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Yep, G1 piano for me... good luck with yours!

Got 2 pupils doing Grade 1 this time. What pieces are you doing?

Hi

Not sure who the question is directed to, but heres my plans for the practical JM:

1 Gavotta: No. 3 from 24 Progressive Lessons, Op. 81
2 A Story from Long Ago: from Romantic Sketches, Book 1
3 Late at Night

Fortunately there is still time available to work on all three pieces. Ive only been having weekly lessons for 8 months roughly and my old teacher text me one day saying that he was giving up teaching. Fortunately I managed to find a new teacher within the month, and have been working on the three pieces since just before Christmas. I am an adult learner, an absolutely beginner. To be honest I find the last line in Gavotta a bit tricky to say the least, so as per my teachers advice Im playing it very slow at the moment in the hope of getting the accuracy. Ill need to speed it up some as tyhe exam is fast approaching.

A Story from Long Ago seems ok, but Im finding the last line again from Late at Night a bit tricky too, so again working on that area very slowly.

So, which pieces have your students decided to perform and how?s it all going.

Pupil no.1 is doing Gavotta, Tarantella and Late at Night ; pupil no. 2 is doing Gavotta, Tarantella and the Bartok from the alternative pieces. Both really like the Tarantella and are doing fine on it, first 2 lines of Gavotta are fine but from then on they both slow down considerably. The one on Late at Night is not finding it easy and I've just started the other one on the Bartok as she was struggling with the other C pieces. Feeling a bit nervous about both of them at the moment.

Ok im not familiar with the Bartok, but then as you say its from the alternative selection. It is interesting that they are both doing Tarantella though. I did look at that myself and thought gee that looks difficult! I have played it through very slowly a few times and still find it awkward!!

Interesting you say that they are not finding Late at Night straight forward - I have found exactly that myself. Not that I have selected any of the pieces because of their apparent ease, but just because I enjoy the melodies.

Ive been working through Gavotta at 46 crotchet BPM for a couple of weeks now and to my amazement the piece is really starting to come together. I do get in a pickle sometimes on the last line, and trying to make the bass line a little softer than the treble, but hopefully I can work through that over the next couple of week? As with your students this will be my first performance in front of an examiner, so no matter how much work I do Im still not really to sure how I will respond to playing in front of a stranger..

The best of luck to and with your students?

I am doing Gavotta, Tarantella and Late at Night , sometime next month I think.

Bothe Gavotta and the Tarantella are both in one hand position all the way through, and I think that's one reason my two are finding the Tarantella a good one to do, as well as finding they both like it. Last line of Gavotta, although they've got the notes, it's the speed they are struggling with.

My pupils got marked down quite heavily for speed in the Gavotta (although it was an examiner for whom speed was about the only criteria - he gave 30 to two children who raced through their pieces, proficiently, at the speed of light, but not a single variation of articulation, dynamic or whatever).

The Tarentella is tricky to keep 'clean' - the lh chords easily get a bit out of synch.

I think, technically, the Tender Flower is quite simple but obviously needs a nice legato tone.

Out of interest, in Gavotta are you teaching pupils to play the quavers semi-staccato as in the demo disc? I think that's the most challenging part of the piece.

My pupils played the quavers semi-staccato but that wasn't too tricky because I don't teach legato playing for quite a while so they're all quite good at playing detached.
But they had a bit of trouble varying the articulation and having some slurred notes. Actually, we got over this after a bit of work and the articualation was quite nice and musical. But still a bit slow for a lively dance (and certainly way too slow as far as the examiner was concerned . . . ).

That's reassuring! My pupil is doing quite well with the semi-staccato and overall articulation but it does slow him down a bit.

Good luck with Grade 1. I did Grade 2 last year and it was scary but great to have done it!

I talk about making it bouncy and dance-like so yes I do try and get them to play it as semi-staccato. I'll probably demonstrate first the way they play it, all legato, and then the way I want it - lighter and bouncy. I go more for making the crotchets detached - specially in the left hand, and the 4 quavers at the end of the first line.

So is the LH in Gavotta supposed to be played semi- staccato? I wasn?t aware of this, so have tried to play it legato, or certainly as legato as possible?

The dynamic do pose another issues? it used to all go wrong as soon as I tried to change the dynamics. This is certainly something I have been working on and im hoping there is a audible difference between the forte and piano now!

My lessons are taken on an acoustic piano, but I have a Yamaha Clavinova Digital Piano at home, which I have now got used to playing. It does take me a while to adjust when I play on the lesson piano now. Do you think the examiner takes into consideration the fact that candidates could be playing an instrument possible for the first time? I don?t suppose they will allow me to warm up for an hour prior to the 12 min exam - lol

The vast majority of piano exam candidates are playing an instrument they may never have played before, so at least it is a level playing field. Being able to handle the difference is a part of the job of a pianist, but it takes time to develop that skill so they should be sympathetic. One reason the scales are played first in a piano exam is that they give you the best chance to get used to the piano so you are feeling more comfortable on it by the time you play your first piece.

One question - is the piano in your lessons an upright or a grand and do you know if the exam centre piano is an upright or a grand? A large percentage of exam centres have grand pianos. Every piano is different from each other so saying that all grand pianos feel a certain way to play and all upright pianos feel a certain way to play is totally inaccurate, however some can find a grand piano a bit off putting if they have never played one before. Therefore, if you have never played one and think the piano at the exam centre might have a grand piano, if you can find any way of accessing one to try out sometime it will be helpful. One difference is that the music is relatively higher compared to the keyboard than with an upright piano. You can practise this on an upright by using bluetack to stick the music to the piano a bit higher than the music stand. I don't wish to worry you unnecessarily if you are unable to try a grand piano before the exam. It isn't that big a deal, but it helps to mentally prepare yourself for how it might feel a little different.

Thanks yet another muso for your response.

My current teacher has a grand piano and I have the Yamaha 465GP, which I guess is essentially a Clavinova housed within a baby grand box, so I guess its fair to say Im not too fazed by the grand feel and look, unlike somebody whom may never have played on one.

I have yet to received confirmation of the practical exam venue, so not sure where it will be held. One thing I do know and that is the last three piano I have played have all been totally different, so im not expecting the exam piano to be any different. My biggest problem is that because of my inexperience it usually takes a while to get used to the piano, by which time the exam could be done and dusted!!!!

Still, as you say unfortunately its just the hazard of the job. I guess everybody is going to be in the same boat!!!

In some centres it is possible to arrange to try the piano out a week or so before the exam.