I am going to speak frankly, and this might upset a few people, but honestly, I do not care; the truth can be painful.The standard for what is deemed truly brilliant, in the truer meaning of the word (exceptionally clever or talented), not the superlative thrown around in western English-speaking countries, is still where it was. If you take the average student at a top-rank university or conservatory, the standard is still exceptionally high.However, to accommodate the general entitlement of ‘Joe and Josephina Public’, the standards have been lowered to the point of almost forced idiocy. I do not phrase this lightly, on purpose; I will attempted to explain my reasons below.In the west, we live in a system that rewards sloth and mediocrity. A child takes a test, they do not revise, they sit and waste time, but, there efforts are rewarded in the hope that ‘positive’ reinforcement will spark enthusiasm. This is a flawed concept and ideology; if this child passes the test, they simply believe that their effort was sufficient and will repeat them, the passing grade implying they did in fact complete the task correctly despite there inactivity. Please consider that of course this is different if the student actually makes a valid attempt.Music examinations are the epitome of this. Students with glaring flaws in their technique, and inadequate understanding of music – who should fail – are allowed to pass. Take any student who enters an ABRSM exam but complains about scales, sight-reading, or aural skills. The majority of them choose not to rehearse these components because they are ‘boring’ to them, and they would rather play pieces. Not seeing that these very same components, make up the pieces they want to play, and allow them to play better. I think this is called having cake etcetera.(dcstudio, please correct me if I am wrong, but in order to improvise in on those magnificent head-sheets you play, don’t you need to understand harmony, which requires scales, and ability to listen?)Similarly so for diploma candidates who are terribly flawed in these areas. Please see ABRSM’s latest addition to the diploma syllabus, the ARSM, which is again, an attempted to appease these candidates. This diploma, gives post-nominals to massage the ego, but lacks the any substance. I can understand the reasons for this, but wouldn’t it be better to address the real issue that has started this mess … the reduction in funding to music education !??!1”! (a topic for another thread)I digress, the point is, yes the standard has dropped significantly, but not for the pinnacle of students who are able to recieve quality tuition, and work hard at their efforts. The lower point for a ‘passing-grade’ has been reduced significantly; distinct playing will always be distinct."When small [people] attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity".In this case we only have our selves to blame.
I keep seeing things like this, from friends, and in opinion pieces about what's wrong with the millennials. But I don't see it in the actual millennials that I meet. I don't find this "special snowflake," "participation trophy" fragile, "safe-space," whiny caricature that shows up in print all the time. The millennials I know, friends of my young adult children or people working in my town, are generous, hard-working and idealistic, nothing at all like the delicate, lazy, entitled waifs I keep reading about. To me the important question is not whether exam standards are changing but whether the number and quality of pianists being produced by the system as a whole is getting better or worse. I'm a retired doctor, and when I was in medical school there were lots of older attending doctors who thought it terrible that interns and resident didn't live in the hospitals anymore, or that we were arguing for (wimpy) 80 hour work weeks, or one full day off each month. The point is not whether a system seems tough and demanding enough to people who've been through it, but how well it works in producing whatever it's supposed to produce (good pianists or good doctors).
