MANY people have been known to play traditional Irish music at some level. For most, it may well have been the start of a tin-whistle class at school or even at a Comhaltas branch, but it never stuck far beyond this point. But even the skills gained through a short spell playing the tin-whistle may well be enough to achieve a qualification in traditional music through the SCT programme which is being re-launched in Britain this year.
For more than 25 years, the Comhaltas SCT (scrudu ceol tire) framework has been allowing musicians to take graded exams in traditional music, allowing them to have qualifications in what otherwise for them is a hobby. Across this time, over 75,000 exams have been taken across the 12 different levels available and with the exam syllabus now being regulated by OFQUAL, those who achieve passes in grades 6, 7 and 8 are awarded UCAS points which assist in gaining places at further education institutions.
The word ‘exam’ might seem a scary prospect to some people, but the SCT exams are practical based where a candidate is asked a number of questions about music and invited to perform pieces. At the earliest grades, the candidate is only required to play a few tunes (in elementary grade 1, they are required to play a single tune) and know one other, and be able to clap a rhythm back to the examiner that they demonstrate first.
As the grades progress, the level of complexity increases, as does the requirement to know more tunes and be able to perform tunes in sets. As the candidates move through the elementary grades and into the grades 1-8, being able to sight read short passages of music becomes a requirement, starting with a scale of notes the same length, to full passages of music at the highest grade levels.
Given the expectation is that a candidate would only sit one—or two maximum—graded exams per year, by the time they progress to the higher grades, their musical understanding, number of tunes known and ability to identify different tune types will have developed so the skills to achieve each level come naturally.
After the grade 8 level, there is a further ‘Performance Diploma’ option which takes the form of a 45 minute performance. This is a level for musicians with great ability and knowledge, and successful candidates are awarded a commemorative medallion alongside their award certificate.
Although this exam framework has existed for 25 years and has evolved significantly over this period, it has been two advances in the past year that have created a buzz in Britain and seen a surge of applicants to take part.
Comhaltas have partnered with the Music Teachers Board (MTB), a very successful OFQUAL regulated awarding body who provide music grading frameworks in a whole range of instruments and musical genres from violins to clarinets, and classical, to traditional Sikh music. By incorporating the SCT exam framework into MTBs portfolio, the traditional Irish music exams are given their UCAS points awarding status. For a candidate who achieves distinction in levels 6-8, they could collect 12, 16 and 30 UCAS points collectively. All of a sudden the hobby of playing traditional Irish music could make the difference in getting in to a course at college or university for a candidate who otherwise might have fallen short on points.
Additional to the awarding of points, MTB exam frameworks are known for the ability to carry out examinations remotely over the internet. This means that candidates can take exams from the comfort of their own home, or in the venue they would normally take lessons, without the need to sit directly in front of an examiner. This is particularly important for candidates who may get very nervous under more traditional exam conditions.
For anyone interested in finding out more about this new development, visit: www.comhaltas.ie/education
Paddy Callaghan is the Operations Manager of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Britain. You can follow him on Twitter: @paddy_box and Instagram: paddy_box and contact him via e-mail at: paddy@comhaltas.co.uk
PIC: CLEM ONOJEGHUO
Comments