's been brought forward or he was misinformed. |
| moosetication |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 20:42:44
The new syllabus is released May 1st (previews of a grade 5 and a grade 7 piece are out now). The 06-12 syllabus can be examined up to period B (June) 2013.
http://www.rockschool.co.uk/2012syllabus/
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| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 19:56:52
quote:
Originally posted by DyeHouseDrumWorks
Are DRuM and myself both Lees?!
Hehe, yep, seems we're both Lees. 
Not only that, but apparently you're a Taurus. I'm a Gemini, so my birthday is only around a month or so after you. 
quote:
Originally posted by DyeHouseDrumWorks
DRuM: It didn't change as such, they just added to the options so you can still do the perf. cert., but can now opt to do a full grade exam.
Ah, I see. Well, I might buy a new Debut book then. The new syllabus with new books and pieces is due in september, but Rockschool told me that the current books can be used some way into 2013. |
| DyeHouseDrumWorks |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 19:37:47
quote:
Originally posted by moosetication
quote:
Originally posted by DRuM
He did Debut end of last year which is purely a performance exam, playing 5 out of 6 pieces. There's no graded exam alternative for Debut.
Not so, Lee. There is a three-pieces-plus-technicals version of Debut in the current (2006-12) Rockschool syllabus. Not sure what's led you to think there isn't one.
Are DRuM and myself both Lees?!
DRuM: It didn't change as such, they just added to the options so you can still do the perf. cert., but can now opt to do a full grade exam. |
| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 19:28:19
quote:
Originally posted by moosetication
quote:
Originally posted by DRuM
He did Debut end of last year which is purely a performance exam, playing 5 out of 6 pieces. There's no graded exam alternative for Debut.
Not so, Lee. There is a three-pieces-plus-technicals version of Debut in the current (2006-12) Rockschool syllabus. Not sure what's led you to think there isn't one.
Well, my debut book is just about playing 5 pieces. Here's scans from my book.
http://imgur.com/hGqF9,eaBw8,scB1m#2
http://imgur.com/hGqF9,eaBw8,scB1m#1
http://imgur.com/hGqF9,eaBw8,scB1m#0
Even the downloadable Drums Syllabus at the right hand side here hasn't been updated for Debut.
http://www.rockschool.co.uk/qualifications/gradedmusicexams/drums/
I mostly do grade 1 upwards, hardly do Debut, so I'm not aware Debut has been changed. Oh well, good to know.
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| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 18:54:19
quote:
Originally posted by DyeHouseDrumWorks
Rockschool did in fact introduce a Grade Exam version for the Debut syllabus. A nice idea to start technical exercises/sight reading etc. early on - albeit to a very basic standard.
I certainly wouldn't advocate predicting exam results to students before their exam, but with practice it can help in reconciling just the kind of uncertainty you're experiencing here. You can get a feel for if a candidate is likely to rise to the occasion or possibly under perform - and prepare for the latter accordingly.
A couple of mess-ups; nerves on the day - especially for the younger ones; uncomfortable kit set up slips - it all erodes the final mark, but it's the exam experience that is more important in the earlier grades, don't you think?
Oh for sure, I agree. Exam experience, particularly at such a young age is good practise for him. Tbh, I think he's pretty much where I'd expect him or most students of sub 10 years old to be with his drumming and overall knowledge of reading and basic technique. Not every kid of that age is a prodigy such as tony royster jnr. I suppose my main thing though is that I wanted him to get a merit so that the overall response from him and his parents would be even more joyous. It's effectively a bronze medal at the end of the day, not a bad thing. But silver would have been better. Ah well, onwards and upwards. |
| moosetication |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 18:51:14
quote:
Originally posted by DRuM
He did Debut end of last year which is purely a performance exam, playing 5 out of 6 pieces. There's no graded exam alternative for Debut.
Not so, Lee. There is a three-pieces-plus-technicals version of Debut in the current (2006-12) Rockschool syllabus. Not sure what's led you to think there isn't one. |
| DyeHouseDrumWorks |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 18:43:07
Rockschool did in fact introduce a Grade Exam version for the Debut syllabus. A nice idea to start technical exercises/sight reading etc. early on - albeit to a very basic standard.
I certainly wouldn't advocate predicting exam results to students before their exam, but with practice it can help in reconciling just the kind of uncertainty you're experiencing here. You can get a feel for if a candidate is likely to rise to the occasion or possibly under perform - and prepare for the latter accordingly.
