Why oh why dont the AB publish books of their selected pieces to suit all instruments?
For example, i have just had to buy 2 new song books, totalling £30 so that i can take my Grade 5 singing. However, i took Grade 5 Violin last year and am taking Grade 4 piano soon, and for both of these exams i can buy 1 book for each, costing around £6.
I was considering taking Grade 5 Viola, but now feel that i simply cannot afford to buy the books to be able to do this!!! I feel so ripped off and cheated!!!
I am very fortunate in that my parents are in good jobs and can afford these things, but surely there must be other people out there who feel the same way.
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

Same here! to take my grade 6 viola im going to have 2 get 3 different books the first one has cost £10 on its own! Extortionate rates!
jess

I sometimes wonder whether the downside to the 'selected pieces' under one cover is that most people will limit their choice to the pieces in the books because of cost.
Not that I would like to see them disappear

Buying sheet music can work out expensive, especially if you end up not choosing that piece! I try to use the other pieces in the book for sight-reading practice, then I sell them on eBay.

I don't charge anywhere near what I paid for it originally, but I like knowing the music is going to someone else to make better use of, hopefully.

(It may be worth looking in your local library too - some have got a great range of free sheet music)

It's a copyright finance problem.

They only publish selections of the pieces for violin and piano because there are far more people taking exams on those instruments, which makes it financially viable to publish selections.

I agree, it's a nightmare doing an exam on any instrument except piano and violin, when you have to spend that much on the sheet music.

Violinia

QUOTE

I was considering taking Grade 5 Viola, but now feel that  i simply cannot afford to buy the books to be able to do this!!! I feel so ripped off and cheated!!!

I took grade 5 viola on Tuesday i only had the 1 book! its called Time Pieces for Viola volume 2 by Philip Bass and Paul Harris. it costs £5.25 AND the AB publish it! u have 1 choice 4 list A and B but 2 choices for list C i highly recommend the Landscape with Rumba if u do get the book its fab!
jess

QUOTE

I took grade 5 viola on Tuesday i only had the 1 book! its called Time Pieces for Viola volume 2 by Philip Bass and Paul Harris. it costs £5.25 AND the AB publish it

Oh brilliant!!! Does this mean they do a selection for viola for all grades?

if ur doing grades 2 and 3 i think u can get away with 1 or 2 books. grades 1 and 4 i think you can as well but if ur doing grade 6 7 or 8 forget it! im looking at the grade 6 syllabus at the mo and EVERY SINGLE PIECE is from a different book! i was shocked! do u teach violists Violinia?

QUOTE (Violinia @ Jul 2 2004, 05:27 PM)

They only publish selections of the pieces for violin and piano because there are far more people taking exams on those instruments, which makes it financially viable to publish selections.

Are there really more people doing violin exams than clarinet or flute?
That doesn't seem to be the case in the schools I work in.

I would love to have books of selected pieces for the other instruments. There has been a thread on this before.

I've just bought the Time Pieces for Viola book 2 for my grade 4, and thats the book I need for my first two pieces, but for the last one is in another book. It was a big shock having to get seperate books as I play the violin and piano as well and you get books with the selected pieces in!

QUOTE (nutter @ Jul 2 2004, 06:22 PM)

if ur doing grades 2 and 3 i think u can get away with 1 or 2 books. grades 1 and 4 i think you can as well but if ur doing grade 6 7 or 8 forget it! im looking at the grade 6 syllabus at the mo and EVERY SINGLE PIECE is from a different book! i was shocked! do u teach violists Violinia?

Similar to flute grade 6! I need 3 books, one costing £7.95 another is approx £10 and the third Im not sure about. But i know my pocket money doesn't stretch that far!! They should have them all in one book like my violin grade 4 pieces are!!

in the lower grade exams in clarinet, sax etc its not too bad. you can actually buy a book with a few pieces in and if you pick a good study book it will usually go from grade 1 -5. its when you get to the higher grades, then it becomes a problem!