Welcome to Upbeat! ...your journal from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music for teachers of music from across SE Asia keeps you up to date with events in the region and as a teacher yourself, you need not feel isolated… you are part of a large group of dynamic professionals who knows what is best for your music students and whose valuable work is reflected in the successes you can see by browsing inside… examination successes, recitals and events across the region. Good wishes to each of you for the forthcoming examination season.

Volumn 15 • May 2008

Contents

Glowing with happiness and pride! Meet Muhammad Yusri Bin Mohamed Ali from Singapore as he beams with happiness at the recent ABRSM SE Asia Diploma Awards ceremony in Jakarta……well, he deserves to beam and feel justly proud……he had succeeded in gaining an LRSM (Directing) with Distinction.

Yusri trained as a Bandmaster at The Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall in the UK and now enjoys a very successful career as a Director of Music with the Singapore Armed Forces. We wish Yusri every success and warmest wishes for the future, along with the many others who succeeded in gaining ABRSM Teaching and Performing Diplomas from across SE Asia last year.

Inside this edition of Upbeat! 1

Around the region with Bill Thomson 2 Snapshots of success 4

Diploma Awards ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia 6

Meet your PDP professors 8

Whose Diploma is it anyway? 10

ABRSM New Publications 11

Pathways to success 12

... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk 2 3... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk NEWSNEWS NEWSNEWS

AROUND THE REGION WITH BILL THOMSON

Mrs Wirawan LRSM from Semarang in Central Java discusses a Schubert sonata and matters of interpretation with Bill Thomson at a seminar in Jakarta.

Ibu Titin explains to a gathering of 105 Indonesian teachers in Jakarta why having a CTABRSM has allowed her to be more daring and creative as a piano teacher.

Mdm Winy, a sight-impaired High Scorer from Medan in West Sumatera, performs magnificently before a warm and appreciative audience.

Congratulations to the performers and their delighted teachers in Medan, at the recent High Scorers' Concert.

Miss Juliana, a piano teacher from Bali tests the Regional Coordinator in his Aural skills.

Teachers from Bangkok engage in Aural Training Matters in preparing students for Grades 6-8 practical examinations.

It is with great happiness that I return to SE Asia to support teachers and our ABRSM Representatives as the South East Asia Regional Coordinator. I have been delighted to meet so many teachers in recent weeks and hope to meet so many more as the year unfolds.

Teachers from across South East Asia continue to demonstrate a dynamic response to the Board’s wide range of services in the region and in 2008 we have our very first April practical examination session in Malaysia. Teachers in Malaysia and Singapore are embracing the on-line examination registration system and we are currently looking at the facilities to allow teachers not only to view their candidate results on-line but also working towards developments in the whole area of appointment procedure…yes, it means applicants will soon be able to make their own candidate exam appointments on-line on a first come, first served basis in the future!

In fact the new second practical session in Malaysia had a 100% on-line registration.Distinctions all round to those applicants! Clearly, the convenience of registering at home is much valued by our very busy teachers.

During the year ahead we shall be hosting High Scorers’ Events in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru, Jakarta, Bandung, Bali, Medan and Surabaya. See the enclosed pictures reflecting upon the very successful KL and Singapore High Scorer Concerts which took place earlier this year.

This year Jakarta was the favoured destination for the SE Asia Diploma Awards ceremony on 16th March in the charming ballroom of the Aryaduta hotel. The event was graciously presided over by our VIP Representatives from Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Top distinction candidates from four countries also gave a splendid recital at the event.

At the same event we celebrated the successes of the teachers who completed the ‘Teaching Music Effectively’ course in Indonesia early in the year.

Another ‘first’ for ABRSM in the region is the first session of practical examinations in Vietnam and so we extend our warmest wishes to our new neighbour and to all the candidates in Ho Chi Minh City as they prepare for their first examinations.

