At what grade do you think it is possible to stop taking the graded exams, in my case, in piano? In particular to be able to play most of the songbooks available and to play with confidence and not need any more lessons and not have to work to any exam. I have Grade 5 in my head, I don't know why. It's seems a bit marker point for some reason, anyone know why?

I think G5 is indeed a marker, as it's often here that one starts to play pieces that were not specially written for new-ish learners. Not sure how to answer your original question though, sorry...!

It isn't necessary to take exams to progress and omly you know when you are as good as you want to be.
I used to see grade 5 as a sort of magic point ar which I would be what I considered competant.... now about to do grade 8 and still not there. .

I think that if you are really interested in learning then there is no stopping point as the more you learn the more you are aware of what you don't know and can't do... (YET).

The above is a favourite saying of young katyjay's. There's no need to do any exams at all, ever: it's far more important to play because you want to, rather than because you have to. That said, an exam is a good target to aim ait, but just one of many - music festivals, concerts, family gatherings are a few others that spring to mind.

When I started singing lessons, my teacher floated the idea of exams. I said it might be quite nice to get Grade 5 eventually........

Three years later I'm approaching my LTCL, and still accelerating in what I'm learning........

But the exams are only one measure of progress. And not a compulsory one at that. Deborah's right, I do say "Music is for life, not just for exams" a lot - largely because I believe it.

Cheers

Katyjay

How true!
I have, since grade 1 thought that the following grade would be a magical place in which I could really think of myself as being some sort of classically trained "musician". Now, I have come to understand that no matter what level you are at, there is still an ocean of room for improvement.
I played a recital to about 250 people just before christmas. Although I was roundly congratulated on the performance, I wasn't thinking about the all the things that went right, but I was mortified by the bits in which I made mistakes.
The further you go, the longer the road gets.

It all sounds rather depressing. The amount of effort I have had to put in to get to Grade 2 has been enormous, so the thought of all this up to Grade 8 fills me with horror. Yes I do enjoy playing but without the grades to aim for I don't think I would bother. However,6 more exams has given me doubts about whether I should continue.

and the shorter the distance traveled seems ...

Take a little time to reflect on why you decided to learn to play the piano.

I'd put a sizeable bet (maybe even a Kit-Kat) that it wasn't for the sake of getting some exams.

You mention that you want to be able to play most songbooks with confidence. So why not choose a couple of books with music in that you like the look of (or have liked the sound of) and use those as a "benchmark" of what you want to achieve.

Maybe keep a "greatest hits" list with the music you most want to be able to play eventually - and talk through with your teacher how you would go about developing sufficient technical ability to able to play them. You could always update the "greatest hits" if you hear/see something else you'd like a crack at.


Alternatively, why not work on exam requirements and tick them off for yourself, but don't actually go through the exam room process. You'll know you've learnt the necessary stuff, without the hassle of the day itself.

Either way, you need to refocus away from the exams being a destination, they are only features on the landscape while you are on the journey.

Best of luck, and enjoy your playing

Katyjay

(ps, at the moment I only have one work on my "Greatest Hits" list, and I've still got a way to go to manage it even in practice, let alone performing it.....but it's still a long term motivation for me )

Don't think of the exams in one! Yes, it would be six more if you did them up to grade 8, but nobody does them all at once anyway. The effort pays back with time, and the steepest learning curve is always at the beginning. Play because you enjoy the process, and by all means use a grade as stimulus to get the work done, but have fun on the way. Like the other contributors, I'd have looked up to grade 5 when I was beginning, to grade 8 when I'd got to grade 5, and now, post grade 8, I'm realising how much more there still is to learn, but this is a source of pleasure, because the challenge is still on!

When I was working through the lower grades I was told that by grade 3 you can play for your own enjoyment, and by grade 5 you will be able to play some things for the honest enjoyment of others. Give or take a grade or three this is probably in line with my experience since. However, a lot does depend on musical sense which is not always in step with technical ability.

Of course by the time I got to any grade there was no way I was stopping there...