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Kittybriton
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« Reply #3780 on: 02:32:47, 08-08-2008 » |
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Or tiptoe quietly away and become engrossed in womanly needlepoint  lest they find themselves drawn into any illicit knitting circles  Dirty Needles (Confessions of a Knitting Addict) |
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Click me -> About meor me -> my handmade storeNo, I'm not a complete idiot. I'm only a halfwit. In fact I'm actually a catfish. |
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Antheil
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« Reply #3781 on: 07:43:18, 08-08-2008 » |
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This is the wrong thread but I don't know where to post it. The Times has today picked up on an article in BBC Music magazine that GCSE students can now gain an A Grade without having to read or write a note of music. Article is here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article4481222.ece |
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Reality, sa molesworth 2, is so sordid it makes me shudder
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #3782 on: 08:15:54, 08-08-2008 » |
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I find it interesting that there is discussion of the yawning gulf between GCSE and AS levels but not between A and degree levels.
Judging by the standards of incoming students to Durham, I find that the A-Level curriculum does not adequately prepare students for a degree in music. They may be able to point out a middle C, but can they tell you what a perfect fifth higher is, or write down a short melody after three repetitions? Can they realise basic figured bass? Can they read alto clef? Can they improvise confidently? Can they perform prepared pieces in a concert situation? I could go on.
Things are different in Scotland, and I have no idea what the curriculum for the Highers is like. We have an extra year to prepare the students, but for some it is a losing battle. There is no golden bullet. They are being failed by the curriculum, and this results, despite our best efforts, in us failing them (in every sense).
But then you get those students who come on so much over a few years, or students who already arrive with such confidence and ability, and students who write extraordinary things (in words and in notes), and it makes it worthwhile. My worry is that, on reading that report, there will be some people who suggest that the AS and A level syllabi are too focused on notation...
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #3783 on: 10:24:16, 08-08-2008 » |
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The Times article comes as no surprise to me. I don't want to get into "when I were a lad" comparisons, but, as I have said here before, the GCSE strikes me as ludicrously easy compared with the old O-level syllabus. And the Sixth Form colleges around here seem to think the same thing; the sixth-form college my daughter will attend from September has a clear policy that a pass at GCSE is not enough to get on the AS music course, and students are expected to have a minmum of Grade 5 theory and Grade 5 on an instrument. The Head of Music's talk at the open evening left no-one in any doubt that he considered the GCSE a non-qualification.
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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Eruanto
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« Reply #3784 on: 22:59:10, 08-08-2008 » |
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I'm being busy at the moment. Tonight I met up for a drink with an old school friend who I hadn't seen for five years, tomorrow I have to journey to the Cambridge vicinity to join up with holidaying rest of family to visit relatives, and then from Sunday until Monday 18th I'm going to at least one Prom a day  . My practice time is going down the drain  |
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"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set"
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #3785 on: 23:46:12, 08-08-2008 » |
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I'm tired.
It's been a long day and an emotional evening.
I shouldn't let myself get like this really.
Regrets, self-pity and a gnawing anger.
It would be easier if I cried more easily.
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #3786 on: 23:56:05, 08-08-2008 » |
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Channel it, hh: write it out of yourself, verbally or musically. Emotions are the raw material of art: don't squander them on self-pity.
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Eruanto
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« Reply #3787 on: 23:59:52, 08-08-2008 » |
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Ron's idea really does work, I speak with lots of experience. But if you want to cry, I can recommend the third movement of Shostakovich's 2nd Piano Trio. It works without fail for me.
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« Last Edit: 00:09:54, 09-08-2008 by Eruanto »
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"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set"
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Milly Jones
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« Reply #3788 on: 00:04:24, 09-08-2008 » |
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The slow movement of the Schubert Quintet never fails to wring tears out of me.  Crying can be very therapeutic and a huge release of tension, especially if you fall asleep straight afterwards. People have to grieve in their own way and it takes as long as it takes - unfortunately. Just go with it and let the emotions flow over you, if you can, in a detached way as if you're watching them from a distance. Difficult, but makes you feel better. |
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We pass this way but once. This is not a rehearsal!
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brassbandmaestro
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« Reply #3789 on: 09:22:50, 09-08-2008 » |
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O yes the adagio of that Schibert piece. One of my favourite chamber music pieces. NB In another messageboard, themouthpiece.com(aha brass bands yes I hear you say!!!), their eqiuivealent of 'The Coffee Room', is called 'The Bar'(!). I wonder why   |
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« Last Edit: 08:17:02, 10-08-2008 by brassbandmaestro »
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BobbyZ
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« Reply #3790 on: 18:23:06, 10-08-2008 » |
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Surprised not to see any comment from Anty about the Welsh gold medal ?
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Dreams, schemes and themes
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #3791 on: 19:17:01, 10-08-2008 » |
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Surprised not to see any comment from Anty about the Welsh gold medal ?
Having just seen the weather conditions in which the race was run, I can see why a Welsh background was an advantage .... |
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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Antheil
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« Reply #3792 on: 19:36:25, 10-08-2008 » |
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Surprised not to see any comment from Anty about the Welsh gold medal ?
Having just seen the weather conditions in which the race was run, I can see why a Welsh background was an advantage .... Wales enjoys good natural circulation of air, ensuring very high air quality. No severely violent storms or similar natural disasters have ever been recorded in the Principality and rain is infrequently recorded. Slight Zephyrs are not unknown. |
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Reality, sa molesworth 2, is so sordid it makes me shudder
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Bryn
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« Reply #3793 on: 19:45:26, 10-08-2008 » |
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... rain is infrequently recorded.
That's because the rain gauges are always overflowing. |
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Antheil
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« Reply #3794 on: 19:50:34, 10-08-2008 » |
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... rain is infrequently recorded.
That's because the rain gauges are always overflowing.  |
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Reality, sa molesworth 2, is so sordid it makes me shudder
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