My main challenge is to bring music into my students’ lives. If I succeed in sharing my own passion for music with my students, I feel that this task will be achieved. Still, there is a quantitative measurement of every achievement, and this measurement in my field is the exam score. I am proud of my students for getting the highest marks when passing the RCM examinations. Normally, if the student works prudently through the year, he/she gets a mark of over 90 in theory/harmony and over 80 in piano. It is not a rare occasion, however, when my students receive the mark of 98-100 in theory.
Not every student takes the exams every year. For simplicity, all my students’ marks are combined in just two charts. The higher the exam level, the more difficult for students to receive higher marks, and the average mark depends on the exam level. A piano exam at level 10 lasts one hour, during which the student must play music highly virtuously. Mark 75 at level 10 is the greatest achievement, while the same 75 mark at level 5 is not so extraordinary. The national averages were previously published on the RCM page. For example, the average for the piano was 74-76, and the 84 mark is very good for this discipline. The basic theory grade students usually receive 90, but the average for advanced harmony is just 68.
All levels of harmony and counterpoint are very difficult to pass. It should be noted that my students study very consciously and are always well prepared for the exams. So far, my students have never failed any RCM exams.