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Our auditions are coming up very soon. I have two students that are doing Guild for the first time and I assigned them level EB. Due to separate circumstances, I really need to move them down a level (EA, which requires no scales/chords). Does this sometimes happen? My Guild chair told me he's never experienced this and I needed to call the national office. When I called they just said to give a note to the judge explaining the change, and then they (or I) can write the change in level directly on the certificate. Will this be OK? I haven't been too happy with the communication I've had with the office (misplacing my paperwork, etc...) and there are so few teachers who do Guild in my area.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Hi, yes, the judge should have blank forms which they can use, or you and the judge can make pen & ink corrections and separate the report card from the current certificate and present the student with the correct certificate/report card combo.

Take a minute before sending your students in to introduce yourself to the judge and explain the situation. Judges are fellow teachers and are most understanding.

For a neater solucion, you can order a new form for a modest fee. You can pay extra to have priority or express mail.

About the Guild office. I've stopped in and visited them several time while in Austin. We are getting a lot for our money, and so are our students. Their staffing is barebones and high quality, but the don't have a lot of time for hand-holding and Q&A (for obvious reasons). I've urged them to raise fees commensurate with what students and we teachers are receiving, but they are reluctant to do so, because they do not want to price out the rural teachers who must teach at much, much lower fees than we city dwellers can command.

Any teacher new to Guild with a question, please don't hesitate to post it, or PM me. I'll do my best to provide an accurate reply.

John

I have also two students enrolled for guild (ours are held May 19-22). I don't have any questions just yet, but I wanted to thank John for encouraging us to participate!

Can't wait for Guild! Ours is at the same time Stanny!

It was so much fun for my students. Hopefully this year will be just as encouraging and constructive for them (and me!)

I'm happy dumdumdiddle that you are doing it!

And yes, John has been great! It would be wonderful John if you can come down and be an ajudicator for us. I'd love to meet you!

One comment too regarding how busy they are at Guild HQ. They prefer that you call your chairperson with any questions. The name of your chairperson should be in the back af your syllabus (I think) or it is in the Piano Notes periodical.

I've emailed HQ before too and that seems to work better than calling. But try your chairperson first.

Best of luck to you and your students.

Let us know how you like it.

This is my 5th year having students in Guild.

There are always new questions I have as students move up levels or add more pieces and phases to their repertoire list. I have nearly 40 students participating this year, way more than in years past.

I do wish the office would 'get with it' and move into the 21st century. I don't think they've changed the report card/certificate layout since I performed back in the 70's. As I am an 'organizational' type of person, I'm always looking for ways to streamline, to improve something to make it better. I have suggestions but since I don't know how they run things over there, at this point I'll keep them to myself.

I do hear what you're saying dumdumdiddle.

I thought this was your first year, sorry.

Wouldn't it be great if we could do more of the paper work on-line.

It would be nice if they had a FAQ on their website. I do see not having very many people to handle questions, because of the expense.

Those of us who are relatively new see things through different colored glasses. Or to put it another way, Guild has found a formula for student success, and have stuck with it.

I, too, which they would update some things. Some of them are cultural. When I first began elementary school, we were graded C for correct, and received a check mark if they were wrong. Talking with people even older than myself, I find that this was the norm for most of our nation's history. Now days, when students receive an A for walking through the door and not falling out of their chair from sleep deprivation, getting a C looks like the end of the world.

When I explain the grading system to my students, I tell them that millions of piano students have learned this way, and they are touching back through time. Most of them "get it" and don't have a problem with it.

But grading systems are like old neckties. Eventually, they will come back in style!

By the way, D3, congrats on having such a large class and participation. That's a lot of work for you. Hope your parents appreciate it.

Wow, Dumdumdiddle, 40 students performing!! Amazing!

I just got my post card with my assigned time. So that's my block, and my two students perform then? In any order?

Your choice. You need to fill out your certificates, and make darn sure the judge signs both the certificate and the grade stub.

John

I better start in on the paparwork.

So many details to remember...

Good mental exercise, I suppose.

My students did their auditions yesterday and scored very well! It was such a great experience for them!

Great - mine are Thursday. We have a new judge, from Vancouver, BC. Should be most interesting.

Good luck to your students, John...I'm sure they'll do well!

Thanks so much, Stanny. I have one student who has procrastinated, but the others are playing so well this year that it kind of startles me when I hear them playing so artistically!

John,

I wanted to chime in a say thanks for the article you had published in Piano Guild Notes a couple years ago on preparing students for Guild. Although I have been entering my students in the auditions for six years, I occasionally go back and re-read your advice. It has been very helpful!

My students had their auditions last week (10 hours worth, whew), and I am so proud of them. Many didn't realize what they were capable of accomplishing! I had 27 signed up, and 25 actually performed (the other two had a virus and couldn't play -- not sure if they will be able to have a rescheduled date, as their mom hasn't written or called me back. . . . ).

It is a great program and I have always received my changes and corrections back from Guild HQ very quickly and with no errors. The only errors have been mine, LOL. This year I have to mail in 2 marked-down certificates. Before the auditions I had to submit changes on two other certificates, so I used the yellow change form that came with my original certificates. It is pretty straightforward.

Thanks for the complement! I've had to deal with mark-downs, and it isn't the most pleasant situation. However, this year is a first for me - I've had to mail in a program upgrade - the student signed up for state level (7 pieces) and prepared and scored an overall 18 on 11 pieces! I was quite proud of her.

Oh, wow! Good for her! I've never had that happen, either.

Here's a question for all the Guild teachers here: Do you use the little blue guide for grading the report cards? Some of my students really wanted to know if they got an "excellent" or "superior." In the past I never really referred to it (except out of my own curiosity) as long as they had more C's than A's, but this year I used the grading system for several students. It helped them and their parents put the report card in better perspective. I did have to explain that some judges award more checks than others, so it is really a pretty subjective grading system.

John, is there anyway I could get a copy of the article? I am very interested in joining the Guild for next year.

Lillystar, when I get back home, I'll PM you a copy.

About the blue score sheet, yes, I do equate the scores, C-s minus A's, to give the students feedback. While some judges give out more Cs, they seem to give out more A's as well, so the overall balance is maintained. I've found the overall ratings pretty well match up with my pre-audition estimates.

Just to show you the power of the system, I had a 8th grade student, young man, who for the past five years earned 5's to 10's, and this year, buckled down, really practiced, and earned a 22 on a national program. The buttons were popping off his shirt on the way out of the Audition!

John, thanks, I look forward to receiving it!