Hi

I am a GCSE student and I need some suggestions of what to play?

The pieces would have to be for a piano. I would also like help for pieces to play in a group as well as a solo.

Thanks Music Man

Something you like and can play well.

For ensemble you could do a piano duet or accompany another instrumentalist.

Are you in year 10 or 11 at the moment? If you're in year 11, what sort of level are you playing at and are you taking an exam before the GCSE? I did my grade 8 piano in the March then GCSE in May, so I used one of my exam pieces (First movement from Beethoven's sonata in F minor). If you're in year 10, I wouldn't worry too much about picking a piece now because you'll get bored with it in two years! You don't need to be grade 8 standard either - personally I'd be picking a fairly hard grade 5 piece or a solid grade 6 piece. Maybe a Scarlatti sonata or Cloche des Matins? (Can't remember who it was by, just trying to remember what I played!) But definitely pick something you like, no point playing something you hate because it'll be obvious!

Ensemble wise, I'd say a duet is the best way to go. I'm not sure if accompanying would be a valid performance piece!

Well... such a vast choice of music to choose from... make sure that you choose something you enjoy practising as you would have to be learning it for a while... What style of music do you enjoy? Classical? How about Beethoven's Bagatelle in G minor op 119 no.1? Neo-classical? ok... Kabalevsky op27 has several great pieces (my long time favourite), or Prokoviev's March or Matin or Tarantelle from Musique d'enfants? Debussy's Le petit negre is delightful, too. Shostakovich's Gavotte from Dances of the dolls is also good example of Neo-classicism.

Jazz? Well, I'm not a jazzer myself and I only play pieces with jazzy feel or rhythm... Mick McCornik, Pam Wedgwood, Christopher Norton... to name a few of my "regulars" in this idiom.

Very adventurous and modern piece? How about a piece from AB's Spectrum? Tsunami from book 1? One of my pupils played this at a recent presentation evening at school, and despite the fact, Headteacher did not like it and felt it was a wrong choice for the occasion, the audience seemed to love it!

Anyway, the important thing is that you don't choose something which is really too hard. All you need is a well performed piece of Grade 5 level to achieve an excellent grade at GCSE.

Good luck!

As for your ensemble... well, it depends on what instruments are available in your group.

For my daughter I went into school to play a piano duet with her for her GCSE.

It is.

Really? I wasn't allowed to do that!

Whoever made that ruling doesn't appreciate the extra skills needed to be a good accompanist. Accompanying is a form of chamber music with the same demands and rewards. It's true that there's plenty of music where a soloist has all the fancy stuff and the accompanist just pootles along in the background, but there's also plenty where the two players are equal and there's an interesting dialogue between them all the time.

Yes - and a bad accopmianment can ruin a performance.

that sounds like experience talking.....

One thing I learned from GCSE performing was
Do something you find (relatively) EASY and that you ENJOY playing, and don't do a really hard piece that you are still learning!
I tried doing that for my mocks and I ended up switching instruments and doing a piece I did a long time ago that was only grade 4, and got full marks!

Whether accompaniment counts or not could depend on the exam board. I have to admit I don't have a clue for Edexcel. I sort of played an accompaniment type thing in a trio where we did RHCP - I played piano (from a guitar & melody line), one of my friends played guitar & backing vocals and another one sang and this counted as an ensemble performance, but then again I don't know if it would count as an accompaniment as such - was playing the melody line & a few riffs as well as a chord thing :s
Maybe check the syllabus or ask your teacher if you aren't sure?

It didn't help that the recording meant the levels had to be so skewed he couldn't hear me and I couldn't hear him. Nor did it help when the first time we went through it (In front of my class!) he thought he had memorised it, and the cue I was waiting for didn't happen.

That counted as a solo, otherwise I really would have been stuck for a solo! I usually stick to duets/trios/sax ensemble/clarinet choir for my ensembles.

Hooray for you and your pupil! In my experience audiences often love recent music if anyone is prepared to give them a chance to hear it, and there are some gems in the four Spectrum piano books at all levels from (I guess) pre-Grade 1 to about Grade 8 level.