My very first AMEB Flute Exam is coming up! What should I expect? How can I prepare? How do I deal with anxiety? Is there anything important I need to know, or any tricks so I can succeed and do my best? What exactly does this exam encompass? What possible scores can I get?
Sorry for bombarding you with questions! I'm just really really nervous for this exam!
It'd be appreciated if you could give me any tips that you can! It doesn't have to be specific to AMEB exams, they can be tips relating to any Flute examinations!
Thank you very much in advance!
AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
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JasonTongRulz
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
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lianeandflute
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19 am
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
When is it? What grade are you doing? Hopefully you've already started preparing… and hopefully you have a teacher to guide you through all of this...
Start rehearsals with your accompanist asap so that you are totally comfortable with playing with them and with intonation. Make sure you know the piano part too. If you can, listen to recordings of your pieces.
Learn general knowledge as soon as possible as well so it's natural for you to know what everything means and you don't have to worry about cramming the night before. Practice aural as much as possible because that tends to get left to the last minute as well.
Maybe you should spend 10 minutes a day on aural (get the aural book sold by AMEB, it's really really useful), 10 minutes on sight reading and spend some time reading over all your general knowledge notes every day from now until the exam. It just makes those sections less stressful as these parts tend to get forgotten about until the last minute.
When you get in there will be one examiner who will most likely try to be friendly and inviting, they'll ask for scales first (I think), they'll only ask for a few scales, but you, of course, have to know all the scales that are set for your grade. Then pieces, then they'll ask for sight reading (they give you a couple of minutes to look it over before you have to play), aural (they will sit and play at the piano and ask you questions from there) and general knowledge last (they will come to your music stand and ask you questions about notation and the directions written on the music).
The better prepared you are, the less anxious you'll feel, but we all get nerves regardless. I would recommend having a parent or friend pretend to be an examiner and play out a mock exam (not necessarily with accompanist) so you get used to the general format and to practice performing. Do this a couple of times, maybe once a week a few weeks before the exam?
Make sure your scales are even in rhythm (use a metronome all the time when practicing), tone and dynamics throughout (as well as knowing all the notes!) and by memory. Clear, clean articulation is also very important.
Make sure all your pieces are polished by the day, including correct rhythms, lots of dynamics and correct tempo. They look for these things. Articulations are all as written and clean and clear. Dynamics are very important! It's what sets the top band away from the lower bands most of the time.
At the end they'll give you an envelope that says "For the teacher" or something like that, but you can open it, which has your report and final mark. They give marks A+, A, B+, B, etc. They'll write some comments about your playing and give a final mark at the bottom.
This is what I remember from when I took AMEB exams, but that was a while ago (I switched to Trinity and now have a final diploma exam out of 3 left, and diploma exams are very different from normal exams). Also just had a student of my own take an exam (yesterday actually) so just been through the whole preparation process as a teacher.
Be prepared, and then go in and be confidant!
Start rehearsals with your accompanist asap so that you are totally comfortable with playing with them and with intonation. Make sure you know the piano part too. If you can, listen to recordings of your pieces.
Learn general knowledge as soon as possible as well so it's natural for you to know what everything means and you don't have to worry about cramming the night before. Practice aural as much as possible because that tends to get left to the last minute as well.
Maybe you should spend 10 minutes a day on aural (get the aural book sold by AMEB, it's really really useful), 10 minutes on sight reading and spend some time reading over all your general knowledge notes every day from now until the exam. It just makes those sections less stressful as these parts tend to get forgotten about until the last minute.
When you get in there will be one examiner who will most likely try to be friendly and inviting, they'll ask for scales first (I think), they'll only ask for a few scales, but you, of course, have to know all the scales that are set for your grade. Then pieces, then they'll ask for sight reading (they give you a couple of minutes to look it over before you have to play), aural (they will sit and play at the piano and ask you questions from there) and general knowledge last (they will come to your music stand and ask you questions about notation and the directions written on the music).
The better prepared you are, the less anxious you'll feel, but we all get nerves regardless. I would recommend having a parent or friend pretend to be an examiner and play out a mock exam (not necessarily with accompanist) so you get used to the general format and to practice performing. Do this a couple of times, maybe once a week a few weeks before the exam?
Make sure your scales are even in rhythm (use a metronome all the time when practicing), tone and dynamics throughout (as well as knowing all the notes!) and by memory. Clear, clean articulation is also very important.
Make sure all your pieces are polished by the day, including correct rhythms, lots of dynamics and correct tempo. They look for these things. Articulations are all as written and clean and clear. Dynamics are very important! It's what sets the top band away from the lower bands most of the time.
At the end they'll give you an envelope that says "For the teacher" or something like that, but you can open it, which has your report and final mark. They give marks A+, A, B+, B, etc. They'll write some comments about your playing and give a final mark at the bottom.
This is what I remember from when I took AMEB exams, but that was a while ago (I switched to Trinity and now have a final diploma exam out of 3 left, and diploma exams are very different from normal exams). Also just had a student of my own take an exam (yesterday actually) so just been through the whole preparation process as a teacher.
Be prepared, and then go in and be confidant!
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
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JasonTongRulz
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
It's on the 30th of May! It's for 2nd Grade, I've been playing since December 
My accompanist is my teacher so she's had a lot of experience with these pieces (They're from the Second Edition Grade Books) I'm playing for my List A Amid the New Moon Hay - English folk song, for my List B, Aria by Telemann and for List C I'm playing Venezuelan Holiday by Christopher Norton. How many Extra lists do you need to play? At the moment I have Bouree by Handel, and Milonga by Angel Lasala, as well as an except from Mozart's Andante in C Major...
