Just wondering what people like/don't like... are you pleased with the selections in the books? anything you're sorry/happy to see go? sorry/happy to see arrive? glad or mad that we have this new syllabus for 6 years , wishing you'd taken an exam sooner or glad you waited?

Just curious! I know remarkably little of what is on the syllabus from what I have seen

Hi Sarah

Alot of the upper end is stuff I know but haven't played for yonks so am refamiliarising myself with pieces. I am trying to be METHODICAL and DISCIPLINED (but keep getting horribly distracted by Alpha Male Jazz Cat strutting about in his underwear at key moments - ie, me getting the flute out of its case). Seriously I really am practising a couple of ditties PROPERLY rather than just messing about in my usual fashion.

Am gutted at the loss of the Telemann Fantasias - they have been substituted by the arrangements of Bach string pieces it appears. I mentioned in another thread that this means one needs an oxygen tank hitched up to oneself to nail these fantastic pieces. The purist in me says Telemann wrote those Fantasias UNDERSTANDING the instrument and indeed the amateur market...mmm...oh well. Glad the JSB B Minor back on but why only the Presto?? (or did I mis-read?? - see previous reference to Alpha Male...)

Delighted to see a few Kohler Studies from Opus 33 on - my first advanced study teacher got me hooked on those and they really are lovely romantic melodies whilst tweaking one's technique nicely without you realising it cos they are such good toons. I always say you can't knock a good toon.

So, it's early days for me, Sarah, but let's keep reporting back as and when.

Baggily Woo xx

Sorry Bag, your posts just make me laugh every time!

Yes, flautists need to breathe

I just wish it wasn't changing right in the middle of the year that I'm trying to get a bunch of exams done with a view to uni.
There's very little overlap between the old and new lists, so I can't choose things which are on both in order to keep my options open on which term to take which exams. :-(
Of the few things I've seen/heard from each, I prefer the old syllabus, which means I have to work to a fairly tight deadline. (Which may turn out to be a good thing, as I tend to knuckle down and work hard when I have an exam looming, but overall I'd prefer some flexibility.)

Very glad I did my grade 5 before it all changed as I'd had my heart set on doing the Faure for that since before I even started to learn the flute. (We did it in orchestra when I was playing clarinet, which I'd always kinda resented for not being a flute, and getting to know that piece made me certain that I was playing the wrong thing). The Beethoven's gone too and that was just so much fun to play.

Most of what I did for earlier grades has gone too. I'm sure that some of the new stuff is nice too, but I really liked most of the pieces I chose from the old lists.

I'm getting the Telemann Fantasias anyway, for non-exam repertoire. (Does anyone know if it's possible to use the same edition for both flute and treble? The AB syllabus lists different editions for each.)

I love Bach in general, but not to play on the flute. Breath control isn't exactly my strong point.

T.

The Fantasias are in different keys for flue & treble....

Baggily x

Thanks. :-)

Which (relative) keys?
*hopes it means I can play them on treble using descant fingering* (Teigr drwg!)

T.

Three words: DO.NOT.LIKE!!

I can't believe they've taken the Sicilienne off....that is like THE flute piece!! Then again, the poor examiners are probably sick of it!! They've taken the fun Handel sonata off at grade 5.....and the Rumba from the C list

I'm also a bit miffed about the disappearance of the Telemann fantastias. Looks like I'm gonna have to work hard and do my grade 7 in March

I couldn't blame them for being sick of Sicilienne though... personally I am delighted to see that naff Rumba go.

It's nice to see Koechlin back on the syllabus for grade 1-5

I've just had a look through because I'm still debating on whether to do grade 7 or 8 this year. I've gone from having loads of grade 8 pieces to hardly any and hardly any grade 7 pieces to quite a few.

Quick question about the new books, do you have to use those versions for the exams or if you have the piecces allready florm alternatives can you use those.

*nods* They've got rid of the Mussorgsky (sp?) piece off the Grade 4 syllabus, which I'm happy about because I cant play top E (the one which is quite a bit off the stave) pianissimo, they've now got Tambourin on the syllabus, but they've kept the HORRIBLE Gavotte with the horrible key at the beginning and a double sharp! (I love wikipedia, found what it was/does on there) *Goes to hide before you all look at my as if I'm a nutter for the reasons why I hate the gavotte*

The Prokofiev? That was actually really good fun to play. I did it for my g4 and the examiner loved it - said it was one of her favourite pieces.

T.

Yep, that one. The key at the beginning is HORRIBLE, too many sharps, then he goes and sticks a double sharp in.