Agreed.Shall I be more precise.The people I am referring to, in music, or otherwise, are a minority; however they are the age-old vocal minority.Analogically speaking, you are far more likely to tend to the needs of a screaming child, than one who remains silent.Every now and then, I get an inquiry for lessons from one of these millennial types. They are utterly deluded, they expect to become a fully fledged concert pianist or similar standard in only a few weeks; like most other areas in their life, patience is a sin. Of course, they get a shock when they soon realize that simply arriving and being in the room wont allow them to achieve a professional level of playing.These students often stop after a few lessons.The problem is not with the generation of millennials, but their behavior is a symptom that is now rearing its ugly head. An abridged version.Baby Boomers: As a direct result of the war these children became the hippies in the 60s, a direct result of the past wars and looming wars after. It was a rebellion to the old ideologies of separation, elitism and class warfare.Generation X-ers: Raised in a post war world where personal freedom took priority over that of social responsibility. This generation saw rise of women in the work place; it became socially acceptable to leave your children to their own devices; with the advent of broadcast TV, this was easier to do. Cartoons and children's entertainment became higher profile (worth-mentioning, the ideals they depicted were that or more traditional and nationalist values, and sometimes outright racism).Latchkey kids: Due to parents being absent at work, this generation was raised by television. Evening cartoons and computer games became their past time; the content used to reinforce gender roles. Cartoons often arrived coupled with toys and merchendise due to lower manufacturing costs in a post war world. To make up for their absence, parents would shower these children with gifts (usually the merchendise and toys from the cartoons); often at birthdays and Christmas, and if afforded at intervals during the year. This is also exasperated by the social normality of divorce, prompting divorced parents to shower their children with gifts to make up for more absence.Mellenials: Raised in a world with technology, these children were born in the information age. Social networking, and mass-media and mass-marketing prevail. Children as young as five with high-priced electronics. Adults taking out loans to pay-for said electronics that now, with improvements in manufacturing, are cheaper. Children are used to getting what they want, when they want. Even the people dangerously close to the poverty line, crave the latest electronics, cars and social lifestyle. Reality TV paints a picture of what the 'perfect' life is, duly imitated by the consumer masses (these pictures targeted to specific demographics in metropolitan society). Traditional ideologies are not marketable, and so, in mainstream media, they take a secondary or even tertiary place over more marketable practices, concepts and products. Its worth mentioning, businesses or institutions marketed to the upper-middle class, or upper class, still very much drape them-self in tradition, and longevity; a reason why top-ranked universities and businesses that survived the millennium have a rustic ambiance with hard-wood, leather and high-polished brass. They also do not need to market themselves because the applicants, candidates and clients generally do not fall into the archetypal structure of the general masses; hidden curriculum, and stealth-elitism.Obviously, these are broad generalizations, but these are demographics and do not account for individuals.How does this relate to exam-standards?Due to cultural change in the west (i.e. social freedom, technological improvement), children in the general public are not used to the draw-backs of a pre-industrial world. Before the war, many practises carried out by machines today were carried out by hand. Imagine, there was an entire generations in the 80s and 90s, that were not taught grammar or arithmetic; the result a generation of illiterate children. With the introduction of computers and tablets in the classroom during the 90s and 2000s, there is an entire generation of children who struggle to spell and use pen and paper to write. Also worth mentioning, with the rise of film and media, how can the wonder of the grand canyon, or history of west-minster abbey compare with Kanye West's latest drama, or Justin Bieber's latest meltdown? Going back to the latter part of victorian society (ca. 1900) the world was smaller, and the lens to view it came through knowledge gathered through study.When we consider that Classical music, is from a time-span where people were used to waiting days if not months for various activities to run-through to completion, it should not be hard to see why many children born today are not used to the concept of waiting, being patient and taking responsibility. Couple this with the novelty of discovering a frontier, and, much, much larger world, today's children take for granted education and learning. People died for the right to learn, vote and be equal; now, we see it as common place, and quite mundane.Also, we have a button for that now.---Disclaimer: this is merely a social commentary based on my ready and research over the years, not a crtique of 'today's youth'. My opinion on the mentioned is that they, the youth are under tremendous pressure: inflation, no job prospects, and betterment syndrome.
Baby Boomers: As a direct result of the war these children became the hippies in the 60s, .... It was a rebellion to the old ideologies of separation, elitism and class warfare.
Millenials: Raised in a world with technology,... Children as young as five with high-priced electronics. Adults taking out loans to pay-for said electronics that now, with improvements in manufacturing, are cheaper. Children are used to getting what they want, when they want. Even the people dangerously close to the poverty line, crave the latest electronics, cars and social lifestyle. ....
Topic: Are Piano exams like ABRSM getting easier? 