In your opinion, is it neccessary to copy the recordings of exam pieces as exactly as possible? I'm afraid that they won't like my own way of playing. I know that music is not supposed to be judged using marks, especially the style and interpretation. Everyone, including examiners have different tastes of these things. I'm just worried that my examiner won't like mine...

Funnily enough, I picked up a recording of the previous Grade 8 clarinet syllabus last week, and the sleeve notes say that your own interpretation is encouraged, particularly at the higher grades. Best thing to do is to use the recordings as just one of the many tools available to you. The examiner wants to hear how you perform (note, not play) a piece, not how well you can copy any given recording.

Interpretation is, always has been, and probably always will be, a contentious issue. Back last century when I did my Grade 6 clarinet, the examiner praised all of the dynamic contrasts. A couple of years later, playing the same piece to a new teacher, new teacher moaned that I'd gone a bit overboard with the dynamics. The beginning of a short but difficult teacher/pupil relationship...

There shouldn't be a problem with the examiner "not liking" your interpretation... it is YOUR interpretation.... shouldn't surely be a problem if it is a valid interpretation of the music. And after all what's to say any particular examiner would like the CD interpretation...?

Many teachers don't even use the recordings, or they regard them as helpful but not always necessary.

My pupils don't always hear the recordings, but they do ok in their grade exams.

Hope this partly answers your question!

Maggie

The examiners probably haven't heard the CDs themselves anyway and they'll have heard hundreds of different interpretations from several different people. Exams are about learning things: you won't learn anything by just copying the recording, you should use your own interpretation: if the piece is technically perfect (or near as possible) then you'll probably get at least 27/28 and it would only cost you a few marks even if the examiner really hates your interpretation (as long as your interpretation is a valid one of course).

Sometimes I wouldn't even WANT to coppy the CD interpretaion.
I don't always like the way things are played on them.

*nods* I've heard others say that. in terms of being sure you have the general playing of the piece right or in helping you chose pieces I am sure they are very useful, but I'm certain the AB never intended them to be treated as the ultimate interpretation.

@@@@

I love and hate those Cd's. I sometimes wonder if my Cd player had a button that automatically puts them on "play super fast mode" when I insert an ABRSM CD.

The thing is though, how are you suposed to create your own interpretation, if you are stuck with just that blessed Piano accompaniment to work with until two weeks before the exam? (and yes, I know most students don't have this problem)

In fact, why can't ABRSM do exams where an accompanist isn't needed?

You used to be able to get accompaniment tapes from a company called Pocket Pianist which had the accompaniment played at 3 different speeds, although I realise that still doesn't help with the interpretation side of things. They were very helpful though... I don't know if they are still around. They also did tapes with all the pieces on played at "performance tempo".

Tamsin: does your teacher not play piano at all? Or just not well enough to cope with accompanying the pieces you are learning? Maybe in that situation it's best to work out your interpretation away from the cd... work out how you want to play it, learn the piano part from the score and listen to it along with the cd, but don't attempt to play along with the cd too much?? just a thoughts... I know it's hard when you can't practice with your accompanist much.

Rhaps: not asleep just yet

Wouldn't the examiners get really bored listening to repititions of the same pieces being played exactly the same way?

Am still very much a novice pianist (working towards grade 3) but for me the desire to learn piano is so that eventually I can put some of my own expression into the music - just need to get the technique!!!

Annette x

Hello
I bought CD's and found most people suggest not to use them and it did seem to slow down the learning process of reading the music correctly. It felt a bit like cheating really. However I am having to learn a piece for my grade two that is replacing a piece I am struggling with.....I feel time is short now to my exam so I have listened to the piece on cd. It does speed up the ability to play the piece.......but I am sure I am missing out on the learning process somewhere along the line.....
Good luck with the grade 3 Annette
BFN Mike

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 24 2005, 10:51 AM)

There shouldn't be a problem with the examiner "not liking" your interpretation... it is YOUR interpretation.... shouldn't surely be a problem if it is a valid interpretation of the music. And after all what's to say any particular examiner would like the CD interpretation...?

No, I play the Beethoven sonata B3 with a sort of rubato in a few bars because I think it will sound much better regardless of the footnote that says you should keep the tempo uniform, but I'm worried they'll think I messed it up (they'll think I lost the tempo), and a few other pieces, too.

then the question is, is your interpretation valid?

and if you think it is, can you play it convincingly enough to make the examiner agree?

Indeed the footnote is usually made based on years of historical research and a lifetime of musical experience. If listening to a recording a certain thing could be either just something that 'happened' to a performer in the rendition that was recorded or even a mistake (admittedly less likely in a modern non 'live' recording). Disagreeing with a recording is perfectly fine because it's just how one person happened to play it and there's a lot of their style; ignoring something that an editor has specifically put in a footnote is more likely to be considered a mistake. I'm not saying that it should never be done, after all it is your interpretation, just that you must be as confident in your conviction as someone who is very well respected and has looked at all of the history of the piece.

Don't compare yourself to others, especially those on the CD. Do your best always and enjoy what you are playing. If the examiner wanted to hear the piece like those on the CD he/she would have bought the CD!

The CD's are a good guideline but i'm sure the examiner is more interested in how you present your pieces yourself.

Just my 2p's worth!

Craig

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 25 2005, 10:46 AM)

then the question is, is your interpretation valid? and if you think it is, can you play it convincingly enough to make the examiner agree?

I agree with Sarah on this one. In an ABRSM grade exam, increasingly so from grades 6 onwards, the aim is to demonstrate competence with a range of styles. Loosely, the three lists are split into: baroque/early classical; classical/some early romantic; romantic onwards. For each list, take heed of the performance conventions that are recognised when playing music from that period. If you think it might sound a bit better to deviate from the rules in a certain section of the piece, consider it carefully: the list C piece probably provides ample opportunity for demonstrating rubato, so you haven't demonstrated any technique not covered elsewhere in your programme, and you've risked appearing to have wonky timing.

Rubato is appropriate in classical music, if done correctly. It's even possible to elicit rubato out of Brendel on occasion The key distinction is that with classical rubato, the 1st beat of the bar (and to a lesser extent, the accompaniment) needs to stay where it would have been anyway: any pulling-around of time has to occur on-top of that. Romantic rubato is a lot less strict, although it's still best to balance it out - accel in one place if you did a rit somewhere else, and vice-versa.