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Nov 3, 2006 22:09:49 GMT
Post by princessmoose on Nov 3, 2006 22:09:49 GMT
BANGOR WILL HAVE YOU WHATEVER YOU GET!!!
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Nov 4, 2006 15:51:21 GMT
Post by hoxie on Nov 4, 2006 15:51:21 GMT
Haha! That's OK then!! Another one for East Anglia - can't believe they have all come in 3 days! This time for BBC & grade 8 practical! Going to have to talk to my music teacher - one of them is advising me that the stress of grade 8 on top of my recital next year is too much, and thinks that they will accept just grade 8 standard rather than having it on paper, but 2 of the universities have said grade 8 - Southampton just says grade 8 practical & East Anglia says ABRSM (or equivalent) grade 8 in piano or flute. That sounds to me like they actually want it on paper! Just received a pack of leaflets from Bangor! All of a sudden I'm beginning to feel very scared! The thought of having to learn to cook (eeekk!) and just not knowing any of the students or teachers seems pretty scary! Attempting to calm down somewhat... hahaha
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Nov 4, 2006 16:00:49 GMT
Post by princessmoose on Nov 4, 2006 16:00:49 GMT
You'd know me if you came to Bangor!
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Nov 4, 2006 16:28:30 GMT
Post by hoxie on Nov 4, 2006 16:28:30 GMT
You'd know me if you came to Bangor! Yes, true, I would! And I'd get to live by the sea & in Wales if I came to Bangor! & I will definitely keep in touch with my friends, though it won't be the same as being with them every day - I can make new friends but I also love my current friends so much - they keep me sane!!! ;D And make me laugh when I'm sad I think part of the scary thing is that I have known many of my teachers for years now, although one of my 2 music teachers I have only known for just over a year & it feels like I have known her forever, so sure I would get used to it! It's a bit scary moving away from people who have supported me so much with both my ambitions & long term health problems, but I suppose it has to be done sometime!
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Nov 4, 2006 16:54:21 GMT
Post by Steve Hopwood on Nov 4, 2006 16:54:21 GMT
This time for BBC & grade 8 practical! Going to have to talk to my music teacher - one of them is advising me that the stress of grade 8 on top of my recital next year is too much Can you include your grade 8 programme in your recital? That would make sense to me.
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Nov 4, 2006 18:48:14 GMT
Post by hoxie on Nov 4, 2006 18:48:14 GMT
This time for BBC & grade 8 practical! Going to have to talk to my music teacher - one of them is advising me that the stress of grade 8 on top of my recital next year is too much Can you include your grade 8 programme in your recital? That would make sense to me. One of the pieces was in grade 8 but we have been given the advice to stick to pieces a grade or so within our capabilities so that we can get the interpretation marks, rather than playing the hardest stuff we can, so it got replaced! I believe this is very good advice, especially as my teachers have sadly experienced the crazy side of Edexcel's marking in the past and they think we should all play it safe! It just means that doing grade 8 would then mean learning more pieces on top of that Oh well, I'll talk to them & to my head of centre and think about it - I don't have to decide now whether I do it or not, I can do my grade 7 in a few weeks and then put everything into my recital for a while and see what I get in the conditional offers. If anywhere else asks for grade 8 I am going to have to seriously consider how to do it!
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Nov 4, 2006 20:30:58 GMT
Post by Dulciana on Nov 4, 2006 20:30:58 GMT
But surely you won't get a reasonable mark in your Grade 8 if you don't play well anyway? If I were I'd be careful not to spread myself too thin!
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Nov 4, 2006 21:41:43 GMT
Post by hoxie on Nov 4, 2006 21:41:43 GMT
But surely you won't get a reasonable mark in your Grade 8 if you don't play well anyway? If I were I'd be careful not to spread myself too thin! I think part of the problem is that they have had 2 players in the year above us who got grade 8 distinction and were marked down quite badly for their performances by Edexcel, with no apparent explanation. This year they want to play it very safe and work with pieces that are well within our capabilities and that we can interpret well - they have suggested playing pieces a grade below our standard. I think that it would be possible to achieve grade 8, but as you say it isn't a good idea to spread myself too thinly. I want to be able to concentrate on my recital because it is worth a lot of marks and tbh I would also enjoy doing something a bit different - learning music for a performance with an audience rather than an exam. I have pieces that I would use for grade 8 if I did it - I have learnt the first 2 pages of the Ravel for list C which I love! Also the Clementi (B) and Mendelssohn (A). I'd love to learn them anyway to be honest, even if I don't do the exam! Whooops sorry think I'm just waffling now sorry! I will try and think what on earth I am meant to be answering! EDIT: Ok, I'll try and answer the actual question now! I think I play OK, but obviously I am still learning and I have a lot to work on, mainly in terms of technique (though my teacher said she is really happy with how this has come on since the last time she heard me play ), stamina and confidence. I have only been having lessons for just over 3 years and in that time I have managed to get to taking an AVCM (and doing grade 7 in a few weeks! eek!) which I don't think is too bad! My teacher has said now that when she first heard I wanted to become a teacher she didn't think it would be possible for me to get to this standard in the amount of time I have had, which was a nice confidence booster! I think that in the remaining months I have before uni I could get to the standard of taking grade 8, the only thing is taking on too much (which is what she is worried about - we have a 20 minute recital to prepare as well!) and I obviously don't want to take on doing a grade 8 if it is just extra stress that I don't need. The question I am more bothered about is whether I need to take grade 8 or not. If it is needed, I will go and take it - trust me I am a stubborn sod and I'm not planning on falling at the last hurdle! If it means I have to play piano all day and night then I will! In the meantime, I will have to wait and see how things go. As well as the grade 8, there is my health to worry about - so I might be forced to take a gap year anyway. Though it would break my heart to refuse uni offers at this stage! I'll stop rambling now, I doubt any of the above post makes any sense whatsoever! EDIT 2: Apologies, this started as a nice celebratory thread and has quickly turned into a help-hoxie-get-into-uni thread ;D Sorry!!
