Junior Academy of Music

The Scottish Traditional Music Course

   

Within the Junior Academy we offer a Scottish Traditional Music Course. Scottish Music students have lessons, classes and group work. Recognising the traditions of Scottish Music, much of the teaching will be delivered aurally but students will also learn by means of notation. All Scottish Music students will have a principal study lesson of 45 minutes, a listening skills class of one hour and the option of a subsidiary study lesson of 30 minutes. The listening skills class will help to develop the skills and understanding necessary for young traditional musicians. It will cover pitch and rhythm, sight-reading, structure, composition and harmony, standard western notation and the instrumentation specific to traditional music in Scotland. Theory is also provided. Students can work towards the fully accredited Scottish Traditional Music Graded Exams offered by the Academy (see below) as well as the examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

   

Scottish Music Group Activities

 

There are two traditional music groups that provide the opportunity for students to play in a group whilst developing learning by ear, arranging, harmony writing and improvising, in addition to performance and presentation skills. These groups are open to all RSAMD Junior Academy students, whether or not they are on the Scottish Music course. In addition Scottish Music students can join the choirs and play in the orchestras. Regular opportunities are available to perform at events both inside and outwith the Academy. Frequent workshops are held with established visiting musicians who are able to offer different ideas and approaches to groupwork, singing and improvisation.

 

Scottish Traditional Music Graded Exams

  

The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama offers its own validated programme of graded exams in Scottish traditional music for learners of all ages. Our programme promotes traditional Scottish performance skills and the best of traditional repertoire, offering syllabuses up to Grade 5 for fiddle, accordion and Scottish harp, devised and examined by specialists in these disciplines. The collections for harp, fiddle and accordion are out now on general release and available from www.scotlandsmusic.com. For more information on the exams, go to http://gradedexams.rsamd.ac.uk.