Comments on: A[B]RSe[M]

By: tom./

tom./ — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 09:41:00 +0000

Whenever I played solo at FFoM the audience, as far as I could tell, consisted of the other entrants and their parents.

Still lightyears ahead of that examiner! It’d've been good had it not been in school hours, but there were waaaay too many classes to get through.

By: doctorvee

doctorvee — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 17:26:33 +0000

…the FFoM seemed more to the whole *point* of playing, having an audience, and getting some reception to bothering to learn the pieces…

Hmm, maybe. But I dunno. Whenever I played solo at FFoM the audience, as far as I could tell, consisted of the other entrants and their parents.

By: Larry Teabag

Larry Teabag — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:00:05 +0000

Thanks for the link – glad my post struck a chord (so to speak). I’m afraid your experience is all too common…

By: tom./

tom./ — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 14:52:58 +0000

Hmm. I think the whole grades/ABRSM stuff took the fun out of things, though the FFoM seemed more to the whole *point* of playing, having an audience, and getting some reception to bothering to learn the pieces, rather than Mr. Snooty-Examiner being… snooty.

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:43:47 +0000

I was offered tuition due to that Primiary School test we did, reacting to different sounds etc. It hasn’t soured me for life I think/hope.

By: doctorvee

doctorvee — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:41:57 +0000

I was going to mention guitars in my post. Because so many people play the guitar. I get the impression that most kids learn the guitar in their bedrooms — my brother’s doing that at the moment — and not with some officious authority breathing down their neck.

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:22:40 +0000

Agreed! I took up playing guitar at school as it was, and still is, a skill I greatly admire. However, the pressure of having to learn and perform songs even infront of our small group was too much. The teacher concentrated on the 3 or 4 guys who were naturally gifted and just left the rest to waste their lunch-hours. I don’t know if it’s him I blame or just the general set up of school music tuition. Ah well…maybe one day I’ll have a proper go again!

By: The England Project

The England Project — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I knew that if I went down the route of, you know, actually learning the thing Â‘properlyÂ’ it would never figure in my life and my friends would miss out on the best performances of Â“Wish you were hereÂ” they were ever likely to hear. In my kitchen. This