[COLOR=blue][FONT=Arial] i jus hesitate bout getting a brand new piano for me..
well... i'm a grade 7 paino candicte and failed once in my grade 7 during august exam... what i've awared is..>> nothing wrong before the exam..(which means i can play smoothly when i was in home .. but the problem was ..> when i started to play in a differend "type" of piano ..and the key on the piano is shorter..tune..different... key is heavy..>> this was the part of point why i'hve failed..(maybe)

so ..i'm still considering to get one piano that is what exam will used....??
well..i'm using a second hand lauzy KAWAI in my home...and the exam one is usually YAMAHA.....>.

what "kind" of piano you are using.. and what " kind " of piano in the exam will be/???

Hello Spooky Grace
I have a Yamaha which is exactly the same as the test centre piano.
I think this is a massive advantage to me. I have played on several pianos and they are all very different. On some pianos I can hardly play my pieces. I am only grade 2 and taking grade3 in November but it makes a lot of difference in my opinion.
Good luck when you retake the exam.....
BFN Mike

Eh

To be honest, learning to play on different pianos is part of the skills a pianist needs to learn, unlike any other instrument - we have to able to adapt to whatever piano we play on. The exam piano will probably have been approved before the exam as suitable for candidates to take their exam on. Some exam centres even allow candidates to have a go on the piano before the day of the exam. (Obviously not all.) I doubt the piano was the cause of failure in itself but it may have put you off. One of the best things is to get used to playing on as many different pianos as possible - friends, school halls etc. To go out and buy a Yamaha seems rather drastic and expensive, and if the one in the exam venue changed for any reason (and pianos can also change slightly as they mature and age I believe) you'd still have the same problem. It's just one of those things we have to get used to as pianists.

Agree with chocolatedog - although some pianos are just easier to play than others, it's part of your piano learning to be able to play with all kinds of pianos, whether good or bad. Whenever you have to play to someone, or in a concert etc in the future, you'd have to use a different piano - and you won't be able to buy one for yourself everytime! My piano at home (bought it cheap from a friend) is not overly good and the keys are quite heavy, but I find that it's good practice - most pianos I use are better than the one I have at home, so I am able to play in all kinds of pianos.

That's the great thing about acoustic pianos, like human beings, every one is different and that's what makes them so interesting to play, and hear being played.

I have a Yamaha GB1 baby grand and the sound is distinctly "hard" but very clear compared to my son's piano teacher's Kawai, which has a much more mellow, softer sound.

I often practice new pieces on my Roland HP3 digital piano and after sometime of playing this (the key pressure is much softer), it takes 10 minutes or so getting used to the harder key pressure on the Yamaha.

I don't think playing a different piano in the exam is a problem, unless it's technically faulty, afterall the other candidates have to face the same situation and they all didn't fail, did they?

I am lucky enough to do quite a bit of my playing on a Steinway B and my home piano is a pretty good upright.

However, when I took Grade 6 the piano at the test centre was an absolute disgrace. Out of tune, clearly never properly regulated or maintained and with various sticking keys. I set off in my first piece and promptly came unstuck - the top note of my first run just didn't sound. I started again and it happened again. The examiner came over and took a look, and was quite sympathetic, and told me to start again and persevere. Which I did, though it was absolutely no fun at all.

Luckily I got a high Merit, otherwise I'd have appealed. What's worse is that this pile of firewood is still being used for exams. Needless to say, for my Grade 8 I've asked my teacher to find me a test centre with a better piano.

Having said the above, it's true that a pianist should be able to play on any piano.

Edward

I thought keys are standard on all brands of piano?? Sound and strokes may differ from brand to brand.

I have an upright Kawai and my recent exam one was Kawai grand, while I have practised a few times on the Yamaha grand at my piano company. In fact I think the major difference is between upright and grand pianos.

O_L

It seems to me that the critical thing for any piano candidate is to have played several different instruments before the date of the exam and, especially for small children who may be using "keyboards" and not pianos at all at home, this is absolutely essential.

The pianos used at our Centre do seem to change but are, mostly, pretty good. Always remember that any examiner you have will have played the same piano as you to give the aural tests, so they know all about the problems on it and, presumably, report back to London if it's dodgy?

It is, as others have said, part of the job of being a pianist to be able to cope with whatever instrument you find facing you on the day. That's why I always instruct my pupils to play their scales first - to get a feel of the instrument before launching into their pieces (even at Grade 1).

Responding to the initial message - I certainly wouldn't go out and spend money on an identical piano to the one you had for your exam. It might have changed next time.

It should have been reported. I'm sure the Associated Board would be not amused if they found a piano at a test centre was not up to scratch. Of course, they don't have to all be steinways to be any good, but they still have to be fully regulated and tuned and maintained etc. I suppose on just has to hope the examiner reported it and that the centre has been more careful since.

I agree with the sentiments expressed here so far: pianists have to be able to cope with different pianos that's part of learning the piano and, whist I'm sure that a bad piano could put you off, it would certainly not be the sole reason for failure of an exam if one were well prepared.

Personally I struggle a little because I practise on a digital piano and, obviously, the piano at the exam centre is an acoustic one (Boston upright to be precise, very nice indeed). I am however making the effort to play the university's pianos to get used to playing different pianos before my upcoming exam (which has the double bonus that they are acoustic pianos). Unfortunately they're not actually good pianos: mostly well tuned but the damping and touch leave a lot to be desired, my theory is though that if my pieces sound good there they'll sound good on the nice exam piano .

Examiners all test out the piano before the first exam to judge the quality of the instrument and see what the candidates are experiencing. The examiners can report to head office if a piano has been found to be unsatisfactory. One could appeal on the grounds that the piano was poor, but of course one would have a hard time justifying one's case if the examiner had played and judged the piano to be adequate and no other candidates had complained about it. As others have said buying the same piano as the exam centre is not a good idea: both because the exam centre may change their piano; and because it's effectively saying that what's important in one's piano playing is passing exams, rather than learning to be a good pianist and cope with differing pianos.

I'm worried as I've heard from several sources that the piano I'll be doing my grade 8 on in 2 weeks is a really twangy Kawai... I have arranged to practise on it beforehand though.

If you phone up the ABRSM they might be able to change the exam centre for you.

Here are the numbers.They all begin with 020 7467 : Ireland- 8243 - London - 8269- Midlands - 8238 - Northern - 8228 -Southern - 8211

Hope this helps.

Thanks Semele I will try that - just hope it's not too late...

I played a Yamaha grand on holiday (found one in a restaurant, very nice indeed) and the keys were tiny. My fingers kept hitting the inside of the lid....

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I thought keys are standard on all brands of piano?? Sound and strokes may differ from brand to brand.

I have an upright Kawai and my recent exam one was Kawai grand, while I have practised a few times on the Yamaha grand at my piano company. In fact I think the major difference is between upright and grand pianos.

O_L

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I played a Yamaha grand on holiday (found one in a restaurant, very nice indeed) and the keys were tiny. My fingers kept hitting the inside of the lid....

[/quote]


Oddball, do you mean key size can differ in pianos? I have tried on upright samick, ottostein, seiler, sauter, pleyel, petrof kinds and thought they are the same as those from japan as kawai or yamaha. ???

Would not think the manufacturers do try to adjust the size to meet different countries. I just know that kawai and yamaha do consider the humidity of HK and specially choose the wood to best suit the area. That's why kawai and yamaha types are very popular here.

O_L

I would guess so. They seemed marginally smaller than anything else I've ever played.