Klarinet Archive - Posting 000302.txt from 2004/04

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] Music exams in U.S.
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 12:30:47 -0400

Tony Wakefield wrote:

> In UK, there is no school system of music
> exams.

Tony, there is no universally accepted "music exam" system in the U.S.
either. There are organizations with grading systems, and some schools
choose to interface with such organizations, while other schools do not.

As probably holds true everywhere in the world, there are many different
'music tracks'. A child may be on the 'prepare-for-conservatory'
track, or the child may be on the
'satisfy-the-art-requirement-for-a-high-school-diploma' track, or the
child may be on the
'start-my-own-band-and-rock!!!-but-who-cares-about-credentials?' track,
or the child may be on the 'marching band' track.

Merely going to a music class in school does not atomatically get you a
'grade level'. To use my daughter as an example, her mid-year exam was
a combination of (a) written questions and (b) soloing in front of the
teacher's recording setup (video). Copies of the tape were given to
parents who requested them and who suppled a blank tape. The teacher
assigned a letter grade ("A+" through "F"). If you were to ask my
daughter what "music grade" she is in, she would be totally unaware of
any 'grade level' system other than being a junior in high school.

However, if my daughter had been in marching band at the same school,
she would definitely be aware of grade levels because our marching band
participates in a national program of graded competitions. Out of
curiosity, I attended a competition a few years ago, and every event was
repeated for each of the defined grade levels. Thus, if you accept
that marching band isn't "real music" (which I *DO NOT* accept), then
you have the weird situation where 'serious' music students (who were
invited to tour Europe last year) do not participate in a grade-level
system, whereas the 'goof off' marching band students *do* participate
in a formal grade-level system,.

Now, if you asked the same question of my nephew (who has seriously
considered a musical career), he would also be unaware of 'grade
levels', but he would tell you in detail about the TV shows and rock
band tours for which he has auditioned. And finally, if you drove 10
miles to the nearby music conservatory, you'd hear all sorts of talk
about graded auditions and competitions, but I don't know which grading
system they use --- which again shows the absence of a universal
standard.

===========

"You're weird," the kid at rehearsal told me, "actually, everybody is
weird.... because if you're normal, that's just plain weird."

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