strathspey@strathspey.org:44156

Sophie Rickebusch

Re: Modern technology in preparation for the prelim?

Feb. 6, 2006, 8:48 a.m. (Message 44156, in reply to message 44151)

Hi Alex,

When I was preparing my prelim 2 years ago, I found that teaching the figures was 
the best way to get them into my head, so I would say get as much practice as 
you can. Obviously if you've only got 2 weeks left it's a bit late for that, but 
nevertheless, try picking figures at random (well, I'd concentrate on the most 
common ones first, don't worry about the spurtle or the 1C poussette unless 
you've really gone through all the rest!) and think about how you would teach 
them, if possible making up rhythmic sequences (eg. "away from the centre / 
quarter turn / etc." for the poussette). Hopefully that should help you remember 
them, aside from being useful material for part 3.

One way in which modern technology can be useful is if you've got trouble 
distinguishing between reels and jigs (I used to): get your hi-fi (or iPod or 
whatever) to play tracks at random, then try and guess what they are (clapping 
to the music helps).

Other than that, the time-honoured methods of reading through the manual, 
having "question and answer" sessions with other students (or anyone else who's 
willing) and trying to answer old exam papers (available on the RSCDS website) still 
worked for me.

Good luck with unit 1 anyway - if you're taking units 2-3 in the second fortnight at 
summer school I might see you there as I'm aiming to take unit 5 then.

Cheers,
Sophie

Quoting Alexandre Rafalovitch <xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx>:

> Greetings,
> 
> Is anybody (or anybody in your class) preparing for the Preliminary
> Examination, part 1? And if so, what modern tools and techniques are
> helpful for that? I would be curious to hear suggestions and opinions,
> in part because I am sitting exactly that exam in 2 weeks, but also
> because there must be better ways to learn than staring at the page
> trying to inhale the difference between Allemande for 3 and Allemande
> for 4 couples.
> 
> At the moment, I am using electronic flashcards for at least part of
> the preparations. They are publicly available in case somebody is
> interested or wants to comment. Details are in my blog at:
> http://alwayslearning.wordpress.com/2006/02/05/flashcards-i-am-using-to-
prepare-for-rscds-preliminary-examination/
> 
> Regards,
>    Alex.
> 


-- 
Sophie Rickebusch
CH - Wettswil a. A.