Consortium music test

[RationalityRules]

Hairydog, I agree that keeping our children calm and happy and enjoying their learning is going to be as important a part of their preparation as anything else. So I'm with you on that one!

[thumbelina]

Hi everyone,

my dd would like to try for the music exam at wggs. she sings nicely but will have only got to grade 3 by the end of this summer.

can anyone please help with advise regarding the first stage of the music exams. i understand they are Bentley tests ...how can i get help with getting her atleast comfortable with the format and how to answer etc.

she got very upset during her grade 2 exam with nerves and ended up in tears and so i would like her to go in feeling confident etc

is there any way to prepare for the first aural tests?
any help would be so gratefully received.

thankyou

[Cutting42]

Hi everyone,

my dd would like to try for the music exam at wggs. she sings nicely but will have only got to grade 3 by the end of this summer.

can anyone please help with advise regarding the first stage of the music exams. i understand they are Bentley tests ...how can i get help with getting her atleast comfortable with the format and how to answer etc.

she got very upset during her grade 2 exam with nerves and ended up in tears and so i would like her to go in feeling confident etc

is there any way to prepare for the first aural tests?
any help would be so gratefully received.

thankyou

I explained the format on the first page of this thread:

The test is recorded and is known as the Bentley test. The chord test is done with std intervals but the test for pitch lower and higher is comprised of notes much less than a semitone. Some are pretty hard to determine.

I tested both my DC's initially with no practice and then after some practice a couple of months later. There was very little difference and my view is that you can either do it or you can't. To do something I would practice playing chords with 2,3 and 4 notes and get DS to answer, just do half a dozen a day, should only take a couple of minutes.

The answer paper is in 4 sections,
20 questions on pitch you just indicate the second note is above, below or the same the first note
10 on tune recognition where you indicate the note that was different in the second playing of the tune
20 on chords where you identify how many are notes in the chord
10 on rhythm, you identify if the two rhythm patterns are the same or if different, which beat is different.

The test is well explained at the outset and i have not heard anyone being confused by the test. Both my DC's got into their schools based on music entry.

There is no test material out in internet world that I have been able to find - which is good as it means that it is largely a level playing field. The actual exam is pretty low stress as they are in a large room/hall and given an answer sheet and played the test from a CD with all candidates tested at the same time. Takes about 20 mins I seem to recall.

[herty]

Not quite a level playing field - not all dcs have parents who could help them practice by playing a chord full stop, let alone with set numbers of notes - I couldn't.

[Hera]

Not quite a level playing field - not all dcs have parents who could help them practice by playing a chord full stop, let alone with set numbers of notes - I couldn't.

Me neither.

[Cutting42]

I did say largely and if your children are learning music, they probably have a music teacher who could be pressed into service here.

[Hera]

I did say largely and if your children are learning music, they probably have a music teacher who could be pressed into service here.

Cuttung42, really appreciate all your information. Just feeling a bit frustrated that I don't have the skills to help with music, and I am sure that daily practice is going to be better that 5 minutes at the end of a music lesson once a fortnight.

[Cutting42]

I did say largely and if your children are learning music, they probably have a music teacher who could be pressed into service here.

Cuttung42, really appreciate all your information. Just feeling a bit frustrated that I don't have the skills to help with music, and I am sure that daily practice is going to be better that 5 minutes at the end of a music lesson once a fortnight.

I completely understand your frustration, we are all here as we care about the future of our children. However don't sweat the music test too much it is not something you can cram for. All you can really do is make them familiar with the types of questions (or your music teacher can) and once a fortnight is way more than my kids got. I probably did it 4 or 5 times in total for them and once they knew the format the scores did not change significantly in fact the last one I did they did worse than the second time.

You are doing the right thing by music lessons, make sure they do their practice EVERY day even just for 10 mins and that will be the best training for the entrance exam.

[JS1]

Hi thumbelina

My DD sat the music test for entry this year. I too was concerned she might be thrown by something unfamiliar and so searched online for an example of what the answer sheet might look like. I couldn’t find anything. However, when it came to the test my DD said that every section began with an example, making it very clear what had to be done. Hope that helps a little.

[BaldPeg]

It is quite true that there is not much one can do to prepare for the music test. It is genuinely a test of musical aptitude.

I know of several children who won music places at consortium schools who were not particularly accomplished at any instrument (including one girl who was unable to play any musical instrument and sang at her audition). I also know of one boy who had passed piano Grade 5 who was not invited for an audition.

In my opinion it is more worthwhile concentrating on things that can be improved with practice such as verbal reasoning and maths.