Huntingdonshire Music School Association - Exam

The following article is from the ABRSM news feed:

In July we will be publishing a revised guitar syllabus featuring new set pieces and revised scale and sight-reading requirements. Here Nigel Scaife, Syllabus Director, reports on the significant changes and provides a preview of some of the exciting support materials being published.

• Read Nigel Scaife’s supporting preview of the 2009 piano syllabus>>

Revising any syllabus requires much consultation with teachers and very careful deliberation. In the case of guitar, this process will have taken us about three years, from the first working party meeting to the publication of the syllabus and support materials later this year. During this time we have been in touch with guitar teachers via a major pilot study and the detailed feedback generated by this project has been invaluable – many thanks to all those who took the time to share their views with us.

Repertoire

We have refreshed the repertoire lists, reflecting the diverse range of good-quality publications that have come into existence in recent years. We have included some excellent core pieces that have not been on the syllabus before, many suggested by teachers. For continuity, about 10% of the repertoire from the current syllabus is being kept. Also, in the lower grades we are retaining a selection of accompanied pieces using a single-line approach for the candidate.

Overall, in choosing the pieces we have worked to achieve a clear sense of the technical progression through the grades and to ensure that there is parity with the demands of other instruments. The wealth of new and exciting repertoire should entice and challenge pupils at all levels and make for really enjoyable music making.

New resources

To complement the new repertoire lists we will be publishing a range of resources for teachers and pupils. ABRSM Publishing is extending its popular Time Pieces series to embrace guitar. The two volumes of Time Pieces for Guitar will include items from each list at Grades 1 and 2 in the first volume and Grades 3 to 5 in the second. There are over 30 pieces in each, covering the whole gamut of styles and periods from Sumer is icumen in of 1250 to newly commissioned pieces by Colin Tommis, Andy Crowdy, Colin Downs and Stephen Goss. These volumes will provide a helpful selection of potential exam pieces and a rich source of repertoire for developing guitarists.

We are also publishing new editions of music by Weiss and Scarlatti, bringing together syllabus pieces selected for use at Grades 6, 7 and 8 in single volumes, and producing a set of CDs containing recordings of the guitar syllabus pieces at all eight grades.

Sight-reading

With the new sight-reading tests we are trying to encourage and enable a more musical approach to sight-reading. The new tests have been written in attractive styles and will not present greater technical challenges than the current materials. At the lower grades they are shorter than the current ones, allowing greater focus on musical detail, and from Grade 6 all tests have titles so that they appear as real pieces, helping candidates to get a feel for the musical mood and style.

Scales

In putting together the new requirements we considered many issues such as the unnecessary duplication of scales using identical left-hand fingerings, the role of the thumb, the progression of scales in intervals, and the use of rhythm patterns.

Some of the main changes are outlined here.

• Right-hand finger scales are now complemented by lower-octave scales played by the thumb alone at Grades 1 and 2, and by those in which the thumb plays the lower octave and the fingers the upper at Grades 3 to 5. These patterns promote independence of thumb movement and a stable right-hand position when changing between thumb and fingers.
• From Grade 3 we have introduced scales in intervals which relate directly to patterns found so frequently in guitar music.
• We now make a distinction between over-ringing broken chords and non-over-ringing arpeggios. We hope that this new feature will help students to understand the function of different musical elements – whether an arpeggiated passage is part of a melodic line or the accompanying harmonic texture.
• Candidates will no longer have to play scales with specified right-hand fingerings. However, we will be providing some guideline fingering in the scale books.

The new requirements represent a more logical progression up the grades, with tasks more closely interrelated for easier absorption. Candidates will have covered all keys by the time they reach Grade 8, and even with the additions outlined above, there is a considerable reduction in the number of items required at each grade.

The new guitar syllabus, valid from January 2009, will be published in July together with the scale and sight-reading books. Time Pieces for Guitar, the CDs of Guitar Exam Pieces and the Weiss and Scarlatti books will be available later in the year.