What will they ask me about in General Knowledge? Do I need to be really "dictionary precise" with my responses? I've played Piano for 7 years prior to Flute so I'm somewhat familiar with Aural examinations.. What exercises do they do?
My teacher has informed me that I actually have two examiners, because one of them is a trainee.. Is this a bad thing? So I don't have to play all the scales? (I do know all of them but I get a little nervous...)
That is a really good idea to have a mock exam! Wow! I never thought about that!
I'm not too good with playing soft yet, because my notes occasionally drop octaves when I play softly..
Do they really give me the mark I got that swiftly? I expected a wait of months!
Thank you very much for an extremely comprehensive reply, it is very much appreciated!
My accompanist is my teacher so she's had a lot of experience with these pieces (They're from the Second Edition Grade Books) I'm playing for my List A Amid the New Moon Hay - English folk song, for my List B, Aria by Telemann and for List C I'm playing Venezuelan Holiday by Christopher Norton. How many Extra lists do you need to play? At the moment I have Bouree by Handel, and Milonga by Angel Lasala, as well as an except from Mozart's Andante in C Major...
What will they ask me about in General Knowledge? Do I need to be really "dictionary precise" with my responses? I've played Piano for 7 years prior to Flute so I'm somewhat familiar with Aural examinations.. What exercises do they do?
My teacher has informed me that I actually have two examiners, because one of them is a trainee.. Is this a bad thing? So I don't have to play all the scales? (I do know all of them but I get a little nervous...)
That is a really good idea to have a mock exam! Wow! I never thought about that!
I'm not too good with playing soft yet, because my notes occasionally drop octaves when I play softly..
Do they really give me the mark I got that swiftly? I expected a wait of months!
Thank you very much for an extremely comprehensive reply, it is very much appreciated!
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lianeandflute
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19 am
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
oh great! so you can rehearse lots and lots and really know exactly what's going on with the piano part and intonation will be natural.
aural exams are the same for every instrument. so for second grade, you're looking at clapping a short rhythm they play for you, singing a short phrase they play for you and singing the higher or lower note of two notes played together (either a major 3rd or perfect 5th apart within an octave). the rhythm and singing you can actually practice any time you want while listening to music. the other you'll have to practice on your own with piano or get your teacher to do some with you.
what happens is; they tell you what's going to happen.
e.g. "Now I'm going to play a short melody twice, and I would like you to clap the rhythm" and they'll play it 1ce, have a short break and then play it again. Then you repeat the rhythm by clapping.
same with singing and the two pitches.
for gen. knowledge it's all about the musical directions mostly, e.g. allegro, cantabile. it doesn't need to be recited by memory from the oxford dictionary of music but it does need to be accurate. if they asked for allegro, i would say "fast and lively" or
"lively and happy" and cantabile I would say "in a singing style." Check all the meanings with a dictionary to make sure. Also, of course, you need to know what to call all the note values etc, what key the piece is in. Sometimes they ask for a little bit of info about the composer, like their era. Mostly it's just about the piece specifically. they won't ask complicated questions about structure and harmony and phrasing (way too advanced for the average 2nd grade).
no it's not a bad thing about the trainee, it just means they'll be sitting in to learn about how AMEB examinations are done for themselves and it just means you'll be playing for two examiners. I don't know if they'll ask you anything, but I would assume not.
they will not ask for all the scales, but you won't know what they're going to ask for. keep doing your scales every day, if you know them all now, that's fantastic (my student who just did an exam, despite my efforts, was stubbornly slow at learning her scales and had to suddenly learn them all right at the end so she didn't do as well with them as she could have). now that you know them you can work on being confident with them.
yeah the mock exam thing is genius! credit to my teacher for that idea! seriously do it, when you get in the exam you'll just be like, yeah, i already know what's going on. it helps to calm your nerves. I found that anyway
if you struggle with piano [dynamic not instrument
] (which we all do, piano is the hardest to play) then I would suggest practicing scales with dynamics. In the trinity college exams (which I ended up doing) they make you do scales pp -crescendo- ff -diminuendo- pp through and vice versa. you could also try to play the whole scale pianissimo. it will probably be gross at first but it can also be very beneficial. this can also help you with confidence in scales as you have to think about dynamics and support instead of the notes and this style of playing translates into pieces as well!
and of course long notes with dynamics work wonders too, the scales one is another way of doing it, i like it because you are using dynamics over many notes, similar to phrasing in a piece.
yeah AMEB is very quick, you might have to wait for a few minutes outside the examination room, but then they hand it to you and that's it, good and bad sides I think. at least you can know straight away instead of biting your nails for ages. the certificate takes a while though. (in trinity you have to wait for months to know the result! it's horrible!)
oh and you only need two extra lists so pick the ones you play best, they aren't as important as the list pieces. and don't forget about sight reading! practicing for this is just a case of picking up some pieces or studies you haven't done yet or for a while and then sight reading. give yourself a couple of minutes to see what't going on, notes, key signature, time signature, any accidentals. maybe practice with just fingers and then just go for it. sight reading improves when you do more of it (like anything!).
