Hi

Is grade 5 to grade 8 a too bigger jump. My clarinet teacher thinks I could do grade 8 next, has anyone else skipped grades 6 and 7? I know i wont be able to play the pieces instantly and it will probably take quite a while but is it possible to get a good mark in the exam if I havent done the previous grades?

Nat

It all depends on how well you did in grade 5 and how much time you have between the two grades... Grades 6-8, or at least the pieces, are marked on a different scale which makes it harder to get higher marks. I would say mostly though it depends on how good your sightreading and aural are and how much practice you're willing to do on scales and pieces.

If there's no reason to rush I would advise you to wait a while; however if you need it quickly to get into university or something then you don't really have a choice: your mark may not be as good as it would have been but at least you'll have the qualification that they want.

Good luck

It's not too big a jump if you take the right amount of time between grades five and eight. It's definitely not something you should rush into. Even if you don't do grades six and seven you should probably play some of the pieces off the syllabus because it'll encourage you when you know that you are up to standard for those grades even if you don't take them. There's also the small matter of grade five theory, which you will need to be entered for grade eight.

I don't know of anyone who missed out grades six and/or seven, and I would never have dreamed of doing so even though I got distinction for grade five. There's a big gap between grades five and eight - I think the way some people approximate them to GCSE and A-level misleads people into thinking that the gap is normally only about two years, but in most cases it seems to be more...

Good luck,
Helena

I don't play the clarinet, so I'm not sure how different the technical requirements are between Grades 5 and 8. But I think that should you want to do Grade 8, you must be prepared to put in a lot of hard work. In my opinion, even a distinction in Grade 5 might not secure a pass in Grade 8, since personal interpretation of each piece is assessed at the higher grades. Do take your time and don't rush yourself into getting the certificates. Whatever your decision, good luck. =)

In my opinion, its to big of a jump. All because between grades you have to learn different things so you will have to cram a lot of things in, think about it even if you dont want to do grade 8 grade six is a slightly better step!

good luck i know you can do it

if you didnt get a superdooper mark at grade 5 maybe to grade 8 is a bit of a big jump?? i found 5-6 quite big, with the scales, aural etc!

Hi, I think that if you want to go for your grade 8 then you should do it, especially as your teacher seems to be encouraging it! It would obviously take a lot of hard work but if your prepared to do that then I don't see why you shouldn'! Although if you are in doubt then maybe taking either 6 or 7 first would help.

i definitely think you should do Grade 6, because the ump between 5 and 6 is (in my opinion) bigger than between 6 and 8. If you don't want to enter for the exam you could at least play through the Grade 6 and 7 pieces before you start the grade 8 stuff.

I'm not too sure if you had mentioned any instruments but anyhow, I play the piano and took gd5 in 2000.

then I stopped because of some major examinations and also due to the fact my teacher had headed to the US to pursue her Ph.D. (she did leave me another teacher's number but I never did get round to callin it until 2 months back. lol)

So anyway, 3 or 4 years later today, I'm doing my gd8, in July/August.

I think the skip isn't too big. No doubt the pieces are longer and require more practice but I don't think pieces are a major problem. Scales wise, you just have to learn them and daily practice seriously perfects them in no time.

The things worth worrying about would be the aural and sight reading. I'd suggest at least 4 months to got through all the way from 6 -8's aural, and sight reading wise, start with gd7. lotsa accidentals.

Give yourself a full year of practice to prepare for the gd8 exam. I think it should help and it defintely is possible.

i got distinctions in my piano exam and i have to skip grade 2 if your teacher things your good enough to take such a great leap then you should be-able to do it, it will just take more work.

I honestly feel that grade 5 to grade 8 is quite a huge gulf. A good stepping stone for me was grade 6 then grade 8. Their is a lot of prep work involved for grade 8 esp if you are not just looking for a basic pass.

The scales are the killer! There are a lot to learn for grade 8, and a big jump from grade 5. Keep the scales going whatever you do.

Hi Natalie,
I play the piano and I skipped 6 and 7. However, I didn't sit for any exam for 1 year and this year I am going to give my grade 8 exam. The pieces were a bit difficult to pick up but believe me its not impossible. However what you will REALLY have to work on is your sight reading( which I'm pretty weak at ) , your scales (for which you MUST spend some time everyday) and finally your aurals (which is not that daunting ).
Of course you must judge yourself and see if you are willing to put in the required time and hardwork. By the way I got distinction in my grade 5 exam (130/150 ).
Anyway best of luck!
Rupayan.

Nothing is too big a jump if you work at it. Believe it or not, the first ABRSM exam I ever took was Piano Grade 8

My sight reading is quite good and once ive learned me scales im okay with them too!! Its just the aurals!!!!

Im playing through grade 6, 7 and 8 pieces at the moment and i find them ok!!Im thinking of maybe donig grade 6 in Nov so ive done another exam coz i jumped straight in at grade 5!

Thanks for all your comments!!

Nat

lol I know someone just failed grade 2 (piano), and had about 10 lessons on grade 5, now aiming for grade 6

I also know someone who did just grade 8 on clarinet, I don't know how well she did though, but then, I'm always happy with a pass...

QUOTE (garytse86 @ Apr 13 2004, 04:01 PM)

lol I know someone just failed grade 2 (piano), and had about 10 lessons on grade 5, now aiming for grade 6

If this person has just failed grade II what makes them think that they will be able to jump to grade VI?

I would say that there is a huge difference between grade V and grade VI let alone between II and VI.


Mad!!!

yeah , the aural tests are a killer, naming chords is impossible, you literally have about 2 seconds to work out which chord position and name it!