I've studied it reasonably carefully whilst on holiday, and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I can't pass comment on the pieces in 'the books' yet, as I don't have all of them, but the rest of the syllabus seems to have stepped back a decade or so.

Where oh where are the new publications? Scattered here and there (Style Workout, for instance), but a return to old ABRSM publications like Miscellany and New Pieces for Flute.

Good points: lots of Bullard studies, lots of Kohler studies. A few useful changes to Grade 8 List B (Hindemith i, Milhaud), and some interesting things on List C. But, like Bagpuss, I am very disappointed that the Telemann Fantasias have been dropped.

I have to say that the TG syllabus in general is more exciting and more student-friendly. The best thing I can say about the AB syllabus is that I will be using a lot of books not included this time, and therefore I have more chance of building my own curriculum rather than using exam pieces/books containing exam pieces as a base. The syllabus will become the source of exam pieces only, and will give me rather more freedom to give students a more exciting diet outside of that.

Has anyone seen the price of these publications? £23 for Grade 6 (with the CD). I'm shocked!!!!

Just went to look at the lists and saw the new syllabus before reading this. Was going to get some grade 7 stuff but now will have to rethink! Shame the Bozza Aria has gone as I was thinking of getting that but I know the Taffanel Allegro so will probably choose that instead. Don't know hardly any of list A so will go for the Bach as I've already got it.

Anyone know the Robert Muczynski Prelude? Might try that.

I've just played through the Bullard studies for Grades 6-8 and they are worth a look. The Grade 6 ones are very straightforward, the Grade 7 one relatively so, and the Grade 8 ones real finger-twisters.

Nobody will choose them!

Why not? If they've already got the book (and it's used at earlier grades, so they may well have) I'd have thought it quite likely.
I usually start with whatever I can find that's on the syllabus and in books I have already, unless there's something on the syllabus that I know I really want to get anyway. If there's a list I don't have anything for, or really don't like the thing(s) I do have stuff for, then I try to look at copies of some other things on that list and choose what to get. My teacher's usually able to steer me towards something she thinks will be a good choice for me.
But the first port of call is always the music I have on hand already.

T.

Why on earth not?

I would certainly consider playing 1 of the Bullard studies for grade 8 - probably Agile flute rather than Breathless, but both are OK. I probably slightly prefer the Kohler studies overall.

Im probably completely wrong, but Im under the impression that for grades people will go for what looks easiest on the page, sounds nicest or suits their playing best. Of course if challenging technical stuff is what the candidate likes then its a good choice.
With teachers recommending pieces which suit the student, as well as with the potential to get as many marks as possible in the exam, anything too hard might be discouraged as a choice. I know that my old teacher discouraged people from choosing the Hindemith mvt 3 for grd 8, knowing that the March is pretty difficult and the experience of having students come out with relatively low marks.

They are probably the easier choices, sags_3, nevertheless. Just tricky to sight read. The Kohler 7 and 8 are great as well. when i took Grade 8 back in the 1970s, you could choose any study from that book except No 1 for Grade 8, so I tried them all. I ended up playing No 3, and, when i finished it in the exam, the examiner commented that it was 'an absurd little study'.

My teacher points me towards things which are likely to appeal to me stylistically and which play to my strengths. Sometimes I just choose stuff sight-unseen anyway - like Arne 'Where the Bee Sucks' for my grade 3. I'd sung it before and liked the tune and I tend to play lively stuff quite well. Other times I learn 2 or 3 off the list and then nearer the exam we choose which to use. And sometimes my teacher just suggests something that she thinks will be a good match for me - like the Beethoven for my grade 5 (which I took a while to warm up to, but which proved to be an excellent choice).
I tend to avoid stuff that has a lot of very high notes (I have some tone problems up there), that requires extremely good breath control (I don't have it) or that has a lot of flats (I just don't like them). I also tend not to choose jazz/blues/latin style pieces for list B (have done Ravel, Sibelius, Prokofiev and Faure there).
On the flip side, I don't mind dealing with lots of sharps, accidentals, double sharps, etc. or being in "funny" time signatures. I enjoy lively baroque and classical pieces and dreamy French romantic ones. I'm not scared off by fast passagework or by ornaments, though it takes me a while to get those sections right.

So, it's not so much about choosing the easiest pieces as finding ones that I'll enjoy playing and that avoid my main problem areas. (I do play things that require me to work on those areas, but generally not as exam pieces.) I also try to have a reasonably balanced programme.

Whether something looks difficult on the page isn't an issue. But you're right about opting for stuff that suits my playing and that sounds nice. I'll quite cheerfully eschew some of the "easy" options on the lists in favour of things that I actually like, even if they're more difficult. I'm going to spend weeks working on them - I may as well enjoy it.

