Speakers: Popi Charitaki, Piano teacher, Director, Armonia Music and Arts
Why does the Repertoire-only pathway digital exam work so well for your students?
Popi Charitaki: Over the years I've noticed that for some of my students doing the technical exercises and the scales, it was a bit of a struggle and a bit of an unpleasant moment during the lesson. Let's do the scales I was saying so happily, and they were like, oh. So because we learned, all the different pieces or I, we try to learn as many of the different pieces when this option of the repertoire, pathway option appeared, and for me to be able to offer and say would you like actually to choose four of the pieces that you've learned so well and play this for the exams? It was a happy moment at our studio and the students that they chose that pathway, they jumped over the moon and said, yes, let's do four pieces. So thank you very much, Trinity!
How do Trinity exams support your students’ musical and personal development?
Popi Charitaki: Well, exams are not for everyone, but they are a very, very clear, they give a very clear structure and a very clear identity of the level that I have worked on and where I'm working and where I'm going and the Trinity exams, music exams. And they have made that very easy either with the technical pathway or the repertoire only. The technical pathway, the exercises, the scales are very well structured and they build up as the grades progressing. And then, only, the repertoire only pathway again it offers such a big range of different styles and so the students have the opportunity to, to develop personally their taste towards a different direction. Do they like classical? They will play lots of classical pieces. Do they like more contemporary, music, they can explore that. So this is fantastic as they develop, as musicians to have these different offers and, Trinity does that with their exams.
Why would you recommend Trinity music exams to other teachers or music schools?
Popi Charitaki: Here at Harmonia for many years we've worked with Trinity and we have offered to our students the Trinity music exams and the reason why I would recommend the Trinity music exams to other teachers and music schools, it is because of the big range of repertoire that they offer through their own publications.
Popi Charitaki: What shows to me that they are focusing around the student is that the student who has the ability and the preference to write their own music, they can perform that for an exam as well, which is amazing. They are easy to book. I found that it's easy to book, and the digital exams offer masses of flexibility and so once the student is ready there and then you do the exam and the student doesn't need to wait, but they move on with their studies, and all the years, I have to say that I had excellent communication with Trinity whenever there was a problem and I needed something. Their response and replies were quite immediate.
