singing exams

[Tiggy]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice from some more experienced napm's please. DD is taking her first LCM singing exam and I'm really unsure as to whether or not to continue with them after the exam. DD has a great voice and I wanted singing lessons for her so as she could learn the correct breathing and how to develop and look after her voice, however I'm getting more and more frustrated after each lesson as it really seems to be more about just passing the exam by putting a routine together, costume ect and not so much actual singing. The lessons are 15mins and always seem so rushed, not always even a warm-up and to be honest her voice seems much weaker than before she started lessons when she had a very powerful voice. Help!

[bruno2]

Maybe you should think about ABRSM exams. My dd has been singing since she was 8, she is now 14. The ABRSM seem to concentrate mainly on classical singing, so you learn breathing technique, posture, etc., She also takes the LCM exams which are great fun as its not totally based on the voice its more on performance. What age is dd ?

[Genevieve]

ABRSM are harder than Trinity Guildhall exams because there's more theory involved - (you may be interested in another thread in General Conversations : 'LAMDA v Guildhall

[Flosmom]

Flo is following the ABRSM syllabus.

Beware the tyrrany of a powerful voice at a young age. Power does not necessarily mean good technique. When Flo first started to learn to sing 'correctly' she lost volume because she stopped 'shouting' from her throat and started to rely on her chest and diaphragm more. She is now generating more volume again, but I know she is doing is in a way that is safe for her and that she can build on for the future. We look back on recordings that she did over a year ago and realise just how much she has progressed since then.

If you're not happy with your daughter's classes, my advice is to find someone that you are happy with. You can always approach a reputable school of music or conservatoire for a consultation lesson. You'll get an honest opinion and critique and they should be able to recommend a teacher who would be suitable for your DD's current stage of development and her preferred style of singing.

Good luck - please let us know how you get on.

Deb x

[leemum]

My dd does Trinity exams mainly because she wants to sing musical theatre and doesn't enjoy the more classical stuff. her singing teacher is great and during her lesson (hour) she also learns sight reading and musical theory to supplement the Trinity syllabus. she takes the ABRSM music theory exams separately. Tiggy , I would ask your dd's teacher why she doesn't feel a warm up is necessary . I think learning the correct discipline of warm up etc is vital for a young voice.

[Welsh Mum]

15 mins seems very brief - Dd always had at least 30 min (though they usually over ran ). It sounds more an issue with the teacher rather than the board. My Dd did LCM and they were great - but this was because her teacher did not rush or push them. Some of her friends were doing 2 exams a year whereas DD did at most 1 and did not start them before age 11. Instead she honed her voice, and explored lots of different genres - classical, MT, pop, jazz, blues, traditional. This was more important than exaMS, though they were good as a focus and to put technique etc into practice. Alsdo as she wanted to go into MT they developed her ability to act through song.

[esmum]

Dd is following ABRSM - she is 8. Found through a random conversation with another mum when she did the Joseph Choir, we have found a gem. We are 6 months in and on grade 1 - worth every effort to send her to her weekly lesson.

[Tiggy]

Thanks for all the replies, lots to think about DD is only 8 and part of me just wants to forget exams and let her get back to singing for fun as she herself is saying the lessons aren't fun anymore. But then part of me thinks that if she wants to do professional musical theatre, which she says she does and luckily is at the mo, then she needs to learn how to take care of her voice. I think I'll wait until after the exam and then speak to the teacher as I think she's great but under pressure from the theatre school

[Caroline A-C]

My dd has a half hour singing lesson - 15 minutes does seem rather short. My ds is studying a BA in Musical Theatre. He took his Grade 1 Singing when he was 8 and that is the only exam he has ever taken. The learning to use and take care of your voice is more important than exams. If your dd is not enjoying the singing lessons, I would stop the exams and perhaps find another teacher. Whatever you decide, best of luck.

[sophiesocks]

How old were your do when they started singing lessons?

[orangebear4]

'ABRSM are harder than Trinity Guildhall exams because there's more theory involved '

Having done both ABRSM and Trinity singing exams with my 14 year old dd I take issue with the above. People only think ABRSM are harder because you have to take Grade 5 theory before moving on to Grade 6 singing, but, that aside, dd has found the two equally difficult and always says Trinity aural is harder, particularly at the higher grades (she has just taken Grade 7 and took her ABRSM theory some time ago). It is also seems very hard to get a distinction in Trinity exams. I know this is always a contentious issue - just wanted to add our experiences of the two!

[mummydiva]

I think it is a tricky one but as a rule I would always say ABRSM. My daughter who is 12 took Grade 7 singing last summer with Trinity she got 91. We then changed teacher who suggested that we did ABRSM because she felt that would be a more recognised qualification and at the time we were looking for her to audition for a place at a music school (she already has grade 8 flute & piano and grade 7 violin all ABRSM. She got the results last week and got a merit even though her voice has improved a great deal since last summer. We felt that the ABRSM comments were more helpful and honest too!
I guess at the end of the day it is a personal choice but I think that ABRSM are still the gold standard.

[Welsh Mum]

I think it is horses for courses. If you want to go on to do classical singing then I would say def go with ABRSM. If you want more preparation for Mt then LSM - mainly because it teaches acting through song and perfromance which ABRSM doesn't. However, you should still do ABRSM music theory which is a big advantage to any singer.

Cant comment on Trinity as I don't know anything about them.

[Flosmom]

LAMDA has a musical theatre course and exams too. Flo just took her grade 1 last weekend.

Flo started singing lessons about 18 months ago, so that would make her 8 and a few months when she started.

Of course, she started singing a long time before that. I remember pushing her in her pushchair on holiday in France before Pandora was born, so she would have been about 14 months old. She was singing 'twinkle twinkle little star' but the trouble was she couldn't work out how to stop. Each time she got to the final 'how I wonder what you are' she'd carry in with 'up above the world so high...'

Deb x