Teaching higher ABRSM grades

[chopin_ice]

This is mainly a general enquiry...was just wondering, for those of you who are teachers, (and teach ABRSM exam grades)do you teach both practical playing and theory, or do you just maybe teach the playing? And in theory, I mean about grades 6-8 (like, analyzing scores and all...)...so do you teach one or the other, or teach both? I'm a student, not a teacher, btw.

[bernhard]

I teach both in paralell - as we learn a piece we do a complete analysis of it. But most teachers I know will either refer the student to a specialised theory teacher, or teach theory separately only for exam purposes. They seem to get completely absorbed in matters of technique/ musicality and have little time or patience for theory (it is understandable: it is better to use lesson time for things that need a "hands on" approach since theory can really be learnt from books by studying it at home).

Best wishes,
Bernhard.