I'm sure you'll be great. I watched your youtube videos from your other post and I think you'll be fine. Be confident!
aural exams are the same for every instrument. so for second grade, you're looking at clapping a short rhythm they play for you, singing a short phrase they play for you and singing the higher or lower note of two notes played together (either a major 3rd or perfect 5th apart within an octave). the rhythm and singing you can actually practice any time you want while listening to music. the other you'll have to practice on your own with piano or get your teacher to do some with you.
what happens is; they tell you what's going to happen.
e.g. "Now I'm going to play a short melody twice, and I would like you to clap the rhythm" and they'll play it 1ce, have a short break and then play it again. Then you repeat the rhythm by clapping.
same with singing and the two pitches.
for gen. knowledge it's all about the musical directions mostly, e.g. allegro, cantabile. it doesn't need to be recited by memory from the oxford dictionary of music but it does need to be accurate. if they asked for allegro, i would say "fast and lively" or
"lively and happy" and cantabile I would say "in a singing style." Check all the meanings with a dictionary to make sure. Also, of course, you need to know what to call all the note values etc, what key the piece is in. Sometimes they ask for a little bit of info about the composer, like their era. Mostly it's just about the piece specifically. they won't ask complicated questions about structure and harmony and phrasing (way too advanced for the average 2nd grade).
no it's not a bad thing about the trainee, it just means they'll be sitting in to learn about how AMEB examinations are done for themselves and it just means you'll be playing for two examiners. I don't know if they'll ask you anything, but I would assume not.
they will not ask for all the scales, but you won't know what they're going to ask for. keep doing your scales every day, if you know them all now, that's fantastic (my student who just did an exam, despite my efforts, was stubbornly slow at learning her scales and had to suddenly learn them all right at the end so she didn't do as well with them as she could have). now that you know them you can work on being confident with them.
yeah the mock exam thing is genius! credit to my teacher for that idea! seriously do it, when you get in the exam you'll just be like, yeah, i already know what's going on. it helps to calm your nerves. I found that anyway
if you struggle with piano [dynamic not instrument
] (which we all do, piano is the hardest to play) then I would suggest practicing scales with dynamics. In the trinity college exams (which I ended up doing) they make you do scales pp -crescendo- ff -diminuendo- pp through and vice versa. you could also try to play the whole scale pianissimo. it will probably be gross at first but it can also be very beneficial. this can also help you with confidence in scales as you have to think about dynamics and support instead of the notes and this style of playing translates into pieces as well!and of course long notes with dynamics work wonders too, the scales one is another way of doing it, i like it because you are using dynamics over many notes, similar to phrasing in a piece.
yeah AMEB is very quick, you might have to wait for a few minutes outside the examination room, but then they hand it to you and that's it, good and bad sides I think. at least you can know straight away instead of biting your nails for ages. the certificate takes a while though. (in trinity you have to wait for months to know the result! it's horrible!)
oh and you only need two extra lists so pick the ones you play best, they aren't as important as the list pieces. and don't forget about sight reading! practicing for this is just a case of picking up some pieces or studies you haven't done yet or for a while and then sight reading. give yourself a couple of minutes to see what't going on, notes, key signature, time signature, any accidentals. maybe practice with just fingers and then just go for it. sight reading improves when you do more of it (like anything!).
I'm sure you'll be great. I watched your youtube videos from your other post and I think you'll be fine. Be confident!
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
-
lianeandflute
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19 am
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
oh great! so you can rehearse lots and lots and really know exactly what's going on with the piano part and intonation will be natural.
aural exams are the same for every instrument. so for second grade, you're looking at clapping a short rhythm they play for you, singing a short phrase they play for you and singing the higher or lower note of two notes played together (either a major 3rd or perfect 5th apart within an octave). the rhythm and singing you can actually practice any time you want while listening to music. the other you'll have to practice on your own with piano or get your teacher to do some with you.
what happens is; they tell you what's going to happen.
e.g. "Now I'm going to play a short melody twice, and I would like you to clap the rhythm" and they'll play it 1ce, have a short break and then play it again. Then you repeat the rhythm by clapping.
same with singing and the two pitches.
for gen. knowledge it's all about the musical directions mostly, e.g. allegro, cantabile. it doesn't need to be recited by memory from the oxford dictionary of music but it does need to be accurate. if they asked for allegro, i would say "fast and lively" or
"lively and happy" and cantabile I would say "in a singing style." Check all the meanings with a dictionary to make sure. Also, of course, you need to know what to call all the note values etc, what key the piece is in. Sometimes they ask for a little bit of info about the composer, like their era. Mostly it's just about the piece specifically. they won't ask complicated questions about structure and harmony and phrasing (way too advanced for the average 2nd grade).
no it's not a bad thing about the trainee, it just means they'll be sitting in to learn about how AMEB examinations are done for themselves and it just means you'll be playing for two examiners. I don't know if they'll ask you anything, but I would assume not.
they will not ask for all the scales, but you won't know what they're going to ask for. keep doing your scales every day, if you know them all now, that's fantastic (my student who just did an exam, despite my efforts, was stubbornly slow at learning her scales and had to suddenly learn them all right at the end so she didn't do as well with them as she could have). now that you know them you can work on being confident with them.
yeah the mock exam thing is genius! credit to my teacher for that idea! seriously do it, when you get in the exam you'll just be like, yeah, i already know what's going on. it helps to calm your nerves. I found that anyway
if you struggle with piano [dynamic not instrument ] (which we all do, piano is the hardest to play) then I would suggest practicing scales with dynamics. In the trinity college exams (which I ended up doing) they make you do scales pp -crescendo- ff -diminuendo- pp through and vice versa. you could also try to play the whole scale pianissimo. it will probably be gross at first but it can also be very beneficial. this can also help you with confidence in scales as you have to think about dynamics and support instead of the notes and this style of playing translates into pieces as well!
and of course long notes with dynamics work wonders too, the scales one is another way of doing it, i like it because you are using dynamics over many notes, similar to phrasing in a piece.
yeah AMEB is very quick, you might have to wait for a few minutes outside the examination room, but then they hand it to you and that's it, good and bad sides I think. at least you can know straight away instead of biting your nails for ages. the certificate takes a while though. (in trinity you have to wait for months to know the result! it's horrible!)
oh and you only need two extra lists so pick the ones you play best, they aren't as important as the list pieces. and don't forget about sight reading! practicing for this is just a case of picking up some pieces or studies you haven't done yet or for a while and then sight reading. give yourself a couple of minutes to see what't going on, notes, key signature, time signature, any accidentals. maybe practice with just fingers and then just go for it. sight reading improves when you do more of it (like anything!).