August is the busy season for Professional Development Programmes in the region and we are delighted to announce that Vanessa Latarche (Head of Keyboard studies at the Royal College of Music) and Tim Barratt (Professor of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and Head of Keyboard studies at Dulwich College) will deliver a series of teacher seminars focusing upon the new 2009-10 Selected Piano Examination Pieces (known in the trade as SPEPS!).Seminars are planned for Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor Bahru, Singapore and Jakarta. Teachers around the region will receive their booking forms for PDP in July…I advise you to book early to avoid disappointment and…and of course, I look forward to seeing you all there!

For those piano teachers interested in taking an intensive course in Jazz and then taking an ABRSM Jazz examination then read about the ‘Music Makers’ Jazz Piano Course at Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur…this unique course will be run by experts in the field of Jazz education and supported by ABRSM.

I hope you will enjoy browsing your copy of Upbeat and reading about events in your region.

…and finally, best wishes to everyone for an enjoyable and successful examination season!

Bill ThomsonSouth East Asia Regional Coordinator

... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk 4 5... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk NEWSNEWS NEWSNEWS

SNAPSHOTS OF SUCCESSThe first few months of the year have been especially active ones, with High Scorers’ Concerts in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Medan in Sumatera; teachers’meetings in Jakarta and Bangkok; practical examinations in Singapore and in Kuala Lumpur; Theory of Music examinations taking place right across the region; Diploma Awards ceremony and celebrations in Jakarta.

Check out the gallery of photos…there may be someone known to you amongst the smiling faces…

…‘Teaching Music Effectively’…a group of Indonesian teachers

who recently completed this professional development

course in Jakarta, pictured with ABRSM Indonesia

Representatives, Denis and Ineke Umar……ABRSM Korean Representative Seungsil Chang receives

a bouquet of flowers at the recent SE Asia Diploma

Awards ceremony in Jakarta…

…Dana Alexander Tan Moult (LRSM Distinction) on the right gave a vigorous account of Liszt’s Mephisto waltz at the Awards recital. Here he is in more relaxed mode with a cuppa and time for a chat with a friend…

…Mr and Mrs Umar, our Indonesia

Representatives played host to

the ABRSM Diploma awards

ceremony in Jakarta…

…Gabriel wows the crowd with his stirring performance of Bach…

…Mr Chin Kai Jin, General Manager of Singapore Symphonia Organisation, the ABRSM Representative welcomes all the performers and guests to the High Scorers’ Concert on 2nd February 2008…

…Miss Rachel Young-Mou Lee from Korea enchanted her audience with her poised and poetic playing of Chopin…

…Miss Tham Shu Qi delights the audience with her charming playing of Saint-Saens oboe sonata. Here she is accompanied by Nigel Teo Cheng Soon…

…Wytze Seeger Ward jazzes along with ‘Autumn Leaves’ on his tenor sax after his glittering success in Grade 3 jazz saxophone…

…Miss Eirene Soegijanto’s Mozart aria was captivating…

…Chung Ray Ern caught the attention of the audience with his evocative playing of ‘the Silver Tears of the Moon’…

…Low Swee Len Wendy provides a cool mood in ‘Straight

no Chaser’ her grade 5 Jazz flute contribution,

accompanied here by her husband, Singapore

jazz legend Boni M De Souza

…Smiles all around in Singapore…congratulations to one and all!…

...Young clarinettist Brittany Rae Mitro charms the audience with the music of Scott Joplin...

...Andrew Ng Wen Hao's beautifully controlled flute playing provided a glimpse of English warmth in Richard Rodney Bennet's Summer Music...

...Poised playing

from Chai Kee Hong

in the Romance

from Mozart's

Horn concerto

no 3, K.447...

...Suave and sophisticated sax playing from Moo Kai Ling in Danse Villagoise by Andre Waigneim...

...Peter Warlock's Basse Danse from Capriol Suite in a firm and rhythmic account by Adrin Teo Yee Chin...

...A stunning and vivacious performance of Allegro Brillante for violin by Willem Ten Have was given by Yoh Hao Zi...

... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk 6 7... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk NEWSNEWS NEWSNEWS

ABRSM SOUTH EAST ASIA DIPLOMA AWARDS CEREMONY & CELEBRATIONS16 MARCH 2008, ARYADUTA HOTEL, JAKARTA, INDONESIA

Hats off to all our Diploma holders, TME and CT ABRSM holders who celebrated with their families at the recent event in Jakarta. Pictured in the front row, left to right are Mr. Denis Umar, ABRSM Representative for Indonesia, Miss Seungsil Chang, ABRSM Representative for Korea, Miss Su San Hay, Manager of the ABRSM Examinations office, Singapore, Mr Bill Thomson ABRSM South East Asia Regional Coordinator, Dr Solomon Tong, Director of Surabaya Symphony Orchestra, Indonesia, Mdm Esther Karlina Magawe, Principal of SSO International School of Orchestral Music, Indonesia, Mrs. Ineke Kojongian Assistant ABRSM Representative for Indonesia.

... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk 8 9... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk NEWSNEWS NEWSNEWS

MEET YOUR PDP PROFESSORSEach year the ABRSM Professional Development Programmes in SE Asia are led by a duo of experienced presenters, top professionals, whose expertise in music education is matched carefully with the topics being discussed. In August 2008 we shall be taking a close look at the new Selected Piano Examination Pieces (2009-10) as well as other changes in the piano syllabus and this year PDP comes to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor Bahru, Singapore and Jakarta.

In this article Vanessa Latarche and Timothy Barratt, distinguished professors of piano and ABRSM examiners and this year’s PDP presenters are interviewed in London by our International Events and Marketing Executive Sarah Royle ahead of the tour……

Sarah: Could you each tell us a little about your professional lives and how you became pianists and piano teachers?…

Vanessa: My first love was ballet, but as my mother is a piano teacher I was encouraged to play by her. This became so important to me in my teens that I knew I wanted to study at Music College and play professionally. Playing solo and chamber music was a passion, as well as teaching, and so I’ve always managed to keep that going alongside my playing career.

Tim: I also came from a musical family in which both my mother and her sister were piano teachers. Therefore it seemed natural for me to start teaching when I was in my teens and I have carried on ever since! I can trace my decision to pursue a musical career back to a single event when I was less than 10 yrs old – my mother bought an EP record of 5 Chopin Waltzes for me and I thought at that age that this was just the best, most wonderful music. I was hooked!

Sarah: Many teachers find lesson times rather short to include all the many activities which will be examined…do you have any tips for time management?

Tim: Having clear aims of what you wish to achieve in a lesson is always a good idea and it may help to make a lesson plan, which may be altered if the lesson needs to take a different turn. I often find it useful to vary the order of activities within the lesson (e.g. don’t always start every lesson with scales) and aim to work in some detail on at least one area during the lesson.

Vanessa: I agree these are all helpful tactics! I often find that extra lessons nearer the examination are needed to simply get through all of the activities. Along the journey of preparation for exams, if extra aural and sight-reading lessons can be managed with specific time allocations to those subjects, this will help.

Sarah: How do you match up the pieces from the Selected Examination Pieces with the personalities of your students?…

Vanessa: That’s an interesting question! I usually begin by playing the choices to the student and making suggestions. Where it is possible, it is best for the student to choose, with recommendations from me. As a teacher you know what your student can manage on the whole and what suits them.

Tim: Absolutely! Firstly, it’s important to find pieces your pupils are going to enjoy practising (learning to play should be an enjoyable experience after all!) and secondly choose according to their strengths. For example, if they play really musically and sensitively find the most beautiful Romantic piece on the list to show off this aspect. Finally, it helps to be realistic in choosing – try to think a few months ahead to whether they are likely to make a good job of a certain piece.

Sarah: It is often said that teenage children are the most difficult to motivate these days…it is just the same in England as any where else, and do your have any tips?…

Tim: Try to understand the teenager and be flexible in what you teach. Teenagers often have a completely different agenda to yours – take time to listen to their aims and ambitions and try to adapt your way of teaching to accommodate these aims (you can often discover new ways of doing things which can help and, if necessary, challenge your overall teaching philosophy). Avoid confrontation - teenagers want to be treated like adults (even though they don’t always behave like them!) and often resent teachers laying down the law!