T.

I did this for grade 8, Learnt Schubert and Bach for List A, Rutter, Widor and Poulenc for list B and Piazzola and Honneger for list C!

I've just ordered them even though we have other pieces in the G6 list and we are thinking of buying the book when it's available. We've got the lower level ones for Sax so I think my daughter might enjoy these.

That's only because it has the CD - the current exam CD on its own is £17 - £6 for a book containing 9 pieces isn't bad going. (Especially when you look at some flute music being a tenner for one piece) I forget how much it is to buy the books separately, but I do remember thinking they were reasonably priced. I don't think it was more than £10 for the music alone even for G8. There's no duress to purchase the CD version after all.


I do like the Kohler studies! They're lovely.


Now I want to go play it to find out why so absurd... probably not a good idea at this time of night...

^^^ Yes, but will the CD which comes with the book of selected pieces have the recordings of everything on the list? Or would you have to purchase the seperate CD with everything on if you chose something which was not in the selected 9 pieces? Not that you have to buy the CD at all, but does it only have 6 tracks on it (the accompanied ones), 9 tracks with recordings of even the studies, or does it have recordings+accompaniments of everything on the list for that grade...?

I seem to have repeated myself there... Oh well...

I've just played the Gaubert Sicilienne from the new Grade 6 List B.

I'll have to stop my students from murdering it though. That and the Bach E minor iii on the Grade 7 list.

Im just scanning through it now.
Mainly looking at grade five
I like the baroque piece from "fifty for flute" in the C section.
They look okay, not too bad. x

I'll have to look at that Gaubert......I said the same thing about grade 6 candidates and the Bach!

I'd recommend the Gaubert too - its lovely

I just bought the Ian Clarke on the grade 8 list and I'm really glad I did. I also got "Maya" too after hearing it on his website. Very pleased with my purchases

Anyone else got any recommendations for pieces on the new syllabus for grades 6 -8? Just trying to decide what else to buy.....

The Rabboni in grade 7 is really fun, and the CD is useful! The Mower study for grade 7 is also fun, but pretty hard to get the fingers round it first time. Im glad the Roussel is there for grade 8. The Rhene Baton is nice also.

Does anyone know the Dring on grade 6 flute? I've heard an oboe piece of hers and like it, so wondered what this was like.

Awww! Dont be so hard on the little flautists!! We were there once!

It's not the little flautists I'm worried about. It's those who equate playing the notes with playing the music.

I think its in James Galway's book on the Flute that he said something like you shouldn't play Bach on the flute until you are an advanced player (guessing around grade 8) Dont quote me on that....Ill check out the real words when I got to the library on weds!

I'm gutted that they're taken off the Telemann, was hoping to use them for grade 7 and 8. Also was hoping to do the York Bowen Sonata for grade 8. But the new Richard Rodney Bennett one for grade 7 will be good!

they got rid of sicilienne (faure) from the grade 5 list...how could they, it's great!! i am so gutted that they've taken it off. It's like the best flute piece ever!!, not that im biased or anything....

I had a titter NEW!!! it was on the syllabus way back in the 80/90s when i was doing grade 7, but then i am now showing my age LOL. But your right it is quite a nice piece once you have got your fingers round it!

Just stumbled across this thread and wondered how people are feeling now about the new syllabus?

I'm afraid my general feeling towards the new syllabus is still "Hmmm, let's look at the TG lists..." but my flute student had a nice selection for her G5, and I know there are pieces which are supposed to be nice on some of the higher grades which I simply haven't had the chance to try out yet...

The grade 6 pieces are nice...easily managed to find 3 from the book this time (much to my parent's relief at the thought of buying yet another book to suit my picky preferences)

Just started looking at the 8 lists...I am not familiar with the Telemann which everyone is in uproar about, I think I'm going to have to borrow it from a library to listen to or something because everyone has said what a shame/error/mistake it was to remove them...I think there's bound to be something off all 3 lists which I will have a stab at...having listened to most of the B pieces on spotify, I suspect I'll end up doing one of the Mouqet pieces along with the list A handel which though isn't all that exciting, is a nice piece and the whole sonata has *A LEVEL RECITAL PIECE* written all over it lol. Not too sure about studies yet, but I haven't really looked, people on here say the Kohler ones are nice, I've downloaded sheet music of the Bach Courante/Sarabande...ha ha ha...let's just say it's...interesting, whether I'll be able to play it without dying is another thing.