I'm sure you'll be great. I watched your youtube videos from your other post and I think you'll be fine. Be confident!
aural exams are the same for every instrument. so for second grade, you're looking at clapping a short rhythm they play for you, singing a short phrase they play for you and singing the higher or lower note of two notes played together (either a major 3rd or perfect 5th apart within an octave). the rhythm and singing you can actually practice any time you want while listening to music. the other you'll have to practice on your own with piano or get your teacher to do some with you.
what happens is; they tell you what's going to happen.
e.g. "Now I'm going to play a short melody twice, and I would like you to clap the rhythm" and they'll play it 1ce, have a short break and then play it again. Then you repeat the rhythm by clapping.
same with singing and the two pitches.
for gen. knowledge it's all about the musical directions mostly, e.g. allegro, cantabile. it doesn't need to be recited by memory from the oxford dictionary of music but it does need to be accurate. if they asked for allegro, i would say "fast and lively" or
"lively and happy" and cantabile I would say "in a singing style." Check all the meanings with a dictionary to make sure. Also, of course, you need to know what to call all the note values etc, what key the piece is in. Sometimes they ask for a little bit of info about the composer, like their era. Mostly it's just about the piece specifically. they won't ask complicated questions about structure and harmony and phrasing (way too advanced for the average 2nd grade).
no it's not a bad thing about the trainee, it just means they'll be sitting in to learn about how AMEB examinations are done for themselves and it just means you'll be playing for two examiners. I don't know if they'll ask you anything, but I would assume not.
they will not ask for all the scales, but you won't know what they're going to ask for. keep doing your scales every day, if you know them all now, that's fantastic (my student who just did an exam, despite my efforts, was stubbornly slow at learning her scales and had to suddenly learn them all right at the end so she didn't do as well with them as she could have). now that you know them you can work on being confident with them.
yeah the mock exam thing is genius! credit to my teacher for that idea! seriously do it, when you get in the exam you'll just be like, yeah, i already know what's going on. it helps to calm your nerves. I found that anyway
if you struggle with piano [dynamic not instrument
] (which we all do, piano is the hardest to play) then I would suggest practicing scales with dynamics. In the trinity college exams (which I ended up doing) they make you do scales pp -crescendo- ff -diminuendo- pp through and vice versa. you could also try to play the whole scale pianissimo. it will probably be gross at first but it can also be very beneficial. this can also help you with confidence in scales as you have to think about dynamics and support instead of the notes and this style of playing translates into pieces as well!and of course long notes with dynamics work wonders too, the scales one is another way of doing it, i like it because you are using dynamics over many notes, similar to phrasing in a piece.
yeah AMEB is very quick, you might have to wait for a few minutes outside the examination room, but then they hand it to you and that's it, good and bad sides I think. at least you can know straight away instead of biting your nails for ages. the certificate takes a while though. (in trinity you have to wait for months to know the result! it's horrible!)
oh and you only need two extra lists so pick the ones you play best, they aren't as important as the list pieces. and don't forget about sight reading! practicing for this is just a case of picking up some pieces or studies you haven't done yet or for a while and then sight reading. give yourself a couple of minutes to see what't going on, notes, key signature, time signature, any accidentals. maybe practice with just fingers and then just go for it. sight reading improves when you do more of it (like anything!).
I'm sure you'll be great. I watched your youtube videos from your other post and I think you'll be fine. Be confident!
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
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JasonTongRulz
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
Wow! Again, thank you so very much!
Will they penalise me if I sing it an octave lower if they play note that are out of my range?
Or can I just ask them to play it on octave lower? (Or higher)
Aww... I don't know much about periods of these composers! I've never heard of most of them! Yay, that's a relief! I thought it would be extremely challenging...
Ah, that's good! But I think I'll probably be even more nervous since two people will be watching me...
I'm really good with my scales, except for the Melodic Minors. They always throw me off cause I don't know the structure of them! From observation, I think it's a sharpened 6th and 7th on the way up and natural 6th and 7th on the way down.. I'm not quite sure about that... They confuse me! And I always confuse them with the Harmonic Minors!
Yeah! I'll definitely try it! It is a really good idea and I can't believe I never thought about that!
I struggle with playing Piano in the 3rd octave (The dynamic).. as well as A, Bb, B and C in the 2nd octave. Also a problem I seem to find is that my 2nd octave Bbs, Bs, and C's sometimes crack and drop an octave.. or sometimes even alternate between the two octaves... If that makes sense! Also when playing G Major, my F#'s in the 3rd octave ALWAYS CRACK! I have no problem with E3, it's just F#3... It never sounds! If some sound actually does come out it's the B in the 2nd Octave.... That exercise seems like it will really help my dynamics! Thank you!
Wow! I'm impressed!
Yay! I only need two extra lists!
I'm not so good at Rhythm sight reading.. unfortunately.. I need to work on it..
I have concerns about playing the Andante for an Extra list.. While I really love it, it is extremely long. I think it's 4 minutes? Am I really allowed to play that long a piece? All the other pieces are so short in comparison!
Also, how often do people get A+ grades? My Mum really wants me to get one.. And how well do you have to play in order to earn one? What grade do most people get from 2nd Grade? I feel I'll do really bad....
