Hi,

I am currently preparing for my Grade 6 Piano and have started to think about the long road ahead . I've heard and read from various people that seem to feel that Grade 7 can/should? be skipped after Grade 6 and Grade 8 should be attempted next.

Just wanted to hear peoples views reasoning on this.

Thanks.

I'd say don't skip it completely: by all means don't take the exam but I reckon it'd be worth learning some of the pieces and the scales before you move onto grade 8...

My last exam was grade 6 and I about to do grade 8.. but I don't think I really count in this as there are a few years between.

You may choose not to do the exam, but I would strongly recommend looking at some of the grade 7 repertoire and scales. The gap between 6-8 is in my opinion too large to consider a direct hop straight from grade 6 to 8, without at least looking at some grade 7 work.

There's no rule that says you've got to take every grade. I can't talk about piano grades as I'm nowhere near that level (and will throw a party if I ever get there!) but I did Grade 5 and Grade 8 singing in consecutive terms. On the other hand, the exam is there, so if you want to do it, don't feel that you've GOT to skip over it.

The others are right about one important point - you need to be looking at technique and repertoire, wider than just your exam syllabus, whichever exam you choose to do.

Cheers

Katyjay

Hi,

Take a look at this topic: is grade 7 redundant. It contains some interesting thoughts .

Thanks for your replies.

That actually brings me to another point about how you choose repertoire beyond just the grade pieces?

Do you just look for pieces you think you could tackle? What I mean is, is there such a think as Grade 'x' repertoire?

Guess I'm off topic now anyway!

It's your topic so you're allowed to go off it .

There are books that one can get that contain 'grade X pieces' for example, Hours with The Masters, The AB's Romantic Sketchbook, Romantic Pieces for Piano, Baroque Keyboard Pieces, More Romantic Pieces for Piano, Even More Romantic Pieces for Piano than one can Shake a Stick at...(anyone think the AB show bias ?). Playing from those books would indicate pieces around the appropriate level. Do you have a teacher? If so they should be doing the work of finding material at the right level that might appeal to you so that you aren't restricted to those collections.

Is there such thing as a grade X piece? I would say no, different people find different things hard. Furthermore there's a sliding scale between the difficulty between two grades: some pieces for 'grade 5' will really be 'grade 4 and 3/4' (or even 4 sometimes) amd some will be '5 and 1/4'. Also some people will find some grade 6 pieces easier than some grade 5 pieces as the pieces suit them/their technique well. There is also the fact that sometimes the exam boards get it wrong: pieces that have appeared years ago on one grade syllabus are now reappearing on higher or lower grades. What it all boils down to though is how well one plays the piece too: it's much easier to play a grade 8 piece badly than a grade 6 piece well. The 'grading' of pieces is a little more complex than perhaps one would think; as you have suggested.

I let my teacher point me in the right direction on this one.

It is not the compulsory requirement for taking grade 7, if you have confident and practice the pieces in Grade 8 well, then it is okay.

AnotherPianist thanks for the informative reply

Yes I do have a teacher and he has been helpfull in sourcing some material, but I think because of my own 'lack' of time due to work, kid, wife , etc... We just find at the moment any spare time is spent getting the grade pieces ready in time for the exam. Even with the 'lack' of time I just have that urge to explore new music when I know I should probably be prepping for the exam.

I guess being an Adult learner I'm eager for the right/wrong? reasons to get grade 8 sooner then later and then slow down, take my time and start on the road to a diploma. I know the Diploma is going to take a lot of really hard work but I'm in no hurry to take that exam and see that as the time to really work on all areas of my technique & performance. If it takes 1, 2 or 3 years so be it... Hopefully by the time I take the diploma ( and pass !!) I believe i would have really earnt it and more importantly become a better musician in the process.

Short story over!!

This is a subject that I've been mulling over myself for the past few weeks. Bit of background: I've just passed grade 6 (piano) although with a lower mark than I've received in past exams. Various things conspired to leave me taking grade 6 almost a year late, and before the exam I was already attempting and having reasonable success with pieces that were beyond grade 8.

