Thursday, September 15, 2011

2. What does the CAGO require of you?

What you need to know a.k.a. "What this post lacks in amusement, it makes up for in information"


The first thing I found out is that you need to write to the National Headquarters to request an application. Luckily, the person I emailed is very kind and will accept my returning the application a little late... not that I'd recommend doing that... which leads me to:

TIP #1: As soon as you've decided to take the exam, write to: exams@agohq.org to get an application.

It is better to have it and change your mind than run into a problem. (This is one of those "do as I say, not as I do" moments... I'll try to keep those to a minimum!)

On to the requirements:

The first thing you learn from the requirements sheet is that the exam won't be judged by the people actually listening to it; they send it to National Headquarters and there two people will judge, presumably, all of the national CAGO exams. I like that! It makes me feel on equal level with everyone else taking the test.

On to the actual requirements:

The playing section:
- The playing section has me playing three pieces of repertoire and two hymns.
- There are six pieces of rep to choose from and a large booklet of hymns

TIP #2: When you write to get an application, go ahead and request a Hymn Booklet (which is a .pdf they will email to you) in the same email.

The "keyboard skills" section:
- This section can be broken down into four sections:
     1. sight-read
     2. harmonize
     3. transpose
     4. improvise
-Very happily, I discovered that I get 20 minutes to prep for parts 2-4 of this section. However, I imagine that those will be the shortest 20 minutes on the planet, so I am going to focus a lot of my time and attention to these sections.


So, friends, this is the bare-bones organization of the exam. I'll be back in a week or so and hit the ground running with preparations. From that point, I'll have about 7 weeks to prep. Wish me luck!

1. Let's start at the very beginning...

Yes, there will be multiple "The Sound of Music" references in this blog. You have been warned!

First thing's first: introductions. My name is Leslie Smith. I am an organist here in Connecticut and I have decided (at the gentle, nay, persistent prodding of fellow organists) to do the "Colleague" level of AGO Certification.

"Why?" you might ask. Well, partly because it is a really great way to hone your skills, not to mention be a bigger presence in the AGO and mostly because yours-truly here is your very own guinea pig. I am here to show you how I did it and provide some insight, encouragement and helpful tips along the way.

Second, a small confession. I am technically "over-qualified" for the Colleague level. I graduated with a Masters in organ performance a year ago which means I should technically be doing the Associate level. But, fancy-pants graduate students don't need any help with studying and the chances are that they have already passed a certification level or two.

So here I am, your friendly-neighborhood-study-partner. I hope my experiences can be helpful and shine some light on a subject that from the outside can seem quite daunting.

Come along on my journey, won't you?