And thank you very much for the compliment! It's much appreciated! And you don't think my tone is really bad? I think it's a little bit airy and my tongue is too loud.. Is my tongue really loud? I'm really concerned about loud tonguing...
Can the examiners grade you based on Tone?
Thank you very much for your extremely comprehensive response!
Will they penalise me if I sing it an octave lower if they play note that are out of my range?
Or can I just ask them to play it on octave lower? (Or higher)Aww... I don't know much about periods of these composers! I've never heard of most of them! Yay, that's a relief! I thought it would be extremely challenging...
Ah, that's good! But I think I'll probably be even more nervous since two people will be watching me...
I'm really good with my scales, except for the Melodic Minors. They always throw me off cause I don't know the structure of them! From observation, I think it's a sharpened 6th and 7th on the way up and natural 6th and 7th on the way down.. I'm not quite sure about that... They confuse me! And I always confuse them with the Harmonic Minors!
Yeah! I'll definitely try it! It is a really good idea and I can't believe I never thought about that!
I struggle with playing Piano in the 3rd octave (The dynamic
).. as well as A, Bb, B and C in the 2nd octave. Also a problem I seem to find is that my 2nd octave Bbs, Bs, and C's sometimes crack and drop an octave.. or sometimes even alternate between the two octaves... If that makes sense! Also when playing G Major, my F#'s in the 3rd octave ALWAYS CRACK! I have no problem with E3, it's just F#3... It never sounds! If some sound actually does come out it's the B in the 2nd Octave.... That exercise seems like it will really help my dynamics! Thank you!Wow! I'm impressed!
Yay! I only need two extra lists!
I'm not so good at Rhythm sight reading.. unfortunately.. I need to work on it..
I have concerns about playing the Andante for an Extra list.. While I really love it, it is extremely long. I think it's 4 minutes? Am I really allowed to play that long a piece? All the other pieces are so short in comparison!
Also, how often do people get A+ grades? My Mum really wants me to get one.. And how well do you have to play in order to earn one? What grade do most people get from 2nd Grade?
I feel I'll do really bad....And thank you very much for the compliment! It's much appreciated! And you don't think my tone is really bad? I think it's a little bit airy and my tongue is too loud.. Is my tongue really loud? I'm really concerned about loud tonguing...
Can the examiners grade you based on Tone?
Thank you very much for your extremely comprehensive response!
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pied_piper
- Posts: 1962
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:31 pm
- Location: Virginia
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
To improve your F#3, practice it by approaching the F#3 from different notes. For example, if you can get G3 OK, then slowly play G3, F#3, G3, F#3... Then, try E3, F#3, E3, F#3... F3, F#3, F3, F#3, and other note combinations. One to work on mastering is B3, F#3, B3, F#3. Move the air a bit faster on the upward leap and getting the F#3 should improve. Once you can get that leap securely, your issues with F#3 should decrease.JasonTongRulz wrote:... when playing G Major, my F#'s in the 3rd octave ALWAYS CRACK! I have no problem with E3, it's just F#3... It never sounds! If some sound actually does come out it's the B in the 2nd Octave...
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--
--anonymous--
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lianeandflute
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19 am
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
going on from what pied piper said, there's an exercise specifically for this in moyse's de la sonorite - he wrote exercises similar the one i'm about to explain for every single note on the flute (chromatically). you can borrow this from the con library (or photocopy it) if you want but t's basically what pied piper described. you start on F# 3 and tongue every note alternating between the next note and F#:
F#3 - G3 - F#3 - G#3 - F#3 - A3 - F#3 etc up to C4
then go down:
F#3 - F3 - F#3 - E3 - F#3 - Eb3 - F#3 etc all the way down to C1.
Then slur from each note to F#3 in the same order as before. Then slur from F#3 to the other notes in the same order as before. Hope that makes sense. It's quite an advanced exercise but worth trying. It's done wonders for me so far and I'm certain it will continue to do so in the future. It has to be done at a moderate tempo, don't bother rushing, it's not going to fix anything by rushing. Also, especially for the 3rd register you have to be using a lot of abdominal support to get the notes to speak, and a very open throat. As you get higher in the register when playing scales, push more and more with abs and open throat more and more to get an open and secure sound without squeaking. =] But don't over stress about this right now, concentrate on what you need for your exam for now…
I don't know if they'll penalise you for singing the wrong octave… if you think it is out of your range, give it a go anyway and if that doesn't work, just ask politely if they could put it down/up an octave. but i doubt you'll have to, they will play in a general range that everyone can reach, it's not testing your singing abilities, just your aural perception!
Okay well now is your chance to look up the composers! Haha. It's interesting anyway and will more likely than not actually help you understand your pieces better. I always seem to have eureka moments when researching my pieces (when I do research them. it's so easy to forget to).
yes, you are totally right. 6th and 7th raised on way up, natural minor on way down. it's like… minor scale for first half of ascent, 2nd half of ascent is major (because both 6th and 7th are raised it sounds major) and then stick to the key signature on the way down… hope that doesn't confuse you! that's how i think of it when i'm singing melodic minors (for my aural solfege class). if that confuses you, then ignore what i just said.
i already mentioned the high F#s above but also with the high register and playing piano… yes! it's so hard! argh! you have to use SO MUCH abdominal support and have a really open throat. i read somewhere (possibly on this forum?) that playing higher is like a hose. you turn the hose on and water just comes out, if you put your thumb over it, the hole is smaller, the water is faster, but still the same amount of water. it's kind of like that for playing the high register, especially softly.