Vanessa: I would agree that it depends a lot on whether they are teenagers who want to continue with the music profession or whether they are playing for a more amateur interest in the future. There is usually no problem with the musically gifted student, but with others motivation can be helped by finding the right repertoire for them… something that lights them up and inspires them. That could be anything from a film theme to a twentieth century piece. As a teacher you have to find their interests and encourage those to be developed, which then hopefully will give the student a more positive attitude to other repertoire.

Sarah: You must have very busy professional lives, combining your own teaching, performing and examining work. Do you find the teaching aspect brings special challenges?

Vanessa: I find teaching always demands 100% of my attention as it is a one to one situation and therefore you need a lot of energy. Even after a long day of teaching though, I feel exhilarated as it is as much a creative process as giving a performance is.

Tim: I’ll second that! The most exciting aspect of teaching for me is working with a wide variety of pupils, each with his/her own level of ability, perception of music and aspirations. You definitely need a great deal of energy to teach well and it is important to have time to reflect between lessons in order to map-out the best way forward.

Sarah: ABRSM practical examinations provide important measures of progress and success for teachers and learners……do you think it is good to work exclusively on the examination syllabus or is it good to combine it with wider repertoire?…

Tim: I would recommend that teachers always work on AB exam repertoire within a wider musical context. The piano repertoire is so vast that it is a shame to miss out on its riches due to learning only 3 pieces per year! Pupils develop the ability to learn repertoire quickly by studying lots of pieces and it helps to maintain their musical interest. Don’t feel that a piece is only worth studying if it can be brought to a fully polished concert standard – you can often discover something new in a pupil’s playing by letting them loose on piece they are really burning to play!

Vanessa: I absolutely agree that it is essential to work on other repertoire to complement the exam syllabus.

Sarah: How important is performance experience for your learners?…

Vanessa: Particularly before an examination, it is very helpful for the student to try out their programme in front of an audience, be that family, friends, or even pets! It is amazing how much the student can learn from that first performance and how much it can increase confidence in the player. At the RCM I try to encourage collaboration within the department. We run keyboard days where all players have a chance to play on the Concert Hall stage of the RCM with a theme for the day. This year’s theme was “Songs without words” and both professors and students were involved.

Tim: I agree completely! Of course most pupils are not going to become professional musicians but setting up performance opportunities, however small and informal, provides a focus for pupils practice, creates just that bit of extra pressure to make them work a little harder and gives them a feel for coping with nerves. Also, most pupils get a real sense of musical achievement after the event – even if it was only their goldfish listening!

Sarah: Piano teachers can often feel a little isolated, working as they do in individual studios……how important are events like PDP do you think?…

Tim: The opportunity to meet together to discuss ideas, receive reassurance about what we are already doing and hopefully pick up a few new thoughts along the way is so valuable for the instrumental teacher. We are all a community of learners – when we feel that we know everything we are starting to go downhill in our work!

Vanessa: You are so right! We as pianists are very solitary animals and to get together with others at an event such as this, provides stimulation, creative thinking and inspiration. We all learn from each other and I am sure that Tim agrees that the presenters learn a lot from sharing views with others too.

Sarah: Whilst examining piano students you will of course consider matters such as technique, touch and tone as well as musical interpretation in your assessments. Can you share with us a little about what you look for in distinction performances?…

Vanessa: There is no mystery about this, and you can see what we literally look for in the criteria listed in These Music Exams*. But to answer your question, distinction performances have extra ingredients of commitment, communication and quality.

Tim: I would agree that any teacher can look to the criteria in These Music Exams for guidance. Every examiner has a copy of these criteria in front of them in the exam room!

Sarah: As professors of piano at the Royal College of Music (Vanessa) and the Royal Academy of Music (Tim) do you encounter many occasions such as the forthcoming SE Asia PDP event where you work together on a project?…

Tim: Our paths do overlap quite frequently although our work is quite separate. We collaborated on the PDP 3 years ago and greatly enjoyed working together. We studied with some of the same teachers so our musical outlook is broadly similar.

