Hey everybody,

I'm taking grade 8 piano, and was just wondering what anybody thought of the pieces of group A. Which one do you think is the best to play?

Thanks!

i am currently practising THe piece by schubert in Section B.
Its very melodious i can really say. However u need really big hands!!
Try practising that!!

I played the Bach Sarabande and Rondeau. They take some practice but when you've learnt them, they are a joy to play......particularly the Sarabande which is a beautiful little gem!

i'm play the a1~
that melody is very exciting!!! (just i think )

it looks attractive to me too,
i THINK i am going to choose that, since others looks more tuff..
Are you guys going to continue dipabrsm after grade 8??

I'm doing the Sarabande and Rondeaux piece by Bach for group A. I'm also doing the Schubert for B. Are you only just selecting your pieces? When is your exam? My exam is in April and I have already learned the three pieces...

I'm going to do LRSM after grade 8.

How about list C? Which pieces did you choose for list C? I think it's quite hard to make decision!!

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well... the pieces i did were A1:sarabande and rondeaux
B1:allegro , sonata in f minor
C10:sonata in e minor by edvard grieg
i think, quite a number of people did a1 and b1 but so far i haven't heard of anyone else besides me doing the sonata in e minor....i didn't quite enjoy the sarabande in the first piece the rondeaux was better as for the piece by beethoven was a tiring piece to play but really expresive so you can seriouslly gain points from that piece ( i got 26)as for grieg, it was the easiest of all my three pieces.... such a nice a romantic piece.. very sothing but also full of action.. that piece tells a good story... it's my favourite...

i gained 26 for the first piece, 26 for the second and 28 for the third... gained me an overall distinction.... i'm planing to take dipabrsm but i'm also gonna take the performance cert.....

Oh!

I know this sounds really crazy, but I'll be doing Praeludium (A3). It's tough I admit, but I'm practising really hard now. It's toughest at the end of the first page. After that, it just gets easier. It's more on giving the melody more shape at the end.

As for the B piece, I'll be doing the Schubert one as well. Nice melody. =)

I'm doing Minstrels for the C piece. Cute little piece...very humourous. You might like to try that. I've heard that a lot of people have attempted Sacro Monte too! It's a little tough towards the end and at the top of the second page where the left hand has to leap quite a fair bit. Thankfully, it does get much easier with consistent practice.

Good luck for your Grade 8 exam!

As for your second question, I suppose I'll be attempting the diplomas offered by the Board. I've heard quite a lot about it being notoriously difficult, but I'm going to give it a shot nonetheless.

Hi. I'm doing the A1 Sarabande and Rondeaux by Bach - it's quite good when you get into it! I'm also doing B1 Allegro and C7 the Brahms Intermezzo in Bb.

Just out of interest, how long does anyone here practice each day at grade 8 level? I'm finding it hard to fit practice around everything else at the moment!

Thanks.

Hm...I usually TRY to practice at least half an hour each day during the weekdays. I'm really caught up with my schoolwork and the first thing I want to do is get down to my work. It's hard, but I find that even conducting a short 30 minute practice on problematic sections or even better, scales, do help. During the weekends, I try to squeeze in 2 hours of practice each day. Perhaps half an hour of scales, then half an hour of pieces and then take a break before another hour of pieces. =) Hope that helps. How much do you guys practice?

What about the C piece, did anyone choose Chopin's Waltz???

Hi everyone
I'm working towards grade 8 at the moment and I'm doing the Bach Sarabande and Rondeaux, Beethoven Allegro from Sonata in F minor and the Chopin waltz. I couldn't possibly choose a favourite. I think they're all great pieces. The Beethoven is probably the most exciting to play but the Chopin waltz is fantastic and the Bach pieces are beautiful, especially the Sarabande. I can't understand why more people haven't chosen the Chopin Waltz for section C. I bought the CD of all the pieces to help me decide on which ones to learn and it definitely stands out as the best, in my opinion!

As for practise, I just have to play when I can because I get a lot of schoolwork. At least half an hour a day, ideally but that's not nearly enough. At weekends and when I don't have much work I like to play for at least an hour a day on my grade 8 work but I play more modern music and songs as well as that. It's the scales that I find take the most time! It takes hours to get through the whole book playing hands separately legato, hands separately staccato, hands together legato, hands together staccato. How do people find staccato scales? I'm fine with my right hand but my left is quite weak. Has anyone got tips for building up strength or just practise practise practise?

What would people recommend for after Grade 8? I'd like to continue classical playing so a diploma is probably the best move but at the same time I want to continue to get better at improvising because I play in a band. I'm especially interested in jazzy styles like stride piano and boogie woogie. Also, it is my lifetime ambition to be able to play Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel! Download it, its FANTASTIC!

