Questions about ARCT exams

[liliohlili]

Hello, brand new member here! I hope there are fellow Canadians around?

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but some background info before I start: I played the piano as a teen, did my last exam (grade 10) about 10 years ago, was preparing for my ARCTs, but stopped playing before I got any further and relegated my piano playing to "palour trick" status

Fast forward a decade. I'm considering going back and getting an ARCT in piano pedagogy, but I'm unsure exactly how to proceed. My understanding is that I will need to take all 3 sets of exams in order, plus the theory/history requirements, so I have the following questions...

1) Do I absolutely have to take ALL 3 levels? I never specifically did a grade 9 practical exam, will that hinder my ability to get an elementary pedagogy certificate?

2) Are the results of my theory/history exams (taken 10 years ago) still valid? I looked through my workbooks from before, and I'm becoming increasingly certain that aliens have abducted me and replaced my brain. Absolutely no memory of the advanced theory stuff. I will probably have to give up if I have to retake anything except for the history ones.

3) My inability to get an ARCT performance certificate always felt like a bit of "unfinished business" to me, since I stopped playing very abruptly while I was preparing for it. So I'm thinking of doing that instead of the advanced pedagogy repertoire portion. Is it even realistic to sign up for an ARCT performance exam without a teacher? Not all that confident that I'll pass, after all these years...

Since I've been "out of the loop" in so long (on top of living in another country!), I wasn't sure where I should look for answers. Thank you so much for reading this lengthy and possibly idiotic post. But if you know anything about ARCTs or can direct me to somebody who knows more, I'll be so, so grateful.

[keypeg]

I don't have answers directly in regards to that level. However, a few years ago I had a question and phoned the RCM office and the person answering the phone was very helpful.  Maybe that would be a good start?