Part 3: Music students survey
Section 3 – Questions 21–30
Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO points did students most frequently make about their musical background before starting a music degree?
A They had already composed music.
B They had several music qualifications.
C They could play more than one instrument.
D They had performed in public
E They had had piano lessons.
Questions 23 and 24
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO points did students most frequently make about music practice?
A They prefer to practise alone.
B They try to practise every day.
C They are motivated to practise by fear.
D They feel they don’t do enough practice
E They enjoy the challenge of a different piece.
Questions 25 and 26
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO points were most frequently made by students about the piece they select for assessed performances?
A They like to hear others performing the same piece.
B They like to choose little-known pieces.
C They like to play pieces from memory.
D They like their tutor to choose their pieces.
E They like to choose technically demanding pieces.
Questions 27-30
Which comment did most students make about each of the following aspects of performance?
Choose FOUR answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to questions 27-30.
Student comments
A This is very beneficial.
B This is difficult but enjoyable.
C This can affect relationships.
D This makes them very nervous.
E This is time-consuming.
F This is easy.
G This happens infrequently.
Aspects of performance
27 Performing solo
28 Deciding which pieces to perform
29 Performing with musicians from a different genre
30 Performing with musicians who play the same instrument
Keys
- D
-
E
-
C
-
E
-
A
-
C
-
B
-
E
-
G
-
A
Transcript
Part 3: You will hear two music students discussing the results of a survey
they have done.
Lorna: First you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.
Lorna: Thank you.
Lorna: Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.
Lorna: So Gareth, we need to organise the findings from our survey on music students for the final presentation.
Gareth: Yes Lorna, I think we’ve got some very interesting results.
Lorna: Obviously we need to start by saying that we interviewed all the third year students doing a music degree and state the objective of our research project, that is to find out about their attitudes to performing.
Gareth: And then we should talk about the students’ musical backgrounds before coming to university.
Lorna: The most important points to make are that although most people have actually composed music during the course, that wasn’t the case when they arrived.
Gareth: And the other thing they had in common was the piano.
Lorna: Well, they’d had access to a piano at some point, but not all had studied it formally.
Gareth: I thought the most interesting finding was that before coming here, almost everyone was involved in a chamber orchestra or band or singing in a choir and playing in front of live audiences.
Lorna: but varying enormously in size.
Gareth: Some had only played in tiny venues.
Lorna: I think it’s worth saying that.
Gareth: OK.
Lorna: And as you might expect from people wanting to study music, they all had a degree of proficiency in at least two instruments.
Gareth: But in most cases, one of the instruments was dominant.
Lorna: Right.
Gareth: We need to talk about attitudes to music practice.
Lorna: The most striking thing here is that even students who you’d expect to practice for hours every day until they get it perfect say it’s being terrified of failing that really makes them practice.
Gareth: I know I’m the same.
Lorna: Me too.
Gareth: It’s interesting what was said about practicing alone.
Lorna: Some people preferred that because they could focus more on their weak points.
Gareth: but that wasn’t a majority view.
Lorna: What most of them agree on is that there’s nothing more rewarding than mastering something that’s really hard to learn.
Gareth: That’s right.
Lorna: OK, after that we should talk a bit about the pieces that students select for assessed performances.
Gareth: There wasn’t quite so much consensus on this, was there?
Lorna: A few people prefer to do pieces which are relatively unknown, while others choose the ones they think will show off their technical ability, but they were in the minority.
Gareth: Hmm.
Lorna: I think the first thing to say is that a high percentage said they would always try to learn their pieces by heart because it’s too easy to get lost if you’re trying to read and play when you’re nervous.
Gareth: Okay, and quite a lot of them said it helps to listen to other people playing your chosen piece Preferably recordings, but even just other students
Lorna: Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30.
Lorna: Thank you.
Lorna: Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30.
Gareth: So finally, we need to look at the findings for students’ attitudes to performing.
Lorna: We should point out that this includes informal and formal public performances, as well as assessed ones.
Gareth: Yes, that’s important.
Lorna: I expected to find that performing solo would make students very nervous, but in fact that isn’t the case.
Gareth: They do find it hugely challenging to start with, but they appreciate the challenge and find it stimulating.
Lorna: Right.
Gareth: I was surprised by what students said about deciding which pieces to perform.
Lorna: I thought they’d all say this was easy.
Gareth: For me, it’s always been quite straightforward.
Lorna: Which pieces do I like best?
Gareth: And which pieces can I play well?
Lorna: And my repertoire is quite limited anyway.
Gareth: But the most commonly cited answer was that it took them ages to make their minds up.
Lorna: I suppose it’s because there are so many factors involved.
Gareth: You need to consider your audience, the venue, the time available to learn the piece, especially if it’s complicated.
Lorna: You need to think about all these things, and you can’t do that in a hurry.
Gareth: That’s true.
Lorna: Then there’s performing with musicians from a different genre, like a classical musician playing with a jazz group.
Gareth: That can really be fun!
Lorna: But most of the music students had never even considered it.
Gareth: Right.
Lorna: For performing with musicians who play the same instrument, almost everyone put the same thing.
Gareth: Yes, they all said it was incredibly helpful, and not at all intimidating, which says a lot for the department’s ethos.
Lorna: Yes, that’s a good point.
Gareth: Okay, what I think we should sort out…
Lorna: That is the end of Part 3.
Lorna: You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to Part 3.