Grade 5 pieces were ok, played the loeillet and boiling point to death, it was more tricky to find a B piece I really connected with though...

Having used the new syllabus for two years now, it's a good time for a review - thanks Sarah!

Grade 1: my first few candidates all wanted to play Greensleeves, Hot Chilli and Short Waltz. Greensleeves has proved hard for them because of the long phrases, but otherwise the pieces are pretty good. I've had one choose the Koechlin from list B - a dream to accompany because it's a real duo.

Grade 2: The list A pieces in the book and a couple of the alternatives have all been equally popular. Naughty but Nice! is a brilliant Grade 2 piece - most of them love it and it takes a lot of work for them to get the register changes so their playing improves immensely. Study in Purple is much too hard for Grade 2, although I have had someone get 29 for it! The Bullard two are good alternatives.

Grade 3: Most choose between the Pepusch and the Mercadante from list A. Hurdy-Gurdy is the most popular from list B and the Russell Stokes from list C.

Grade 4: the von Paradis Sicilienne and Cecilia McDowall's Comic Song are both very popular. Playful Flute remains a hit from list C, rather than the ones in the book.

Grade 5: a mixed bunch: I prefer the Handel from List A but we've tackled various others; March of the Fool was a nightmare to get together with the accompaniment as I can't play it, the Berkeley Prelude has proved surprisingly popular (which it never did on the old syllabus) and again the Bullard studies win out over those in the book.

I'll review the other three lists later.

I'll also review later as Bag is a Busy Bag today with Lots of Things to Do. However, one thing's for sure - I am NOT a happy cat being stuck with this syllabus until 2013

Review later guys

BusyBag x

- a refresh after 2011, would be a very desirable thing, in my opinion : not least because there'll be a lot of new music out which won't get a look in on the syllabus until well into the 2010s otherwise...

and I have.

My Grade 5 AB pieces (one from the book, two outwith it) have ground to a halt (partly due to having had a catastrophic year). But I still want to crack this very hard nut and looking at the TG lists notice that they seem to have a wider, more interesting range (and I get to play the Fauré Sicilienne as well! )

November, maybe.......

I think the flute syllabus in particular is more wide ranging on TG than AB : and it's not just on grade 5. There's a little more imagination shown, in my opinion...

I think that's a fair comment.

I'm going to investigate some of the ones Andante has mentioned though, there were one or two I'd forgotten about that are good choices and a couple I've not heard of - it'd be interesting to have a good look at some of them. My grade 5 is going into 6th form so I'm looking into digging out some easier stuff alongside the things that will stretch her so she has a few things that'll be easier to learn in weeks when she has a lot on with schoolwork.

I do think that a new syllabus in '11 would be far preferable - ho hum.

Which 3 pieces are you doing, Mysterioso?

I'm just gonna put my thoughts on Grade 1 - if people want feedback on the other grades let me know and I will post again.

OK, here goes :-

List A - the majority of pupes want to play Greensleeves because many know the tune having "done" it when "doing" the Tudors. However, technically I favour the Roman Grave - Greensleeves is most challenging in the breathing department. I think the Handel and Purcell are most demanding to play WELL but older children are attracted by the music. The Brahms needs great rhythmic understanding and Rakes o' Mallow super-controlled semis. I've never had any pupe perform A6,7 or 8.

List B - technically the Kabalevsky isn't too bad but Hot Chilli is the favoured piece by pupes with just one tricky bar. Rhythmically I think Fun Run is way too difficult - who ARE the people who come up with these choices?! Paul Harris is always popular but pupes need assured control in the middle octave for it. Never had any pupe perform B1, 4,5 or 9.

List C - Bouncy Flute. They ALL wanna play Bouncy Flute! Rhythmically it needs to be very tight but it's a pleasant enough ditty I think the Kohler is the easiest for pupes with a good understanding of dotted crotchet quaver rhythm and tidy upper end of the middle octave (which is SO challenging for kids when they start out). The Short Waltz is as popular as Bouncy although after learning both tunes the majority go for Bouncy. The other Bullard option is pleasant enough but 3 in a bar can be unreliable in some pupes and it sounds naff without good breath control. The Harris is only for those with a fantastic sense of pulse for all the rests and mature embouchure control so not to crack higher notes. I've never had a pupe perform C1 or 7.

I flatly REFUSE to ONLY select three tunes out of these blasted yellow books . I know which pieces are likely to suit each individual pupe and if that means needing three books then so be it.

Bag x

*peaks out from behind chair*

Bagpuss has spoken. Dare I ask the Bag on high her views of 6-8, other than the telemann fantasia?