Reaching grade 8 is a lifelong goal for me, it has been ever since I played for a brief period as a child. However, having a piece of paper with "grade 8" written on it is not as important to me as knowing that I'm at the standard that I personally consider a "grade 8 pianist" should be at. My idea of that is a standard higher than many people who have passed grade 8, and I mean that with no disrespect. I know of somebody who has taken and passed grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 in consecutive terms, and passed them all with mostly merit marks. But does that make her a "grade 8 pianist"? Not in the opinion of her teacher, and not in mine either. There is so much more to it than simply being able to play three difficult-ish pieces to a good standard. There is depth of repertoire, musical knowledge, and sheer musical "maturity".

The counterpoint to that is that I am very motivated, very ambitious and very keen to get on. I have skipped grades in the past when it's been obvious that I am already past that level. The temptation to skip from 6 to 8 is almost unbelievably tempting, both for reasons of vanity and so that I don't have to learn any more pesky scales!

If I am brutally honest with myself, although I would pass grade 8 this year (by choosing easier pieces, for example) would I get a distinction? No. And that would be a great disappointment, to think that I might have compromised my ability to achieve the highest grade with my eagerness to "finish". I may spend another year doing grade 7 and 8, and still not get a distinction, but that would be easier to accept.

My final thought is this: if you think you're good enough to skip grade 7, why did you do grade 6?

I think of grade 7 as a confidence builder, the pieces being a little easier than grade 8 and useful in that they provide some solid ground work for grade 8. You don't have to take it if you feel you can go straight to grade 8 but certainly i feel it is useful for many students who prefer smaller stepping stones.

endian675, thanks for your post. I take your points and do agree with what your saying. I would just add though that I dont think I'm good enought to skip grade 7 as you say.. only that I've heard and read from many people that those who have taken grade 7 and then grade 8 have found that on hindsight the difference between the 2 didn't warrant the extra exam. I'm only playing devils advocate here !

To be honest I most probably will end up taking Grade 7 but will make my final decision after : -

a) taking and seeing how well I do on Grade 6
talking it through with my tutor.

oh well onwards and upwards...!

My thoughts exactly. One can be too keen to get through grade 8 and one can do grade 8 (and pass with good marks) all too early without really being ready for it yet. The questions you have to ask yourself are why do I want grade 8? What will it mean to me when I have it? Is it just that I desperately want the piece of paper/examiner approval? Or does it mean more than that to me? All this sounds a bit philosophical for a piano exam but I am rather philosophical in my approach. This sounds rather odd but I am actually almost trying to get to grade 8 as late as possible, not because I don't want to have grade 8, believe me I do, but because I'm very concerned about how I learn to play the pieces and my all round skills and getting a good mark rather than having passed the exam. It's all about me genuinely believing that I am grade 8 standard, if I did it too quickly (even if I really was that good) I wouldn't believe it.

I actually find your perspective strange in some sense: you want to get grade 8 as quickly as possible yet you are willing to work for a considerable time to get a diploma. Let's assume that the only exam that you'll do between your now grade 5 and your diploma is grade 8. This is perfectly okay so long as you're doing all the work to fill in all the grades inbetween. Let's assume further that it's going to take 5 years to get from grade 5 standard to diploma standard (one for each remaining grades worth of work plus 2 from grade 8 to dip standard). You then have a choice with grade 8:

• grade 5
• one year gap
• grade 8 (either with a low mark or with lots of specialist exam training meaning you're not making the best use of your practise time to develop technique)
• four years (maybe needing more now since the 'one year gap' preparing for grade 8 was 'wasted' in terms of technique). No exams for motivation in the short term.
• dipABRSM

OR

• grade 5
• three year gap
• grade 8: with marks as good as grade 5 (doing grade 8 at around the right time for you with a similar mark to grade 5 (assuming you did grade 5 at the right time of course) learning from the pieces as they're the right level but not having to waste too much time 'hand programming')
• two years approaching from a good standard
• dipABRSM

OR

• grade 5
• 3 and a half to 4 year gap
• grade 8: with excellent marks and not too much 'exam effort' (doing grade 8 when you're above that standard, perhaps not quite as useful in your development but won't take you much time)
• one and a half years approaching from a good standard (maybe two because you want more time to become familiar with the pieces).
• dipABRSM

