Hey!
I am due to take grade 8 piano in the spring - thats for certain. I am, at the mo, set to take it with my keyboard teacher, who does exams with the London College of Music. That was fine for keyboard, but no I am taking grade 8 piano, I wonder if it would be best to take it with Associated Board -I think They are much more widely accepted! I'm not getting on too well with my teacher @ the mo, so doing it with A.B gives me an excuse to change!!

There are + and - for each - I can't choose. Any advice.

thanks,
jonathan


P.s - what arre the aural requirments for gr 8 piano with associated board - I know the rest, but not the aural - thanks!

I'll be the stupid one and ask: What's the difference from a keyboard. I assume that it's the electrical piano one, not as in the family of instruments.

I read about this the other day, and the keyboard exam includes things such as harmonising a melody using chords. So basically skills that a keyboard player is more likely to use than a piano player.

Both are set standards, so it's really a matter of preference. I think that internationally, the Associated Board might be more accepted, but again, it's just a choice. As far as your teacher goes, if you feel like he/she is benefiting to you and has helped you a lot, and is really a good teacher, then you should be able to work everything out. However, if you are truly unhappy with your teacher, I recommend that you switch teachers, regardless of what exam you take.

Keyboard is electric, & has rhythms, & chords in the bass hand, not moving notes in both hands. It has many voices like sax & violin. Its a good statrter instrument, but is getting a bit boring for me now - can't wait to get the grade 8 then move on! Any more views? I wanna take AB, but have heard the aural musicianship is really hard. What do you have to do?? thanks

There's a description at the bottom of this document. If you want to gain a better understanding a good book to buy is 'Aural Training in Practice' published by the AB (grades 6-8 in your case), this has explanations of how to tackle the exercises and some pre-exercises for some questions. You would need a pianist (possibly your teacher) to work through this with you though as you can't play the exercises yourself to answer the questions as you've seen the music which makes it easier! If there's no-one available/willing to help you, or you just want more practise the AB make CDs of the tests (although I think the sample tests might be the same as those in the books).

Personally I'd go for the AB purely on the grounds that to me they seem more internationally recognised and well regarded and are the exams I've done so far. Of course those fortunate enough to be immune to such feelings (or indeed just not agree with them) can choose other boards based on which has the repertoire that suits them the best and which has the supplementary tests they find the most accessible. This is a more sensible thing to do really, I'm not sensible enough!

hate to say this, but from past posts you've made...dont you think you should cool it with your exams? you should do 1 grade at a time maybe 2. but the more you do the more pressure you're under and more practise you need so...try cool it?

also, from what you appear to play, oboe isnt the best to play if you're originally a sax/clarinet player...i mean how many people do you know play oboe along with clarinet and sax? being down this track myself repeatedly...my advice is that you focus on your main 2/3 instruments and play the rest for fun if at all!

(other AB forum members, this last paragraph i KNOW what im talking about, seriously, there was a time when i went REALLY overboard with what i play!)

What makes it a bad thing to play oboe and clarinet/sax? Serious question, I'm not a woodwind-er. Two of my most talented (and versatile) friends play 1) flute/picc/alto sax and 2) flute/oboe/clarinet/bass clarinet. They come in really useful in musicals where there seems to be a lot of part-sharing.

Your right SuzyMac, my old clarinet teacher played Clarinet, Flute and Oboe, and she was an amazing oboist as well as a very talented clarinettist. Again, she found it very useful for musicals...where she swapped instruments regularly through the show.

GCBS - I work best under pressure, & love exams. I've always done really well in them, & enjoyed the experience, so !!!!!

I just came back from a jazz orchestra rehersal, & the principal tenor is great, but is absolutly awesome on the bassoon. She can play both fabulously - I think you can do both mouthshapes if you want - definatly!!

Before my rehersal I went & bought the grade 8 piano book - AB. It looks fab - some great pieces. What do you think I should learn first!!
Thanks

Jonathan

I'm glad you seem to like Associated Board. As for what to try first, it's a matter of personal preference. Try what looks interesting.