If I were you I wouldn't play the Mozart for extra list. extra list pieces are not as important as list pieces so you should choose something you know you can play well that are shorter rather than stretch yourself for something you might not even need to play on the day (they only ask for 1), and they will most likely cut you off anyway, because it' so long you'll have more work. Also, it's a very advanced piece… it's at least 5th or 6th grade in AMEB. Also if you know you can play a piece well already, it will be more convincing. I'm not saying you can't play the Mozart well because I've never heard you play it, but it is a very hard piece and I wouldn't get a 2nd grade student of mine to play it for an extra list let alone for a 2nd grade exam. But it's up to you. I would recommend something fun, short and which you can already do well so you can focus on list pieces instead.
With sight reading rhythm, think about it before you play. Subdivide the rhythms and make sure it fits the time signature. That's the best advice I can offer without being with you, lol. Get some music out, write on it if you have to like 1 2 3 4 over the beat (just the first few times at home), figure out the rhythm first and then sight read through it on the flute. If you practice figuring out the rhythms first, you'll get quicker and it will get easier.
People get A+ not too often. Most 2nd grades get A I think. As the grades get harder, A's and A+'s are less and less achievable of course. For an A+, theoretically everything has to be perfect… I think if you got most stuff right and impressed them with a charismatic performance, you could get A or A+. You start losing marks for a lot of wrong notes, wrong rhythms, very out of tune, not following any musical markings. If you stop and start again and restart scales a lot they will take off marks too. Don't stress about this though, just do your best! If you are positive, it comes through. negative thoughts affect out behaviour and that comes through in a performance. Be confidant in yourself! It shines through and the examiner will see that.
They won't grade you based on tone, if you can't get a sound out… well… that's another thing! As you haven't been playing for very long, you can't expect to have a perfect tone very very soon. It takes work. I think your tone is good for how long you've been playing and considering you've just changed your embouchure. It's just a matter of time for your lips to learn how to focus the sound and eliminate some airiness. This means lots of abdominal support! Loud tonguing often results form relying on the tongue to make the sound when it should come from abdominal support… your tongue is just to articulate, not MAKE the sound. Maybe you could try taking in a deep breath, filling up your stomach and chest with air, hold it for a couple of seconds, push your ribs outwards and push upwards with abdominal muscles, get lips ready and then play. see what happens, experiment a bit with it. just an idea. i don't know your case specifically and wouldn't necessarily know what to do if i did as i'm not the MOST experienced teacher in the world. i'm still a student myself remember. if you know what i mean!
Hey look at this link!
http://www.ameb.edu.au/site/index.cfm?d ... extralists
it's the AMEB website advice about exams.
No problem about extensive replies! I always talk too much… haha! Oh man… I'm just getting longer and longer with my responses! I talk waaay too much!
F#3 - G3 - F#3 - G#3 - F#3 - A3 - F#3 etc up to C4
then go down:
F#3 - F3 - F#3 - E3 - F#3 - Eb3 - F#3 etc all the way down to C1.
Then slur from each note to F#3 in the same order as before. Then slur from F#3 to the other notes in the same order as before. Hope that makes sense. It's quite an advanced exercise but worth trying. It's done wonders for me so far and I'm certain it will continue to do so in the future. It has to be done at a moderate tempo, don't bother rushing, it's not going to fix anything by rushing. Also, especially for the 3rd register you have to be using a lot of abdominal support to get the notes to speak, and a very open throat. As you get higher in the register when playing scales, push more and more with abs and open throat more and more to get an open and secure sound without squeaking. =] But don't over stress about this right now, concentrate on what you need for your exam for now…
I don't know if they'll penalise you for singing the wrong octave… if you think it is out of your range, give it a go anyway and if that doesn't work, just ask politely if they could put it down/up an octave. but i doubt you'll have to, they will play in a general range that everyone can reach, it's not testing your singing abilities, just your aural perception!
Okay well now is your chance to look up the composers! Haha. It's interesting anyway and will more likely than not actually help you understand your pieces better. I always seem to have eureka moments when researching my pieces (when I do research them. it's so easy to forget to).
yes, you are totally right. 6th and 7th raised on way up, natural minor on way down. it's like… minor scale for first half of ascent, 2nd half of ascent is major (because both 6th and 7th are raised it sounds major) and then stick to the key signature on the way down… hope that doesn't confuse you! that's how i think of it when i'm singing melodic minors (for my aural solfege class). if that confuses you, then ignore what i just said.
i already mentioned the high F#s above but also with the high register and playing piano… yes! it's so hard! argh! you have to use SO MUCH abdominal support and have a really open throat. i read somewhere (possibly on this forum?) that playing higher is like a hose. you turn the hose on and water just comes out, if you put your thumb over it, the hole is smaller, the water is faster, but still the same amount of water. it's kind of like that for playing the high register, especially softly.
If I were you I wouldn't play the Mozart for extra list. extra list pieces are not as important as list pieces so you should choose something you know you can play well that are shorter rather than stretch yourself for something you might not even need to play on the day (they only ask for 1), and they will most likely cut you off anyway, because it' so long you'll have more work. Also, it's a very advanced piece… it's at least 5th or 6th grade in AMEB. Also if you know you can play a piece well already, it will be more convincing. I'm not saying you can't play the Mozart well because I've never heard you play it, but it is a very hard piece and I wouldn't get a 2nd grade student of mine to play it for an extra list let alone for a 2nd grade exam. But it's up to you. I would recommend something fun, short and which you can already do well so you can focus on list pieces instead.
With sight reading rhythm, think about it before you play. Subdivide the rhythms and make sure it fits the time signature. That's the best advice I can offer without being with you, lol. Get some music out, write on it if you have to like 1 2 3 4 over the beat (just the first few times at home), figure out the rhythm first and then sight read through it on the flute. If you practice figuring out the rhythms first, you'll get quicker and it will get easier.