If you think that it'll take you more (or less) time between grade 5 and dipABRSM the timescales can be adjusted accordingly. You can see from this that having taken grade 8 earlier won't necessarily have made you a better pianist (maybe worse!) so try to take a more long term view about how grade 8 fits into your development as a pianist generally with minimal disruption. If you do more learning before grade 8 you'll get a better mark for less effort; if you do less you'll have to put more effort into the actual exam. Grade 8 isn't really a standard: there are 'grade 8' pianists doing grade 8 throughout the various places on this spectrum: some are 1 year better than grade 5; some are 1 year off being ready to do dipABRSM. What you decide grade 8 means to you will determine when you do it. I would probably go for approach three with the extra time before dipABRSM as well, not necessarily the quickest way of getting there but I'll be the happiest when I get there. Isn't learning the piano complicated ?

Good luck with your playing whatever you decide to do .

Absolutely. And a much less stressed exam, playing within yourself rather than straining... altogether a better experience.

Witness two forum members, A (piano) and B (recorder) doing grade 8 exams last year (when really they were easily at or probably a good bit beyond that standard either technically or musically or both): they put in plenty of effort, I know, but also both had teaching commitments outside of that, and B was not even playing her first study instrument... so it was far from the only thing they each had to put their thoughts and energy into at that time. Although they both worked hard, I don't think it took either of them as long as people often do take to prepare for grade 8, and from both of them I got the impression that in the main their pieces gave them great pleasure and satisfaction to learn, rather than seeming impossibly difficult and requiring lots of work just to get to the "I know I'll pass" standard, and they were in a position to pick and chose pieces that they liked rather than looking at the syllabus and working out "what can I manage?". I forget B's impressions but I think A said he was much more nervous than he'd expected and didn't play as well as he thought it could (I may have misremembered, my apologies if so) and they both still came out with excellent distinctions (both 136 I believe).

Personally, I'd much prefer the scenario of playing pieces that I knew I could play well, knowing that exam nerves might take me from "excellent" to "very good" rather than "adequate" to "fail", and not having to cram madly to do technical work whenever I eventually get to grade 8 on any instrument - regardless of whether I take grade 7 or not I realise others may have different preferences!

Hope I made some sense...

As always thanks for the informative and thoughtfull replies.

My post isn't to stir up a pro/con argument, but just to get different peoples view.

If anything I myself know a few Grade 8'ers out there and what sometimes disheartens me about the grading system is that you can prepare the 3 pieces, do the work for the aurals etc and come out with a good mark in the grade 8 exam BUT not being really at what the 'community' at large considers a grade 8 standard. When I was younger (many moons ago !) when someone said they were grade 8 at whatever instrument they happened to practise, it really was a high standard. Now unfortunately I think achieving the grade or getting the paper doesn't really mean that someone is of a certain 'standard'.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the grades. Just saying that, as has already come out in these posts, that being Grade 8 standard means a lot more than just getting the piece of paper!

Anyway enjoyed everyones views, so thanks to all for taking part in this post.

Couldn't agree more

A source close to B tells me it was actually 132.

durrrr...

Thanks

Great mark anyway, I remembered that much!!

I have so far skipped grades 2 and 4 and am now going to skip 7 from 8. However, like many people have said, the gap is quite big and I've tried working on some grade 7 bordering 8 repertoire, and have also focussed a lot more on the aspects that usually let me down. I've done loads more sightreading, am practising scales and will do some thing about aural...

I don't think skipping the exams matters too much: skipping the work (or trying to) is what seems to cause problems - unless you're talking super-scarily-talented people who can get away with it.

I think sarah-flute has it spot on - make sure you do the work, whether you do the exam or not. If I'd actually learned grade 4 scales as a distinct set then I might have found the ones that appear again in grade 5 slightly easier. On a non-musical topic, I started GCSE Spanish in Year 10 having not taken it in Years 8 and 9 (the rest of my class had). I'm doing well BUT I know that I'm fairly weak in some areas of grammar and vocab because of this.

Well, yes, as a youngster if someone told me they were grade 8 I would think they were the best of the best. However, I had not heard of diplomas/other professional training - every musical achievement I had heard of was couched in terms of grades - and at grade 1, grade 8 seems a very long way away indeed...

Perhaps it's more to do with your perceptions/expectations changing than the actual standard changing...?