Fifty

[BubbleWrapMan]

What's the deal with getting a fifty?

How good do you have to actually be? I heard there aren't that many kids who do the subject so only about 3 or 4 kids get 50. Though, since solo and group have combined it should be a bit more.

I guess the question "how good do you have to be" is answered through common sense, but I thought I'd come here for some extra advice.

[Darren]

Lol. Last year some people who were amazing musicians ended up with all under 35 at my school. One of them was completely shocked, music apparently is evil to score highly in. It's not as easy as people think.. Idk it must be just the course that gets people. Make sure you get all round A+'s

[ninwa]

Usually around 3 in Solo and 3 in Group.

Performance-wise: you do not have to be the next Beethoven. Choose pieces which show off your strengths. There's no need to choose hard pieces if you can play an easy piece beautifully.

Theory-wise: people tend to underestimate how difficult it can be ("oh it's only music it's a cinch" NOPE). Don't neglect it, work at it consistently throughout the year and you'll probably be ahead of most of the cohort. Lots of people doing music don't take it seriously.

[BubbleWrapMan]

Lol. Last year some people who were amazing musicians ended up with all under 35 at my school. One of them was completely shocked, music apparently is evil to score highly in. It's not as easy as people think.. Idk it must be just the course that gets people. Make sure you get all round A+'s

Yeah, my best friend got 26. Pretty much he just didn't practice his recital pieces as much as he should have even though he was good at the instrument.

Usually around 3 in Solo and 3 in Group.

Since they combined the two subjects it should be a little more -- my chances have increased marginally.

Performance-wise: you do not have to be the next Beethoven. Choose pieces which show off your strengths. There's no need to choose hard pieces if you can play an easy piece beautifully.

What if I can play a hard piece beautifully? I've already chosen my pieces so I have a year to learn them (not that everyone else doesn't...). They're fairly hard, or they seem so, but I feel like they are within my capabilities.

I know I don't have to be a complete freak at playing, but I realise that there are guys who have been playing since sperm, and while I think I have a knack for playing, I'm unsure if I am state-breaking.

Theory-wise: people tend to underestimate how difficult it can be ("oh it's only music it's a cinch" NOPE). Don't neglect it, work at it consistently throughout the year and you'll probably be ahead of most of the cohort. Lots of people doing music don't take it seriously.

I never found theory to be a problem as far as written questions go, maybe because I'm a maths guy. Aural is trickier but I can work on it, with Auralia and such. I think they removed the "analysis of previously unheard works" component, too, which helps.

Incidentally, my cohort consists of 6 people, including me. This might be a saving point; the SAC component of the study score was increased to 30%, so if I can maintain rank 1 (which is do-able) then it might give me an edge.

[ninwa]

Yeah, what I meant was to choose pieces for how well you play them, not for their difficulty. That's the mistake I've seen a lot of people (and teachers!) make. Obviously if you can play hard pieces well then choose them!

I hear Auralia is pretty good.

Haha, I had 3 people in my music class... I'm lucky they even chose to run it that year.

[totaled]

Um I've noticed too your aural skills have to be top notch, I've seen a lot of very very good piano players get full marks in their recital, and only getting 43-45. I'm not sure how they went in their written/aural, but be aware that the piano bit is only 50% of it, and spread of marking for the top students may not be very high

[BubbleWrapMan]

Yeah, what I meant was to choose pieces for how well you play them, not for their difficulty. That's the mistake I've seen a lot of people (and teachers!) make. Obviously if you can play hard pieces well then choose them!

I hear Auralia is pretty good.

Haha, I had 3 people in my music class... I'm lucky they even chose to run it that year.

Hm yeah I'll think about that. Once I get a feel for my pieces I should know whether I can pull them off.

What score did you get out of curiosity?

Um I've noticed too your aural skills have to be top notch, I've seen a lot of very very good piano players get full marks in their recital, and only getting 43-45. I'm not sure how they went in their written/aural, but be aware that the piano bit is only 50% of it, and spread of marking for the top students may not be very high

Will work on it for sure. I'm decent at it, can work from there.

[ninwa]

Advice: choose some easier backup pieces in case the harder ones don't work out. You DON'T wanna get to 2 weeks before your performance exam and realise that you're going to have to speed-learn a new piece because the old one didn't work out.

Do you have perfect pitch?

I did get 50, but it was back in 2005 (I'm not that old!!! I just did music early!!!!), so can't help you out much with specifics regarding the syllabus because I think it's changed like, twice since then

[ninwa]

Perfect pitch is pretty much how to cheat your way through the listening part of the exam. But that doesn't mean it is necessary to get a good score. Sounds like your friend got cocky and didn't work hard enough at the theory...

Also, the performance exam (like any performance) is at least 20% luck.

[BubbleWrapMan]

Advice: choose some easier backup pieces in case the harder ones don't work out. You DON'T wanna get to 2 weeks before your performance exam and realise that you're going to have to speed-learn a new piece because the old one didn't work out.

I'll be able to work it out pretty soon, as in the next month, I don't expect to change 2 weeks prior.

Do you have perfect pitch?

I wish. I'm fairly good at interval recognition, which I guess is enough, if I refine it.

I did get 50, but it was back in 2005 (I'm not that old!!! I just did music early!!!!), so can't help you out much with specifics regarding the syllabus because I think it's changed like, twice since then

Hasn't really changed that much, a 50 is a 50. What was your SAC ranking like?

[ninwa]

I was rank 1 in a cohort of 3. One of them ended up with 40, the other was <40. I don't know how accurate that is however, I'm pretty sure there was some rule where if your cohort is <10 the teacher needs to combine SAC marks with another one, so I'm not sure where I actually stood.

If you are aiming for 50 in a cohort of 6, having a #1 ranking is probably going to be quite important. That said, of course it depends on the strength of your cohort.

[BubbleWrapMan]

I would say I can top them. Mainly because most of them don't care what score they get.

How would you say you went on the written exam? Did you finish?

[ninwa]

I didn't finish the written exam - for the last question (think it was worth 12 marks or something big) I wrote a tiny bit then frantically scribbled some dot points. I don't feel I did very well on the written part - we studied a Bach cantata which got boring after a while so I didn't work on it much. I do know though that I got full marks for the aural bit, since I have perfect pitch and that makes it ridiculously easy. That's probably what saved me.

[BubbleWrapMan]

Interesting that you still got the 50 without finishing, your performance must have kicked ass

[ninwa]

I was in Top Class and later Top Acts, so I'm pretty sure it was the aural section + my performance exam which saved me.

The general attitude towards music seems to be "easy subject because I don't know what else to pick", so a lot of the cohort don't take it seriously. Thus, the competition is probably only really between the 48+ people.