People get A+ not too often. Most 2nd grades get A I think. As the grades get harder, A's and A+'s are less and less achievable of course. For an A+, theoretically everything has to be perfect… I think if you got most stuff right and impressed them with a charismatic performance, you could get A or A+. You start losing marks for a lot of wrong notes, wrong rhythms, very out of tune, not following any musical markings. If you stop and start again and restart scales a lot they will take off marks too. Don't stress about this though, just do your best!
If you are positive, it comes through. negative thoughts affect out behaviour and that comes through in a performance. Be confidant in yourself! It shines through and the examiner will see that.They won't grade you based on tone, if you can't get a sound out… well… that's another thing!
As you haven't been playing for very long, you can't expect to have a perfect tone very very soon. It takes work. I think your tone is good for how long you've been playing and considering you've just changed your embouchure. It's just a matter of time for your lips to learn how to focus the sound and eliminate some airiness. This means lots of abdominal support! Loud tonguing often results form relying on the tongue to make the sound when it should come from abdominal support… your tongue is just to articulate, not MAKE the sound. Maybe you could try taking in a deep breath, filling up your stomach and chest with air, hold it for a couple of seconds, push your ribs outwards and push upwards with abdominal muscles, get lips ready and then play. see what happens, experiment a bit with it. just an idea. i don't know your case specifically and wouldn't necessarily know what to do if i did as i'm not the MOST experienced teacher in the world. i'm still a student myself remember. if you know what i mean!Hey look at this link!
http://www.ameb.edu.au/site/index.cfm?d ... extralists
it's the AMEB website advice about exams.
No problem about extensive replies! I always talk too much… haha! Oh man… I'm just getting longer and longer with my responses! I talk waaay too much!
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
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JasonTongRulz
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
Wow! Thank you for the Tone exercise! I'm starting to get worried about the F#s in my G Major scale because they never actually hit F#, they hit the Harmonic underneath it.. Will I be penalised for this?
Also, when I slur my scales, towards the 3rd octave it becomes harder to get them to sound because I start running out of air...
Yay! That's true! I'm happy I don't have to worry about Aural as much :O
I keep procrastinating for that part! What will I need to know? What kind of things will they ask? Dynamics? Time Signatures? Tempo Markings? D: Is there anything that I won't know just by looking at it, and will need to look up?
Yay! I always get confused for D Melodic Minor though because it's B Natural instead of Bb, which kinda throws me off..
Yeah, I've decided I'm playing Bach's Minuet for an Extra List! It's much shorter too!
Aww, I'm worried I won't get an A... Because I really want an A! For me, the sight reading is definitely the hardest part.. Do we have to observe the tempo markings, like 88bpm, 92bpm, etc? Because I don't know those tempo markings...
Also Time Signatures other than 3/4 and 4/4, I get stuck at as well.. How much time do I get to read the piece?
Oh, that's a relief.. Will they start grading on Tone when it gets to the Higher Grades though? :O Yay! Thank you! But it sometimes gets bad on some days.. Ooh that's a good point! I should try it! :O
Thank you very much, again! You really know your stuff!
Also, when I slur my scales, towards the 3rd octave it becomes harder to get them to sound because I start running out of air...
Yay! That's true!
I'm happy I don't have to worry about Aural as much :OI keep procrastinating for that part! What will I need to know? What kind of things will they ask? Dynamics? Time Signatures? Tempo Markings? D: Is there anything that I won't know just by looking at it, and will need to look up?
Yay! I always get confused for D Melodic Minor though because it's B Natural instead of Bb, which kinda throws me off..
Yeah, I've decided I'm playing Bach's Minuet for an Extra List! It's much shorter too!
Aww, I'm worried I won't get an A...
Because I really want an A! For me, the sight reading is definitely the hardest part.. Do we have to observe the tempo markings, like 88bpm, 92bpm, etc? Because I don't know those tempo markings...Also Time Signatures other than 3/4 and 4/4, I get stuck at as well.. How much time do I get to read the piece?
Oh, that's a relief.. Will they start grading on Tone when it gets to the Higher Grades though? :O Yay! Thank you! But it sometimes gets bad on some days.. Ooh that's a good point! I should try it! :O
Thank you very much, again! You really know your stuff!
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lianeandflute
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19 am
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
I don't know if you'll be penalised. If you play the rest totally fine and just the F# not so good, at this level (2nd grade) - probably not. How is the tone exercise going? How are the F#'s going now?
Well, for running out of air. Worst comes to worst, you might have to take another breath… but try opening your throat and pushing more with the abdominal muscles as you get higher while not using as much air. This might not work for you yet if you are 2nd grade but it's worth experimenting with it. If you use lots of abdominal support, you don't need as much air so you can last a lot longer (and sound better too!). Also you could make your scales faster? Test your self, get as far as you can with one breath, then try to get longer, then again, if you do this everyday you might see some improvement.
Yes they'll ask for all the things you said. If there is anything in your music that you don't know just by looking at it, then you need to look it up. Know and understand a bit about the era the composers are from.
Sight reading: for 2nd grade the time signatures and rhythms are pretty basic. They aren't going to give you any time signatures other than 3/4 and 4/4. Probably only 1 sharp or 1 flat in the key signature. You don't have to observe the metronome mark exactly (pretty much impossible to do anyway) but it does sort of give an indication about the speed. You already know that 60 is one second, so use that as a basis. They aren't going to mark you down heavily for speed though unless you go stupidly fast or stupid slow and it won't make sense. It's really stupid, they should say "allegro" or "moderato" instead of a metronome mark. It's so much more logical to interpret and actually related to learning about music if you have italian markings.
