Hello Teachers,

I am wondering if you usually have adult students participating in one the exams - NMCP,RCM,California's Cert. of Merit Exam, or something else like Guild. It appears that mostly children participate in these. My piano instructor is encouraging me (he considers me a serious student) to take NMCP exam. I would appreciate if teachers (or adult student) have experiences with such exams and their opinions. I am looking at the Grade 2 requirements and they appear comprehensive.

If your teacher is encouraging you, what are the reasons you are hesitating?

There is nothing about these exams or programs which state you can only take them if you're under 18.

More importantly, if you are a serious student, then consider this an opportunity to expose yourself to what other serious students do.

Just my opinion.

Good luck,

John

Certificate of Merit (TM) is available in California _and_ Idaho! Are you in Idaho?

I am an evaluator for CM, and I have evaluated adults in the past--some who are 10-20 years older than I am. They are an absolute joy to evaluate because they take music so seriously.

There are four teachers in my branch of MTAC who routinely have adult students taking the CM test. They just sit in with the kids. Nobody makes a big fuss about it. In fact, I think those adults serve as positive role models for the young children! One year during the evaluations, I saw a Mother and her daughter being tested back-to-back in the same room by the same evaluator. I bet that is one musical family!!!

To answer John's question, I guess lack of confidence since never done anything like this before.

AZNPiano, I am Washington state so CM doesn't apply. It is good know that adults participate too.

PianoStudent, I don't have any adults who have taken exams, but... right now I don't have any adult students. =) I think for a reasonably serious student it would be an encouraging program. You get to see that you are making progress. (Adults are more in tune to that concept than children.) I personally am considering taking the upper levels of the NMCP to get my teacher's diploma.

Now to find the time to practice...

PianoStudent1, I am in my fifties. I have done one practical RCM exam when I had played only 6 months and did my grade 1 exam on violin. The little boy ahead of me playing the same repertoire was 7. He sounded more steady. He had also been taking lessons four times as long. I have written two theory exams. In the first, the youngest student looked to be about 12 years old. In the second the age range seemed to begin among high school seniors and I sat beside a white haired elderly lady who was pursuing her intermediate exam while I did my advanced. She seemed to be taking it as seriously as anyone else.

People take you seriously, you are not given special treatment or a break, you get insights into your abilities from new angles. I'd say, go for it.

I am an adult student who participates in the RCM exam program, took my first RCM exam (Grade 4 piano) at the age of 26, did pretty well too. I'm doing my next piano exam in January (registered for it a couple of days ago, it's on January 20th). I know a few other adult students who take the exams, and personally I find them a huge motivation factor, plus you get a pretty comprehensive evaluation of musical skills. I know I enjoy receiving the certifactes in the mail, it's a way of showing me (and some other adult students I know) how far I've come.

Meri

Thanks all for your encouragement. This helps. I will give this some serious thought.