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Nov 5, 2006 13:12:36 GMT
Post by Steve Hopwood on Nov 5, 2006 13:12:36 GMT
I think part of the problem is that they have had 2 players in the year above us who got grade 8 distinction and were marked down quite badly for their performances by Edexcel, with no apparent explanation. The reason for this is the two exams are completely different beasts. Grade 8 purports to be an examination of your all-round musical abilities. It is possible to achieve reasonable marks only on the pieces (say 25ish) and still get a distinction by doing brilliantly in the 'supporting tests'. The A2 Edexcel recital is a pure performance exam, recorded at school\college and marked externally from the recording by an external examiner. This means that the examiner is not influenced by non-musical things such as your rapport with the audience, general demeanour and so on. The recital is also marked to a much stricter criteria than that of a graded exam. The marks are awarded in bands with precise descriptions. Full marks for technical accuracy will have this sort of description (I am making this up, but I taught Edexcel 'A' level music for 10 years and know the kind of thing they look for); "Total mastery of the instrument; no sense of strain at any time; very occasional wrong notes\slightly faulty intonation made no difference to the overall performance." At the other end of the scale, the 1-2 mark band will read something along the lines of, "Halting, hesitant performance full of mis-readings, wrong notes\faulty intonation. Little or no control over the instrument." Ouch. ;D That is also because the grade range for A2 is 5 (Easier) 6 (Standard) and 7 (More Difficult). MD pieces attract an extra premium that looks attractive in the raw, but which virtually disappears when marks from all the papers are added together and scaled to represent a percentage out of 100. It is not worth chasing the extra marks, so effective, musical performances of grade 5\6 pieces will gain much higher marks than less controlled performances of grade 7+ pieces. Twenty minutes is a lot of minutes to fill and takes a heck of a lot of work, so you are right to consider that trying to take grade 8 at the same time would be a strain too far. You could even end up losing out on your uni places because you put so much work into taking grade 8 that you worked less at your 'A' levels than you need to and gained lower grades than you are capable of. That would not be a good idea. ;D I do not know you and your individual circumstances, hoxie, but I have known loads of students in roughly similar positions. My advice is always the same. Concentrate on the 'A' levels and sort out the grade 8 if\when it becomes a problem. If a uni wants you enough, it will be flexible. Steve
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Nov 5, 2006 14:13:17 GMT
Post by hoxie on Nov 5, 2006 14:13:17 GMT
I think part of the problem is that they have had 2 players in the year above us who got grade 8 distinction and were marked down quite badly for their performances by Edexcel, with no apparent explanation. The reason for this is the two exams are completely different beasts. Grade 8 purports to be an examination of your all-round musical abilities. It is possible to achieve reasonable marks only on the pieces (say 25ish) and still get a distinction by doing brilliantly in the 'supporting tests'. The A2 Edexcel recital is a pure performance exam, recorded at school\college and marked externally from the recording by an external examiner. This means that the examiner is not influenced by non-musical things such as your rapport with the audience, general demeanour and so on. ... If a uni wants you enough, it will be flexible. Steve Thanks for the advice Steve! With regards to the 2 musicians I mentioned, if I say that one of them is now studying at the Royal Academy of Music (and got 140 something in grade 8 if I remember correctly), can you see where my teachers are coming from? ;D I'm aiming to play pieces of mainly around grade 6 standard for my recital, with one or two grade 7 & grade 5 ones thrown in too, due to the marking system that you mention. What you say about the extra marks for MD pieces eventually being reduced to next to nothing is interesting - I have never really looked at the marking in that much depth before! Nicki (_flute) has suggested I contact the universities to find out whether or not they want grade 8 on paper or not. Once I know how flexible they will be, then I am in a better position to consider it more carefully. I don't really want to do it next year - I think I have enough stress already! But if some are adamant they want it on paper I will have to consider whether to rule them out or have a go at the exam I'll take it as it comes I suppose!
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Nov 5, 2006 14:26:19 GMT
Post by princessmoose on Nov 5, 2006 14:26:19 GMT
Which universities have you applied to hoxie? Of the offers you've had so far, Southampton and East Anglia want grade 8, Bangor don't. That is only 2 so far and given that you have 4 other uni's to choose from and one collge? you might not even have South + EA as your firm or insurance anyway. That doesn't make sense but I hope you kind of understand! You do need to see if they definitely want it on paper or not, but don't fret about it too much because you have loads of choices.
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Nov 5, 2006 19:24:08 GMT
Post by hoxie on Nov 5, 2006 19:24:08 GMT
Which universities have you applied to hoxie? Of the offers you've had so far, Southampton and East Anglia want grade 8, Bangor don't. That is only 2 so far and given that you have 4 other uni's to choose from and one collge? you might not even have South + EA as your firm or insurance anyway. That doesn't make sense but I hope you kind of understand! You do need to see if they definitely want it on paper or not, but don't fret about it too much because you have loads of choices. Yes, I understand what you mean - I don't know if I will get any other offers and what they will entail, but I'm definitely going to wait and see before making the decision! There is no way I am doing grade 8 just for one university, there has to be most of them or whichever ones I decide to put down as firm & insurance choices. Will wait and see, I'm just doing my usual and attempting to prepare for stuff that can't be decided yet! My weird way of trying to stay in control of my life! ;D I will be calm... EDIT: Other places I've applied are Huddersfield, Middlesex, Dartington College of Arts & Leeds College of Music.
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