Grade 8 practice hours Options

[steve10005]

Hello,

I am working on my grade 8 violin and I want to do really well as it's the final grade and I want to continue studying music at university. Hopefully I will be taking my grade 8 this spring.
How many hours should I really be practicing at least? It would also be interesting to hear how much you practice towards your grades. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Violin Hero]

Hello,

I am working on my grade 8 violin and I want to do really well as it's the final grade and I want to continue studying music at university. Hopefully I will be taking my grade 8 this spring.
How many hours should I really be practicing at least? It would also be interesting to hear how much you practice towards your grades. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

When I did my grade 8 I was practicing 45 minutes a day. It was enough as I ended up with a merit.

[lilly763]

I've only done piano grade 8, but I think I was practicing around 45 minutes a day at that time because I was very busy with other things. It was enough, but I really wasn't prepared as much as I could have been with the scales. I had the pieces pretty well under control, but I think I would have been less nervous if I had been confident in my practice.

[jojo]

mmmmm to me 45 minutes is like *gone with the wind*

it goes away SO QUICKLY!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I mean.....you do a few scales/arpeggios/dominants/diminished/inversions then you move onto sevcik/kreutzer and your 45 minutes is GONE GONE GONE (actually an hour is gone (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) )

then you have the pieces!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

now, I have not been practicing 'properly' for a LONG LONG TIME (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hides.gif)

but when I was getting ready for my grade 5 I was doing 2 hours a day, call me crazy/a worrier or an 'over-do-er' I don't know, but that's 'me' anyway.

I am also going for grade 8 next year but as I am going abroad (hopefully) in July and I don't want to go earlier, I decided I will go in the autumn or even winter, so now as from september I will start again practicing 2 hours a day.

Can I 'afford' to practice 2 hours a day? do I have the time? well, not really, but I will make time as violin is on the high priority list to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

ps I am not going for grade 8 ABRSM, I am going for the Trinity Advanced Music Certificate, and even though I am not required to play scales/sight read or do aural I 'still' practice/study these things, indeed scales/arpeggios/dominants/diminished/inversions are staples/regulars in my daily practice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) and my teacher does not let me get away without theory/aural hehehehe.

Do I get a better mark for practicing 2 hours a day? no (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rofl.gif) as I am a rubbish violinist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[lilly763]

mmmmm to me 45 minutes is like *gone with the wind*

it goes away SO QUICKLY!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I mean.....you do a few scales/arpeggios/dominants/diminished/inversions then you move onto sevcik/kreutzer and your 45 minutes is GONE GONE GONE (actually an hour is gone (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) )

then you have the pieces!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

now, I have not been practicing 'properly' for a LONG LONG TIME (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hides.gif)

but when I was getting ready for my grade 5 I was doing 2 hours a day, call me crazy/a worrier or an 'over-do-er' I don't know, but that's 'me' anyway.

I am also going for grade 8 next year but as I am going abroad (hopefully) in July and I don't want to go earlier, I decided I will go in the autumn or even winter, so now as from september I will start again practicing 2 hours a day.

Can I 'afford' to practice 2 hours a day? do I have the time? well, not really, but I will make time as violin is on the high priority list to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

ps I am not going for grade 8 ABRSM, I am going for the Trinity Advanced Music Certificate, and even though I am not required to play scales/sight read or do aural I 'still' practice/study these things, indeed scales/arpeggios/dominants/diminished/inversions are staples/regulars in my daily practice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) and my teacher does not let me get away without theory/aural hehehehe.

Do I get a better mark for practicing 2 hours a day? no (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rofl.gif) as I am a rubbish violinist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

jojo, I would be willing to bet lots that you are NOT a rubbish violinist, or anything close! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But I do have to agree with what you say - somehow, time seems to go by faster when I practice viola/violin than with piano... it just seems like there is more to be done. Also because I don't really practice scales or technique on piano (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) I wonder how much practice I would need if I wanted to prepare for grade 8 viola or violin... someone should stop me before I start trying to find out... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

[Sunrise]

I did between 1 and 1.5 hours daily practice in the year before my Grade 8. I got a merit, could have got more but my aural, scales and sightreading brought the mark down. Make sure you start on aural early, G8 is tricky and you can't just wing it. But easy marks when you know what you are doing.

Good luck!

[miffy]

I would agree with 1-1.5 hours. Just playing the pieces straight through can take nearly half an hour. You could split your practice into two 45min blocks - one for scales and technical work on the pieces and the other for musical work?
Like Jojo says, the time goes so fast, so it's good to start each session with a plan of what you want to achieve that day.

[ffliwt]

Atleast one hour (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It needs to be enough time to work on all your pieces/scales but then also to do 'general' practise unrelated to your exam... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Violin Hero]

When I was practicing for grade 8 some days I did just scales/sightreading and other days I would work on troublesome sections of my pieces. I never practised sightreading, scales, aural and piees all in the same day.

[inigo]

I did about a hour and a half mostly, but only practiced four or five days a week. I think I might have done better if I hadn't fallen apart with nervousness about the pieces (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) but got a good merit, mainly through doing well at aural tests and scales. It was definitely worth working at the aural tests, they are a bit tricky at grade 8 but just take a bit of practice. Scales too: easy marks if you put the time in. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[maya3]

i did 45 mins 6 days a week and got a good distinction.
x

[Mad Tom]

On piano, aged 16, having passed grade 6, it took me one year at 1.5 to 2 hours a day to prepare for Grade 8. Not all of my time was spent specifically on grade 8 material. I learned a lot of other stuff for my own amusement, for school concerts and festivals, and to entertain friends.

[jpiano]

So much is down to how we're practicising rather than just quantity- but approximately and realistically minimum 1 hour if you're using the time really effectively. In the dim and distant years when I took my Grade 8 I was practising 2 hours a day, but certainly not all was on the exam material.

[Degzi]

I practice about an hour a day for my grade 2. i'm guessing the amount of time practising doesn't increase that much at the higher grades

[delorfinde]

I am put to shame by the amount you guys all practice! An hour a day for Grade 2!

I don't practice every day, which is very bad of me. Usually I practice around three times a week because I do a lot of orchestra stuff and I don't practice on those days as I'm too worn out! I also have to find the time to practice the flute. This term I took grade seven on both instruments and I probably did about 1.5 hours PER WEEK, not per day, on each. I got my violin result and I got a high Merit, so obviously that's enough for me, but who knows what I could get with two hours a day? Lol. Still waiting for the flute result. Obviously in the last week before the exam I practiced more, and I had been working on the pieces for over a year, but...