A couple of mess-ups; nerves on the day - especially for the younger ones; uncomfortable kit set up slips - it all erodes the final mark, but it's the exam experience that is more important in the earlier grades, don't you think?
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| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 17:46:41
quote:
Originally posted by moosetication
I think I'd reserve further judgement until the transcript is in hand. Without that you have no basis on which to assess the significance (or otherwise) of an apparently disappointing mark. Worrying about it without further information is all a bit pointless, I'd suggest.
I think you're right moose. I'm looking forward to reading the report.
quote:
Originally posted by DyeHouseDrumWorks
There's a lot of questions here and therefore, a lot of variables...
A. Did your student do the Debut Performance Cert. or the Grade Exam?
B. The more academic reading/technical and listening work required for the Grade Exam could well have been a factor.
C. The content for Grade 1 pieces is really a lot more difficult than Debut too (IMO) and can be a struggle for some students to get to grips with. I could see that with a 7 yr old for sure.
D. Did you predict a higher mark before exam day - and are you confident in your accuracy with that?
E. Did you hear the performance on the day? Did you think the performance was worth more?
Some good points.
A. He did Debut end of last year which is purely a performance exam, playing 5 out of 6 pieces. There's no graded exam alternative for Debut. Also, the passmark for Debut and all subsequent performance only exams starts at 70%, not 65% as for the graded exams. This March, he took Grade 1 graded exam.
B. Agreed.
C. Absolutely. While he loves playing drums, it took a fair bit of time to get him to execute certain things correctly, such as opening/closing the hihat during any given bar of a drum groove, without him opening it in the wrong place and slightly messing the timing up, and lifting his whole leg off the footplate. I said to him "hey, don't worry too much about the open/close hihats, leave them out if you want". Once that pressure was off, he managed to do the open/close perfectly. Reverse psychology Not sure if he managed them all in the exam, report will probably tell me.
D. One thing I try and stay away from is openly predicting a pass, merit or distinction to a student. What I will always do though is encourage and tell them they're going to do fine or very well, which basically covers me from a pass upwards. This is assuming that after several weeks, I can see that they're at least going to pass and not fail.
E. I didn't hear the performance on the day, but his dad heard the last bit of his third piece, listening through the door of the exam room. His dad said it sounded fine, but his son reckoned he messed up slightly in a couple of places. All I know is that during the lessons, I'd heard him play all the pieces very well, flawlessly I would say. Certainly to a good enough standard for his age. So it's very difficult for me to know if the actual performance was worth more. Other things he had to contend with is that his home setup is a smaller sized junior pearl kit. He also plays left handed but with the kit set up right handed. So I imagine it wouldn't be quite as easy for him to switch to a full size kit in the exam that he's not familiar with. However, he has done it once before with the Debut exam, so he's had at least some experience of trying to adapt. |
| moosetication |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 17:02:40
I think I'd reserve further judgement until the transcript is in hand. Without that you have no basis on which to assess the significance (or otherwise) of an apparently disappointing mark. Worrying about it without further information is all a bit pointless, I'd suggest. |
| DyeHouseDrumWorks |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 16:49:24
There's a lot of questions here and therefore, a lot of variables...
Did your student do the Debut Performance Cert. or the Grade Exam?
The more academic reading/technical and listening work required for the Grade Exam could well have been a factor.
The content for Grade 1 pieces is really a lot more difficult than Debut too (IMO) and can be a struggle for some students to get to grips with. I could see that with a 7 yr old for sure.
Did you predict a higher mark before exam day - and are you confident in your accuracy with that?
Did you hear the performance on the day? Did you think the performance was worth more?
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| DRuM |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 16:40:43
Haven't received the examiners notes yet. I rang rockschool today and they just told me the result and will be mailing me the certificate and report in the next day or two.
Well, the lessons consist of a combination of grades and fun drumming games. Grades gives him a focus, plus his sister does grades in piano and harp, so it's a relaxed but academic type of family.
I just received a text from his dad ""I think he (and I) would have preferred merit but a pass is a pass and not to be undervalued. Will be interesting to see the comments of the exam report.
As you say, he is still young. The other point is that he can use the result to motivate himself and start to realise you do have to focus on the task at hand and put in the practise to get the rewards".
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| moosetication |
Posted - 10/04/2012 : 16:34:58
Difficult to answer in the abstract.
Why is he taking grades? (That is not a loaded question, by the way).
What was his transcript like - where did he lose marks?
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