Vanessa: Yes, it’ll be great to work together at PDP again and see some familiar faces in all three countries!

Sarah: Is there anything in particular you would like to say to the teachers across SE Asia, ahead of your visit in August?…

Vanessa: I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone, both old friends and new friends, and also to sharing views and stories together. See you there!

Tim: I have many fond memories of our PDP trip in 2005 and look forward to returning. Be prepared for a very busy time on PDP, be open to lots of new ideas and enjoy spending a day with fellow piano teachers!

You can meet Vanessa Latarche and Timothy Barratt at the ABRSM Professional Development Programme in late August. Booking forms will be available to teachers in July, both in hard copy and to download from our website. We look forward to seeing you at your nearest PDP centre.

... from the ABRSM Regional Coordinator’s desk 10 11NEWSNEWS

WHOSE DIPLOMA IS IT ANYWAY?

NEWNEWABRSM Publications

Ibu Yuyun Yuniastuti is a piano teacher from Yasmi Music School in Surabaya, East Java.

She is a quiet and very modest person, but behind her gentle exterior Yuyun works

tirelessly for her students and in her own personal quest to improve her knowledge and

creativity as a teacher she recently completed the ‘Teaching Music Effectively’

professional development course in Indonesia. I first met Yuyun several years ago when

she decided to prepare for her ABRSM Grade 8 piano examination… not an easy task

when you already have a busy family life and piano teaching practice. Yuyun organised

her time well, she worked systematically with determination to succeed and and went on

to pass with Distinction. It is therefore excellent to see Yuyun also pass her DipABRSM in

Teaching. The ABRSM wishes you well in the future Yuyun.

Meet Yuyun… the teacher…

Gabriel Lim Jen-Wei is a young Singaporean……actually he is only 14 years of age, but

age was no problem for Gabriel when it came to his DipABRSM Performing Diploma

(Violin). The examiners were so pleased with Gabriel’s performances that he was

awarded a Distinction…remarkable for such a young violinist. Gabriel’s success was

rewarded by an invitation to perform in the recital at the Diploma Awards ceremony in

Jakarta……quite a daunting task for most people, but for Gabriel he delighted his

appreciative audience with some unaccompanied Bach……the silence in the hall was

tangible and everyone could readily see why Gabriel was awarded with a Distinction!

We were pleased Gabriel had travelled to Jakarta for his first International performance

with ABRSM…bravo Gabriel!

Meet Gabriel… the performer…

Conducting an orchestra, band or choir requires much more than musical skill…ability to

lead others, persuade, convince, earn respect, mould the team of musicians into a whole are

some of the special qualities needed…qualities which Muhammad Yusri bin Mohamed Ali

has in abundance. Yusri is a Director of Music with the Singapore Armed Forces military

bands and, so eager was he to attend our Diploma Awards ceremony that he flew directly

from Canada, where he had been preparing for a forthcoming tour of his Singapore military

band…and Yusri did not look a bit jaded…his punishing schedule continued right after the

Diploma Awards ceremony when he had to return swiftly to Singapore to conduct the band

on parade to welcome the Prime Minister of Thailand to Singapore.

Yusri received his LRSM (Directing) with Distinction and we were only sorry he did not also

bring the band to Jakarta too… congratulations Yusri and good wishes for the Canada tour!

Meet Yusri…the director…

Just three mini profiles from our group of Diploma holders and part of the great kaleidoscope of musical success at this year’s Awards ceremony.

NEW PIANO SYLLABUS 2009-2010In July, the Associated Board will release a new piano syllabus. As well as new repertoire lists, requirements for scales and sight-reading have also been revised, valid for exams from 2009.

Alongside standard western classical music, choices now include music from many countries, such as South America and China, led by award-winning composer Tan Dun (composer of the score for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

Jazz makes an appearance at the higher grades, led by the music of jazz legends Oscar Peterson and Fats Waller.

One significant development is the appearance of arrangements in the early grades. Movements from classical symphonies and suites sit side by side with pop music and - one of two special commissions for this syllabus - the lively, well-known TV theme tune, Top Cat!, which is sure to be a popular choice at Grade 3.