Nigel Scaife
Syllabus Director

Introduction

Huntingdonshire Music Colege Students with Associated Board (ABRSM) passes at Grades 6, 7 and 8 will now benefit from official recognition for their qualifications from UCAS - the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

This means that it will be possible to count the results from practical and theory examinations at higher grades towards the points total needed for admission to colleges and universities. The UCAS siite has information on application to universities and colleges of further education.

Music Examination Points Equivalence

Following government accreditation of graded music exams last year, we asked UCAS to consider including our higher grades in the tariff for university and college entrance - allocating points as already happens for AS and A levels and other qualifications.

UCAS has agreed, and students applying for university and college entrance for courses starting in the academic year 2004-2005 and beyond will benefit from the following points recommendations:

Points awarded for AS levels are in the range 20 - 60 and for A levels in the range 40 - 120.

Associated Board (ABRSM) exams will attract points under the UCAS system.  As with all awards under this system, admission tutors may accept, or not, the recommended points for the courses for which students apply.

Recommended points are based on the highest grade taken; for example, a candidate with practical passes at Grades 6 and 7 and a distinction at Grade 6 theory would claim for the theory and for the Grade 7 practical - a total of 55 points.  This is in addition to points awarded for AS or A level Music.

Recognition

The inclusion of Associated Board qualifications in the UCAS Tariff provides further recognition of the considerable dedication and commitment required in order to be successful at these grades and confirms the educational worth of graded music exams.

Saturday Mornings

Here we try to illustrate what goes on on a typical Saturday morning at the Huntingdonshire Music School.

The activities are split into the following categories:-

• lessons. These happen throughout the morning with pupils dipping into and out of theory and/or group playing to take their lesson. Not everyone takes lessons.
• theory tuition. Where you learn the theory (that makes sense of the black sqiggles on the page) and, if appropriate, prepare for exams. Not everyone takes exams.
• group playing. Getting together in groups to practice, usually for a concert at the school or externally. Sometimes we do daft things, like turning the music upside down and seeing what it sounds like ...
• socialising / eating / drinking. Catching up with the gossip, in the cafe when we have quieter moments. Some even practice their pieces for the benefit ( ) of everyone else.

Theory Tuition

Theory is important when learning an instrument. It is so much easier to read and understand music if you understand the basic building blocks.

Theory classes are organised by Grade. This aligns with the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM) examination grades. In terms of difficulty we start at Grade 1 and finish at Grade 8 (the hardest). You do not have to take exams and anyone can take theory lessons.

There are two types of theory tuition:-

• written. This is covered by a range of set books, by teacher-derived quizzes, tests, games and learning aids. Often a piano or other instrument may be used to help illustrate theory principles, or practice such as key signatures, scales, chords or timing. Practice theory exam papers are available for those taking theory and practical exams or those who want to see how far they’ve reached.
• aural. This aims to make the student better at listening to and analysing music. Since music exams include aural tests, as well as playing, students taking exams are encouraged to also take aural lessons where they get practice at the different types of listening skills looked for in an exam. For early grades these are covered in the last 15 minutes of a theory lesson. For Grades 4 and beyond these can take anything up to an hour (on top of the normal written theory lesson).

Group Playing (Bands, Ensembles & Orchestras)

One of the strengths of the Huntingdonshire Music school is the number and variety of groups provided for folks to play in. You don’t have to learn an instrument to play. You might take lessons privately elsewhere and want to learn the skills of playing as a member of a larger team (albeit in loose formation at times!). This sort of experience is very hard to get and almost impossible to get as an adult (most things are geared up towards the little dots, youngsters and teenagers (a decidely different species ). Not only that, but it’s convenient, sociable and you can join as many as you want.

We are also looking at forming new ensembles, particularly choral/singing and perhaps blending music technology with classical instruments.

A typical Saturday morning timetable for the various ensembles, bands and orchestras is shown in the following diagram. It is hectic!