In higher grades they will probably mark you down if you have crap tone. They will always be more impressed if you have a really nice tone but shouldn't be harsh at this level. You have plenty of time to secure your tone.
Hope it all goes well! As long as you are confident in your playing and what you know, you will do well.
Well, for running out of air. Worst comes to worst, you might have to take another breath… but try opening your throat and pushing more with the abdominal muscles as you get higher while not using as much air. This might not work for you yet if you are 2nd grade but it's worth experimenting with it. If you use lots of abdominal support, you don't need as much air so you can last a lot longer (and sound better too!). Also you could make your scales faster? Test your self, get as far as you can with one breath, then try to get longer, then again, if you do this everyday you might see some improvement.
Yes they'll ask for all the things you said. If there is anything in your music that you don't know just by looking at it, then you need to look it up. Know and understand a bit about the era the composers are from.
Sight reading: for 2nd grade the time signatures and rhythms are pretty basic. They aren't going to give you any time signatures other than 3/4 and 4/4. Probably only 1 sharp or 1 flat in the key signature. You don't have to observe the metronome mark exactly (pretty much impossible to do anyway) but it does sort of give an indication about the speed. You already know that 60 is one second, so use that as a basis. They aren't going to mark you down heavily for speed though unless you go stupidly fast or stupid slow and it won't make sense. It's really stupid, they should say "allegro" or "moderato" instead of a metronome mark. It's so much more logical to interpret and actually related to learning about music if you have italian markings.
In higher grades they will probably mark you down if you have crap tone. They will always be more impressed if you have a really nice tone but shouldn't be harsh at this level. You have plenty of time to secure your tone.
Hope it all goes well! As long as you are confident in your playing and what you know, you will do well.
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
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JasonTongRulz
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
Yay!~ Thank you so much for all your help! Sorry I couldn't tell you my results earlier!
I got an A!~
I'm so happy!~
Unfortunately, I almost got an A+.. I stuffed up General Knowledge a little bit but everything else went perfectly!
They asked me what an Anacrusis was (I forgot... should've revised!) and Modulation......
And my teacher and my band master were very happy with me!~
Next time I'll study harder for general knowledge though..
Also... I was suggested to skip a few grades, possibly to 6th... o.O
So I did a little bit of research.. Is it true you have to take a theory exam to qualify for Grade 6? From what I've read, I need to have passed either, a Grade 2 Musicianship exam, a Grade 2 Theory of Music exam, or a Grade 2 Music Craft exam...
What are the differences between the three theory tests and which one do you suggest I should do?
And how should I prepare to grade for Grade 6? :O
I got an A!~
I'm so happy!~
Unfortunately, I almost got an A+.. I stuffed up General Knowledge a little bit but everything else went perfectly!
They asked me what an Anacrusis was (I forgot... should've revised!) and Modulation......
And my teacher and my band master were very happy with me!~
Next time I'll study harder for general knowledge though..
Also... I was suggested to skip a few grades, possibly to 6th... o.O
So I did a little bit of research.. Is it true you have to take a theory exam to qualify for Grade 6? From what I've read, I need to have passed either, a Grade 2 Musicianship exam, a Grade 2 Theory of Music exam, or a Grade 2 Music Craft exam...
What are the differences between the three theory tests and which one do you suggest I should do?
And how should I prepare to grade for Grade 6? :O
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lianeandflute
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19 am
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
YAY!!!! That's a fantastic mark!
Who suggested you skip to grade 6? … I wouldn't suggest that, only because it's a HUGE jump between those grades. Maybe you could skip to 4th grade? That would seem more realistic, haha!
Have a look at the syllabus and listen to some of the pieces for 4th grade and 6th grade to hear the kind of standard you're looking at. Also, remember that the scales get a lot harder and you get more of them. There are also a lot of pieces you have to prepare at a high standard and much more difficult sight reading.
Yes you have to have musicianship grades to do practical exams. Music theory and musicianship are very similar. I don't know anything about music craft. Sorry! But grade two is not too bad. Maybe do grade 1 first and you can then do grade 4 practical.
CONGRATULATIONS again!!!!!! Good work. Seriously, it's not a big deal about the A+. A is an amazing mark!
Who suggested you skip to grade 6? … I wouldn't suggest that, only because it's a HUGE jump between those grades. Maybe you could skip to 4th grade? That would seem more realistic, haha!
Have a look at the syllabus and listen to some of the pieces for 4th grade and 6th grade to hear the kind of standard you're looking at. Also, remember that the scales get a lot harder and you get more of them. There are also a lot of pieces you have to prepare at a high standard and much more difficult sight reading.
Yes you have to have musicianship grades to do practical exams. Music theory and musicianship are very similar. I don't know anything about music craft. Sorry! But grade two is not too bad. Maybe do grade 1 first and you can then do grade 4 practical.
CONGRATULATIONS again!!!!!! Good work. Seriously, it's not a big deal about the A+. A is an amazing mark!
"It's happening inside you; not in the flute!" - Emmanuel Pahud (At a masterclass in Sydney, Nov. 2010)
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JasonTongRulz
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
Re: AMEB (Australian) Flute Exam coming up! HELP ME!
Actually.. The examiner did o.O She said if I sorted out my General Knowledge she would "without doubt have given me an A+"...
WAAH I should prepare more for General Knowledge next time..
I want to grade to 5th grade at least if not 6th :O
But what do I have to do for 4th? :O
Where can I listen to the grade pieces? :O
I still don't know which theory exam to take..
WAAH I should prepare more for General Knowledge next time..
I want to grade to 5th grade at least if not 6th :O
But what do I have to do for 4th? :O
Where can I listen to the grade pieces? :O
I still don't know which theory exam to take..