Selected Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010In support of the new piano syllabus, Selected Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010, Grades 1 to 8, will be published on 3 July. For the first time, teachers and candidates will be able to buy the CD of the complete syllabus packaged inside the book, giving excellent value for money. The book and CD will still be available separately.

Teaching Notes on Piano Exam Pieces, Grades 1 to 7, will also be published.

Changes to Scales, Broken Chords & Arpeggios and Sight-Reading TestsA small number of changes has been made to the distribution of scales and arpeggios across the grades, with the addition of the whole-tone scale at Grade 8.

Brand new sight-reading tests have been commissioned. Evocative titles at the higher grades are designed to help candidates think of them as pieces of music and understand the mood required.

Changes to syllabus requirements will be described fully in the new Piano Syllabus booklet, for publication in July.

Selected Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010 - BOOK & CDGrade 1 978-1-84849-050-5 MYR 45.50 $20.00Grade 2 978-1-84849-051-2 MYR 46.50 $20.50Grade 3 978-1-84849-052-9 MYR 49.50 $21.50Grade 4 978-1-84849-053-6 MYR 54.50 $24.00Grade 5 978-1-84849-054-3 MYR 56.50 $25.00Grade 6 978-1-84849-055-0 MYR 62.50 $27.50Grade 7 978-1-84849-056-7 MYR 66.50 $29.00Grade 8 978-1-84849-057-4 MYR 78.50 $34.50

Selected Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010 - BOOK ONLYGrade 1 978-1-86096-731-3 MYR 21.90 $9.50Grade 2 978-1-86096-732-0 MYR 22.90 $10.00Grade 3 978-1-86096-733-7 MYR 25.90 $11.50Grade 4 978-1-86096-734-4 MYR 28.90 $12.50Grade 5 978-1-86096-735-1 MYR 30.90 $13.50Grade 6 978-1-86096-736-8 MYR 35.90 $16.00Grade 7 978-1-86096-737-5 MYR 37.90 $16.50Grade 8 978-1-86096-738-2 MYR 45.90 $20.00

Teaching Notes on Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010Grades 1-7 978-1-86096-739-9 MYR 37.90 $16.50

Recordings of Piano Exam Pieces 2009-2010Grade 1 978-1-86096-921-8 MYR 54.90 $16.50Grade 2 978-1-86096-922-5 MYR 62.90 $19.00Grade 3 978-1-86096-923-2 MYR 70.90 $21.00Grade 4 978-1-86096-924-9 MYR 83.50 $25.00Grade 5 978-1-86096-925-6 MYR 98.90 $29.50Grade 6 978-1-86096-926-3 MYR 110.50 $33.00Grade 7 978-1-86096-927-0 MYR 122.90 $36.50Grade 8 978-1-86096-928-7 MYR 154.50 $46.00

Piano Scales, Arpeggios & Broken ChordsGrade 1 978-1-86096-913-3 MYR 14.50 $6.50Grade 2 978-1-86096-914-0 MYR 14.50 $6.50Grade 3 978-1-86096-915-7 MYR 14.50 $6.50Grade 4 978-1-86096-916-4 MYR 14.50 $6.50Grade 5 978-1-86096-917-1 MYR 17.90 $8.00Grade 6 978-1-86096-918-8 MYR 18.90 $8.50Grade 7 978-1-86096-919-5 MYR 20.90 $9.00Grade 8 978-1-86096-920-1 MYR 20.90 $9.00

Piano Specimen Sight-Reading TestsGrade 1 978-1-86096-905-8 MYR 15.90 $7.00Grade 2 978-1-86096-906-5 MYR 15.90 $7.00Grade 3 978-1-86096-907-2 MYR 15.90 $7.00Grade 4 978-1-86096-908-9 MYR 15.90 $7.00Grade 5 978-1-86096-909-6 MYR 15.90 $7.00Grade 6 978-1-86096-910-2 MYR 18.90 $8.50Grade 7 978-1-86096-911-9 MYR 18.90 $8.50Grade 8 978-1-86096-912-6 MYR 18.90 $9.00

Music Theory in Practice - revised editionsThe Associated Board's best-selling series Music Theory in Practice has helped nearly 2 million musicians worldwide to learn about the theory of music.

