Double Bass Grades

[David Potts]

Hi, here in Australia we have an organization called the Australian Music Examinations Board or AMEB. For each instrument there is a Preliminary Grade, followed by Grades 1 - 8, Certificate of Performance, then the Associate Diploma (A Mus A) and Licentiate Diploma (L Mus A). Entry level into our tertiary music institutions is usually 7th Grade or above.

Currently the Double Bass Syllabus is between the Old and the New (this being on trial until the end of 2015).The rewritten syllabus has increased the expectations and rate of advancement though the grades that is not a bad thing but 2nd Grade New is suddenly harder than 3rd Grade Old.

Many of our larger private schools have big music programs and offer music scholarships to attract students that will support them. Sometimes Double Bass is called an Endangered Instrument because numbers are seen to be low. Applicants on most other instruments are asked to be 5th Grade or more but Double Basses are currently only asked for 3rd Grade (Old syllabus). Most teaching of very young kids on bass would start on 1/8 instruments in Year 3. The scholarship auditions are held in Years 5 or 6.

As a String Examiner for the AMEB I am being asked to comment on the New syllabus and would value your knowledge of any US systems. I am aware of the English ABRSM and Trinity systems that are similar to ours.

Any advice about what happens in the USA or Europe would be most welcome.

Cheers, David Potts

 

[PaulCannon]

The grading system you're talking about seems to be a British phenomenon. In the US, there are too many competing systems (and no central authority) to have a coherent standard. There are certain pieces of repertoire which can serve as general benchmarks (Eccles, Dragonetti, Bottesini, etc.), but that's it.

Most states have their own Music Educators Association which run various competitions, fairs, youth orchestras, and so on. Their standards are based on local needs, abilities, and resources.

 

[groooooove]

here in NY there is a system called NYSSMA, new york state school music assosiation.

NYSSMA works on a 1-6 scale. gennerally, levels 1-3 are "student pieces" with 4-6 being "real pieces," to genneralize. students play and get grades and feedback. the manual lists many pieces for each instrument and each level, which can be a very helpful resource.

if theres any other details you'd like to know feel free to ask. i teach 33 private students a week at last count, and i'd estimate 3/4ths of them are preparing for a solo in the comming weeks or months.

 

[MikeCanada]

Here in Canada there is the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) based in Toronto. They have instrumental grades 1-10 followed by either a "Performer's" or "Teacher's" Associate of the Royal Conservatory (ARCT). There are theory/harmony/counterpoint/history grades as well that are separate, but at the higher levels they are considered co-requisites. For example instrumental grades 1-4 have no co-requisites, but grade 10 requires grade 2 rudiments (theory) grade 3 history, grade 4 (keyboard) harmony and grade 4 history.

It is far more common for piano students to follow RCM grades and to participate in examinations than it is for other instruments. It seems to be self perpetuating as piano teachers often are expected to have completed an ARCT and have it on the wall of their private studio, and as such the goal is to produce students that do the same. There are other instrumentalists that work through specific grades, but the drive behind it seems to be focused more on competing in festivals/competitions in that particular class (ie. grade 6 flute) than on the examinations themselves.

The grades are occasionally cited as benchmarks for auditions. Arts schools, colleges, and universities will mention "grade __" as the suggested level of their students, but they do not require a certificate saying you have taken the examination. It is more in place to suggest the level of repertoire that should be auditioned with.

We have a few other Conservatories throughout the country, and I am not entirely clear as to whether or not they have similar systems or they adopt the RCM system. The RCM is seen as the universal standard in Ontario and from my experience at university with out of province students it seems to be a benchmark elsewhere in Canada. Quebec has a slightly different way of doing a lot of things, and they tend to teach theory based on French methods which results in some conflicting terminology if you are from outside of Quebec and studying in Quebec or the opposite.

As far as difficulty goes, there seems to be some variation between instruments. I have heard that the classical guitar syllabus is very demanding in the middle grades and much of the repertoire in the higher grades would be considered performance pieces, where most of the repertoire below grade 10 piano is considered "student" pieces. If you have specific questions, I can do my best to answer them.