During the summer, I completed the first part of the Piano ARCT Teachers’ examination (with really good marks by the way :D). Recently, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the body responsible for music examinations in Canada, split the ARCT Teachers examination into three parts: Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced. Without a doubt, they split the examination so that they could make more money.
The piano syllabus changed in September 1, 2008, where they introduced the three tiers to the ARCT Teachers’ examination. There was a cross-over period from September 1, 2008 until August 31, 2009. During this time, teachers could use either the old 2002 syllabus or the new syllabus to prepare their students. Of course, during this time, they were pushing towards the new piano syllabus. They sent out newsletters to registered piano teacher’s via email in hopes of teachers putting their students through the new ARCT Teacher’s curriculum. Well, it worked. I’m one of those students who are going through this three-level program.
Using the 2002 syllabus, the ARCT Teachers’ examination consisted of one Practical/Viva Voce exam and one written exam. I’m not sure of the exact costs, but i’m assuming that the total fee is approximately $500 dollars.
Now, when following the new syllabus, the ARCT Teachers’ examination consists of three Viva Voces, one practical, as well as three written examinations. That’s a total of seven examinations. According to the RCM Examinations website, the fees are as follows:
Elementary Piano Pedagogy Written $114
Intermediate Piano Pedagogy Written $119
Advanced Piano Pedagogy Written $154
Elementary Piano Pedagogy Viva Voce $240
Intermediate Piano Pedagogy Viva Voce $277
Advanced Piano Pedagogy Viva Voce $307
Advanced Piano Pedagogy Practical $307
Total: $1518
That’s a pretty big cost increase for an ARCT Teachers’ certificate.
RCM knows that demand will not decrease significantly for their ARCT Teachers’ certificate, since they are the only examination body in Canada. They pretty much have a monopoly over music proficiency certifications and they know it.
Are students going to stop taking the examination because of the new three-section teacher’s program? No! Many students feel obligated to finish off their musical education with an ARCT certification, whether it is performers or teachers. Also, for the ones that actually want to teach piano as a lifestyle, the teacher’s certificate is almost necessary. Once you receive your certification, you can charge your students anywhere from 35-70 dollars depending on experience and the like. My piano teacher charges 65 dollars an hour. That’s over a dollar an hour, and her schedule is FULL. PACKED! So you can only begin to imagine how much many one can make with a teacher’s degree.
Since I am continuing to get my teacher’s certificate, I’ll be looking to pay a couple hundred more dollars to complete the program. I’m rather unhappy that i have to take 3.5x more examinations than with the previous program. Sadface. 🙁