My personal favorites from the book:

- Sonata in C, K. 330, by Mozart
- Impromptu, by Arensky (lots of sharps, but very beautiful in the end)
- Autumn Crocus, by Mayerl (quirky, but still very graceful and pretty. I liked the theme a lot)
- Dem Andenken Petofis, by Lizst (if you like Lizst, you'll enjoy this one)

HOW IS THAT MOZART SONATA EASY?!!?!?

the Liszt is fantastic, but you do need to be good at octaves to play it :-/

The Mozart sonata is lovely!!! Pleasant to listen to, even when it's me practicing (according to my dad!). I'd never say it was easy - no G8 pieces are in my mind, but is one of the nicest to play, imho

I don't think anyone said it was easy did they? Favourite doesn't mean easy, it means the one the person likes the best. One shouldn't be picking one's favourite pieces at grade 8 as the easiest ones, but the ones that one likes the best and feels that one's playing style is suited to....

the mozart sonata movement is lovely - definitely recommend it, and also Autumn Crocus (C2) and don't forget there's a wealth of alternatve pieces listed on the first page in the book. albeniz's "Castilla" and debussy's "Premiere arabesque" are also great. in fact a lot of them are, so just play through as many as you can to find one you like.

im not saying "favourite = easiest" but i have 4 friends of mine doing/done Grade 8, all did the Mozart, Scarlatti and something different for list C (1 is doing Liszt, one already did it and the other 2 doing Mendelssohn) and all 4 have said the Mozart Sonata in C is very easy for Grade 8....*scream*

I'd be interested to hear what marks they get for the piece - the old adage is that Mozart is too easy for beginners but too hard for experts, and it could well be that they are disillusioned that it's easy.

Listening to it now - it's a grade 8 piece, definitely. The notes don't sound too hard, but that's the deceptive part of Mozart - the control is the difficult part, and if one is accustomed to throwing one's hands at the piano, this is the difficult part to grasp - that the right notes aren't everything.

Obviously, I don't know your friends so I'm merely toying with the hypothetical; but I don't think you need to worry if they think it's 'easy' but you do not....

I'm learning it, and while the notes alone are easy to learn, I'm finding it hard to keep in under control and articulated particularly at high speeds. I wouldn't say it is easy, but it is much like the Scarlatti in that the notes are simple yet playing the piece well is quite tricky.

I don't think any Mozart is easy - simple, possibly, never easy, if you see my distinction. The adage YAP has quoted above is a favourite of mine! Very true...

I am now taking the exam with the associated board, but my current teacher will teach me too! I've looked @ the scales - they should be ok - & I'm working on the scarletti Sonata in d - its great fun! I'll prob take the exam in the spring - it may clash with my yr 9 sats , but it should be ok. Has anyone else had problems with music exams & school exams?
I can only reach an octave well, being 13 - are there any pieces of exercises I would find hard/should avoid??

I'll let you know how I'm doing. Thanks

Jonathan

i have, i had my original time and date for my Grade 5 piano halfway through my GCSE Physics exam, managed to get it changed to the day after thankfully. year 9 SATs are pointless anyway dont worry yourself about them

avoid most Chopin, all Liszt, Rachmaninov, Debussy?, Ravel and some Beethoven.

I agree - Mozart needs a certain touch and style which I have rarely heard in younger players - they don't often have the refined touch. The notes may look deceptively easy but there's a lot more to Mozart than meets the eye.

I've playted some of the book, & love the mozart, shashtokovick (dont know how to spell it) A2, scarlatti, betthoven & C4. The scales dont look THAT hardm, but the aural looks really hard!!
I've got a few months, so won't start being that serious yet!

We had a school music concert on Thursday night and one of my friends performed in her music class. They were playing The little Carnival of Animals by Camille Saint-Saens and she played half of it on the Soprano Saxophone and the other half on the clarinet as she is the only one in the class who can play the Soprano Saxophone (she can also play Cello, Violin, Piano, Guitar, Alto Saxophone, Recorder, Percussion, Double Bass and a few notes on the trumpet.) In the Senior Music class most of the class members regularly swapped between several instruments in the same performance.

Good luck - have you done the grade 5 theory already?

I really like the Scarlatti too.

Yeah - I have gd 5 theory - I passed with 85%, but my cadences lost me SOOOO many marks!!!

I love the prelude from A2, but havent tried the fugue yet - I hope i like that one too!

just a question:
How long before an exam do you guys start preparing. It takes me about a term, but grdae 8 may be harder, although Im just getting serious about gd 8 keyboard now, & its @ christmas!

Thanks
Jonathan

PS> I'm desperate to take a sax exam. I didn';t enter for this session, but do you think grade 8 piano & a sax exam would be too much??
thanks