Hi all,

Having just sat my grade 8 piano exam I'm wondering what to do next. Sometime next year, depending on my results I will start thinking about looking at diplomas but what to do in the meantime? I've started reading John Mehegan's first volume on Jazz Tonal and Rhythmical principal. Now this is a lot like hard work and not really for the faint hearted. My teacher is keen for me to play more social events, now playing in a pub band is all good and well, it's normally blues or simple progressions and your only worry is that you're being drowned out by an over zealous guitarist who thinks he's the next Clapton. However my teacher would like me to play more formal affairs. Herein lies my problem. I have no idea what people want or expect a pianist to play. I have bought a fake book and spotted a play list on iTunes with about 30 of the pieces in it although £35 for the privilege of the download sort of put me off.

Has anyone gone down this path before? What music did you listen to at the time? Any general recommendations?

Cheers,

Jim

Hi Jim

I'm afraid I am not currently at or approaching grade 8 standard but my advice would be to try a couple of the tried and tested tunes that are fairly popular such as maybe a well-known Beethoven or Mozart Sonata movement. Then combine learning this with a piece that you really have to try to get your head around, such as some Debussy maybe, where the beauty can be more subtle. This way you will have a material you could play at a concert as well as pieces that you can play for your own enjoyment

Perhaps you could experiment with different styles, such as ragtime or a Bach fugue. There is so much out there just waiting to be played, take full advantage while you aren't working toward any exams.

Hope this helps
Boo