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 COMING SOON: UPDATES FOR GRADE 5 MUSICIANSHIP Minimize

Watch this space for information on the new Musicianship Set Works for 2009! Updates for the workbook and analyses of the new set works will be available shortly.
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 TWO BRAND NEW TITLES FROM BLITZBOOKS Minimize

BFB

How to Blitz! General Knowledge is suitable for all instruments, all syllabuses and all ages.

Have you ever felt stressed leading up to music exam time?

Have you ever left your General Knowledge research to the last minute?

Have you ever wished there was one book that had all the information you needed?

 

Well now there is! How to Blitz! General Knowledge is your one-stop-shop for your music exam. N.B. See news section for errata sheet.

 

 

 

BFB

How to Blitz! Sight Reading

 is the only interactive and exciting sight-reading course on the market. Never before has there been a sight-reading book that actually makes students WANT to sight-read... but the most important thing is that you will have FUN along the way!

 

·         10 levels to complete, each with its own test at the end

·         Stickers and self-rating systems along the way

·         Exam hints

·         Prefect preparation for Preliminary to Grade 3 piano

 
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 Most recent blog entries Minimize

Minim rests in 3/4 time
Some of my first grade students recently lost marks because of a generic rule that I taught them. However, the AMEB does not accept this generic rule and so I will have to adjust my teaching accordingly!

Two new babies
This wasn't supposed to be the year for writing any books at all... but in the end I've written two!!!

Radio silence
Hi folks, sorry I've been out of touch for a while, I've been busy renovating my house and writing a new book called 'How To Blitz! General Knowledge'. It's due out in August and it's designed to be every teacher's and every student's best friend leading up to practical exams. Stay tuned for more!

Changes to Theory Syllabus
There have been a few changes to the Theory and Musicianship syllabuses from 2009.

My Music Craft Exam Results
A thorough post mortem of my results and my thoughts on them!

Worksheets on Melody Writing
I noticed that one of the most popular worksheets in the Free Downloads section is the one on melody writing. Since there is obviously a need for this, I decided to post two new worksheets which are slightly easier and deal with some of the basics of melody writing.

My experience of the Music Craft exams 2007
In general, I found the written exams a lot easier than the workbooks. They were well presented and used appropriate sized manuscript for the grades i.e. 10mm for Grades Prelim, 1 and 2 and 8.5mm for Grades 3 and 4. The problem is, I’m pretty sure I found them easy because I am a theory teacher, rather than being taught well by the workbooks. There were quite a few errors in the exams themselves, which was a great shame. It only takes a couple of good proof-reads and these can be eradicated, thus eliminating the stress it causes the students when something doesn’t work out right.

How's your German?
For some unknown reason, we have to learn French and German terms as well as Italian in Grade 4 Music Craft. These are pretty rare in common repertoire, but even so ‘Massig’ is usually seen with the double ‘s’, not the strange German letter which we are not taught how to write properly. Anyway, I need some clarification on the less-than-helpful German tutorial we get in lesson 6: ‘Lebhaft’ = lively or brisk, ‘Sehr lebhaft’ = very lively ‘Schnell’ = fast or quick Ok... but on the next page, we’re tested on ‘very fast’ and ‘lively and fast’. Well, we’ve been taught ‘very’ and ‘lively’ and ‘fast’ , but we have not been taught ‘and’. (which I happened to remember is ‘und’ from my Year 8 German elective). I asked my sister-in-law, who speaks German, if ‘Lebhaft und Schnell’ would be the correct translation for this... she said that would be incorrect. Can anyone help?

Set Works Grade 3 Music Craft
The questions devoted to identifying the set works are very easy. It’s quite good that different instruments are used. In terms of the actual works set for study, I find the ‘Pange Lingua’ an unbelievably obscure choice for demonstrating the Phrygian mode. It would have been much better to use the little Burgmuller study ‘Progress’, which contains the Phrygian mode in the right hand of the first bar and the left hand of the second bar, played in scale form and much more easily recognisable. I also feel sorry for poor old Christian Pezold, who has suddenly been attributed with the famous Minuet and has missed out on approximately 350 years of royalties.

Workbook 3A
Well, Grade 3 Music Craft gets mighty difficult compared to Grade 2, and especially compared to the Theory and Musicianship syllabuses. The workbooks do not explain much, and what little they do explain is done solely through text, with no examples. I suffered many minor brain explosions trying to make sense of some these explanations. (Particularly in lesson 18 – a whole page of complicated text.) It’s easiest to present my comments for this workbook in categories, and i've done so in the Forums section. The aural component is a separate blog/thread.
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 News and Events Minimize
Updates for Grade 5 Musicianship - Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Coming soon: Updates for Grade 5 Musicianship, due to the changes in Set Works for 2009.

 
General Knowledge Book - ERRATA - Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Unfortunately the definition of 'Study' was omitted from Chapter 2 in 'How to BLITZ! General Knowledge'. Click here for an errata sheet.

 
Two New Titles: How to Blitz! Sight Reading and How to Blitz! General Knowledge - Monday, August 11, 2008

      Available now! Order from your music retailer today!

 
Testra Business Woman of the Year Finalist - Friday, September 21, 2007

This year Samantha entered the Telstra Business Women's Awards and reached the NSW finals - a fantastic achievement. According to Samantha "it was a privilege to be part of such an awesome event".  NSW_YELLOW_FIN_07.gif

 
NEW EDITIONS OF M3 AND T4 - Tuesday, May 08, 2007

M3-front-only.gifT4-front-only.gifMusicianship Grade 3 and Theory Grade 4 have been fully revised and will be available in stores by Friday May 18 - just in time for those going on to the next grade after the May exam series!

 
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 Testimonials Minimize
Wonderful Workshop
Your Townsville Workshop on 19/10/07 was amazing. Thankyou for your inspiration. I have been needing an injection of enthusiasm & creativity for my piano lessons. You have provided that, so now my students will benefit. I want to impart a true love of music in my students. You have shown fresh ways to make their lessons fun while learning heaps more than just notes on a page. Thankyou again for helping to make the music live! Rhonda Graffin, Townsville, QLD
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