Now fully revised at Grades 1 to 5, and with attractive new covers for the whole series, these workbooks are still the best way to prepare for theory of music exams.

The books explain clearly, in simple language, how music is written, giving many worked examples, practice exercises and exam questions.

Music Theory in PracticeGrade 1 978-1-84849-045-1 MYR 9.90 $ 4.50Grade 2 978-1-84849-046-8 MYR 11.90 $ 5.00Grade 3 978-1-84849-047-5 MYR 12.90 $ 5.50Grade 4 978-1-84849-048-2 MYR 13.90 $ 6.00Grade 5 978-1-84849-049-9 MYR 14.90 $ 6.50Grade 6 978-1-84849-072-7 MYR 19.90 $ 8.50Grade 7 978-1-84849-073-4 MYR 29.90 $13.00Grade 8 978-1-84849-074-1 MYR 39.90 $17.50

New syllabuses for Guitar and SingingThe Associated Board will be updating the syllabuses for Guitar and Singing for exams from 2009. Requirements for scales and arpeggios and sight-reading elements of the exams are changing significantly. To reflect these changes, new volumes of Guitar Scales & Arpeggios, Guitar Sight-Reading Tests, and Sight-Singing Tests will available from July. The new exam requirements will be described fully in the new syllabus for publication in July 2008.

Guitar Scales & ArpeggiosGrades 1-5 978-1-86096-742-9 MYR 22.90 $10.00Grades 6-8 978-1-86096-743-6 MYR 25.90 $11.50

Guitar Specimen Sight-Reading TestsGrades 1-8 978-1-86096-744-3 MYR 17.90 $8.00

Specimen Sight-Singing TestsGrades 1-5 978-1-86096-958-4 MYR 34.50 $15.00Grades 6-8 978-1-86096-959-1 MYR 34.50 $15.00

Look out for new volumes of guitar repertoire, CD recordings of guitar exam pieces, and a new 5-volume series: The ABRSM Songbook—all for publication later this year.

Behind the many cheerful faces in the crowd of successful Diploma holders there are as many personalities as there are individuals. Each and every individual pictured in the group tells a story of personal aspiration, a quest to upgrade, to seek challenge, to encounter determination and enjoy the resultant success. We congratulate each and every one of you.

Here we meet three individuals…all very different, at different stages in their musical development and yet bound together by their ABRSM Diploma success.

12

PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS WITH ABRSM…FORTHCOMING EVENTS…

‘hey man…my name is Amadeus…Maddie to my friends and I just can’t decide what’s

right for me…CT ABRSM, PDP or Jazz……I’m a bit shy really I but heard about all this

ABRSM buzz around me! …I suppose I better join in or get left behind…maybe see you there …keep a seat for me…m’mm better

make it a big one please!

CTABRSM

This well received Professional Development Course has been popular with teachers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and in Hong Kong for almost 10 years now. For teachers who are interested in learning more about it and how it can re-invigorate your teaching contact our Indonesia Representative, Mr Denis Umar as we may be hosting the Course in Jakarta, commencing in October 2008, e-mail: denis@indo.net.id . Teachers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are welcome to apply.

Professional Development Programme August 2008

This year we shall be looking in detail at changes in the piano syllabus and teaching and learning issues as we explore the new 2009-10 repertoire. Venues have yet to be confirmed but the dates are settled and your booking form should be with you in July.

Check out the dates below for your nearest centre…

22nd August Kuala Lumpur23rd August Penang25th August Kota Kinabalu26th August Kuching27th August Johor Bahru29th August Singapore30th August Jakarta

Jazz for Classical Pianists……

For piano teachers in the region who want to spend time acquiring new skills and then take an ABRSM Jazz piano examination in KL… then get in touch with Pearly Lee or Michael Wong at ‘Music Makers’ studio in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. pearly@musicmakers.com.my michael@musicmakers.com.my