That was a rather long post!

I split the scales up into 4 groups and do 1 group each day.
That takes about half an hour so is mangeable.

if you divide the scales up into a weekly timetable like I have, it works out at exactly 20 a day, which isnt too bad once youve learnt the fingering. its just a matter of familiarising yourself with them and getting them up to speed. staccato in the left hand is hard, it just needs the right combination of finger + wrist action, and you need to stay close to the keys in order to play them fast enough (88!).
I'm doing the Chopin waltz, which isnt as hard as i first thought, once i got used the jumping about left hand part. the Coda is a real fireworks ending, wonderful fun to play.

Nobody seems to be choosing the List C pieces from the AB selected piano exam pieces (which is C1 to C6). I thought that there's one piece that is interesting, C3, which is Sacro-Monte. You need some techniques to play this piece, but it shouldn't be too difficult.
Most of the people seems to be choosing A1, which is Sarabande and Rondeaux by JS Bach. I have to agree that it is one of the easiest pieces to learn (also fun to play as well). It seems a bit too popular. If you think that there are too many people choosing this piece and want to do other pieces instead, you can also consider A4, which is prelude and fugue in G by JS Bach as well. Though it is a bit more difficult than A1, it shouldn't pose much problems as well.

By the way, I did the 2001-2002 grade 8 pieces (took the exams in 2001).
PS. You need DipAB before you can do LRSM.

Its funny how many people are doing the Bach and the Shubert! Although I have passed my grade 8, i found it great fun the last year to build up my repertoire by learning the entire selection of grade 8 pieces.
I do think the shubert is a beautiful piece- i found it the most appealing out of list B.
List A is tough though, most of the pieces in it have the most delicious sections, but amidst other no-so-delicious sections. I enjoyed the Bach, as although the rondeaux required work, the sarabande is just so very enjoyable. The piece I initially loved most was the Shostakovich- the prelude is beautiful beyond belief- but sadly though i did not enjoy the fugue in the slightest. Scarlatti is always a goodun if you want a piece you can dig your claws in when learning. But i must say I go along with the majority and would recommend the Bach- Sarabande and Rondeaux.
No one has really mentioned the pieces in section C- The Sacre Monte is a killer- my fingers have gained huge amounts of muscle (that is possible right?!) since learning it. I played it for my music GCSE solo performance last year- apparently I looked like a chicken when i played it- and i was most insulted. But the winner of section C has to be Berceuse. In flicking through the book i dismissed it, but in returning to it I realised I had skipped the diamond of the entire book. Its such a reflective piece- with such warm harmonies, a real delight to play.
And in reply to someones question (I often think im replying to something that was never asked, and apologies if that is the case now!), it took me years to get my grade 8, three years after doing my grade 7!!!!!! Partially because i never practised my pieces, but mainly because i never bothered learning scales and arpeggios. I think anyway to learn a piece and fully understand it, should take a good few months. (You might not want to listen because well i took years!)
I've written so much! I should learn to be less passionate about music.
But i will post this none the less just incase anyone wishes to hear my humble views
Becky

hi there

i just passed my grade 8 there about two weeks ago

i did paul hindemith, schubert, and copland

the hindemith i didn't enjoy at all, but it was the shortest and i learned it in about 2 weeks

the schubert is a bit twee i places, as he is famous for writing songs, the little quaint melody returns every now and again. the octave passage is probably the best bit about it

the copland was my personal fav, fantastic chords and rhythm. this piece is hard but worthwhile learning

anyone think scales are a fantastic waste of time??? they exercies your strongest fingers and your weaker fingers, 4 and 5, just happen to follow your hand up the keyboard!!

i did my grade 8 in about 6 months

and in response to the finger exercise question, stop spending so much time playing useless scales, heres a simple one, start on middle C and play up to G and down again, then instead of ending up on C go to the B below it and continue the pattern, making sure every note is even!

I enjoyed alll 3 of my pieces. All in minor keys!
I did Bach Sarabande and rondeaux -the n otes arent too bad but the hardest thing is to get a lovely flowing line
Hadyn - Presto from sonata in e minor - some bits are hard but greta fun to play
Blumenfeld - Berceuse - a lovely wee piece, quite like chopin
I think its really important to choose pieces you really like because the other parts of the exam are really not fun (in my opinion) and after all, playing pieces is what its all about!
Good luck everyone

I'm playing the Bach piece. It's a really excellent piece once you get to know it! Does anyone know the youngest person doing Grade 8 Piano? I'm really interested in knowing!