ABRSM Diploma....any advice?

[Christopher Chew]

Hi Sandy,

Have you heard about the Yamaha Guitar Exam from Japan? Do you have a Yamaha Music School in your country? I understand that they are more rounded, where they include chords arrangements, playing with the examiner, improvisations, besides the normal set piece, free choice, scales, etc.

Chris

[chelson]

Having gone through countless of musical exam decades back, I must say the process is painful but beneficial.

You learn to be a better musician and not just guitarist. That is absolutly important for guitar as an instrument to be on par with other main stream instrument like violin and piano.

hyz

Errr... hmm... am I able to get a job with my Yamaha classical guitar grade 6 cert that I got about 2 decades back? Hahahaha!

[hyz]

Having gone through countless of musical exam decades back, I must say the process is painful but beneficial.

You learn to be a better musician and not just guitarist. That is absolutly important for guitar as an instrument to be on par with other main stream instrument like violin and piano.

hyz

Errr... hmm... am I able to get a job with my Yamaha classical guitar grade 6 cert that I got about 2 decades back? Hahahaha!

Well. it did not come into my mind to use those papers to find a job. I think a smart student will learn from a guitarist who he thinks can inspire him and not one with the papers. I believe many world class guitarists do not have any paper qualification. They just need to go for a top competition and win that top prize. Who care what paper?
hyz

[Christopher Chew]

The minimum to be a teacher in Yamaha is Grade 6 (Yamaha Malaysia). You can call them to check it out. They would normally call for an audition / interview (if there's a vacancy).
Just for info, i progress from my Grade 6 to Grade Pre-5 in 22 years.....

To reply hyz, Yes and No. Yes, i agree with you on what you can "actually" do now that matters, espaecially for performers. But if you are the school principal and you
want to hire a guitar teacher, you may want to have a quick assesment as to whether the candidate have the min knowledge of certain chords progressions, can do sight readings,
know how many sharps in a scale, etc.

Chris

[hyz]

The minimum to be a teacher in Yamaha is Grade 6 (Yamaha Malaysia). You can call them to check it out. They would normally call for an audition / interview (if there's a vacancy).
Just for info, i progress from my Grade 6 to Grade Pre-5 in 22 years.....

To reply hyz, Yes and No. Yes, i agree with you on what you can "actually" do now that matters, espaecially for performers. But if you are the school principal and you
want to hire a guitar teacher, you may want to have a quick assesment as to whether the candidate have the min knowledge of certain chords progressions, can do sight readings,
know how many sharps in a scale, etc.

Chris

Chris, I agree with you in a way. With the school it is a different story. The school needs to send the student to pass the exam so they need teachers with the identical experience and qualification. But if you are just a guitarist and wants to learn how to play a guitar without going through all the exam, then perhaps a good teacher, with out without papers, will be fine. hyz

[Christopher Chew]

Of course, of course. i am sure you knew guitarist like Jose Feliciano who is blind. I mean, how can they do sight playing. It is their showmanship, originality, etc that sells. Their fingerings might be wrong, but like you said it "loud and clear", WHO CARES? He is one of those guitarist that i admired, a lot.

Adios.....Chris