erm...first of all, i'm not a piano teacher but a piano student.15, learned piano last september, and now have passed my grade1 exam with distinction.i just wanna know if i get 26/30 for my list A pieces, is it considered as too low?as i get 29/30 for the other two.

plz give me some advice whether which grade should i sit for next year . My teacher ask me whether i wan to sit for grade3/4.it's really hard to come up with a decision.i wan to sit for grade4,but i'm lazy to pratice for grade4's scales and worried if i can't get a distinction for it?and......i would also like to know that is it really so hard or impossible to score a distinction for grade 3 or onwards?why all my friends didn't get distinction for it??the best result for grade 3 that i've heard is merit only.

Firstly, I know plenty of people who have got distinction for grades much higher than grade three. Secondly, 26/30 is definitely not too low at all, but 29/30 is very high indeed. Thirdly, if you will not take anything but a distinction as a result, but are too lazy to practise scales and such, you are heading for trouble.
It is not so hard to get a distinction for grade 4 but like any other grade you have to put the work in. And I don't think you should be so worried about getting a distinction because there are a lot of people out there who would be overjoyed to get a merit- relax a bit!

Personally I think you should try for grade three- there is a huge gap between grades one and four and I think that you probably need something in between, and unless you are really committed, and even if you are, that gap might be unmanageable if you are set on taking another grade next year.

Discuss it with your teacher some more.

thanks a lot cecilia.i know what to do know.'ll consider to take grade 3 indeed of taking grade 4's.what i mean is i hate to learn scales, coz it's quite boring , u know?and also quite frustrating some time,cause the fingering is different for several scales.but, i love to practise my exam pieces.my teacher had let me have a glance over the book and she said she'll be giving me the book tomoro.i found that grade 3's song is much nicer than grade 1's.the B1is very nice, but my teacher said ther's many expression and must be played in a cantabile style.so........i don't think i'll be choosing that song, although i quite like it.

again, thanks for ur reply

Congratulations on your grade 1 distinction!

For grade 3, don't forget to ask your teacher to show you some grade 3 sight reading too, as that's also more difficult - and the pieces (and everything) are much easier to learn if sight reading is good! It's also great fun in the long run to have good sight reading (and a frustration if not).

Your teacher may well have you working through the Harris "Improve your sight reading" books or equivalent - just work through such books carefully, and sight reading keeps developing!

thanks domRUK, erm......about that book i'll try to ask my teacher whether she got it or not coz i'm not using it now

does sight reading really helps?but i 'm very weak in sight reading.the grade 1 exam, i only get 16/21.i just cannot do it nicely.sometimes, i can get all the notes right and sometimes i can only get the rhythm or dynamics right, and i can ahrdly make it perfect with expression , rhythm and right notes?how can i improve my sight reading?can any one teach me ?

I'm beginning to feel like I'm the last of a dying breed: if you get a distinction in an exam that doesn't mean that you should/have to skip the next one. I got a distinction in grade 1 piano and the next exam that I did was grade 2; I think that a distinction means that you are doing well at the level that you're at and if you maintain that level throughout the grades you will be doing very well: it doesn't mean that you're 'too good' for that grade or even the next one and must miss some out. Why not do grade 2 and continue to achieve high marks, rather than not being happy until you have a highest grade possible with a scraped pass?

If your sightreading is weak then going straight to grade 3 will probably be difficult for you (yes you'd pass the other parts and pull through) but there's a big gap in sightreading difficulty (from my experience) between grades 2 and 3 (from grades 1 to 2 it isn't too bad); to skip grade 2 would magnify the gap and make it even bigger. If you go at the speed of your weakest section you will always be getting good marks as you did and will be good when you reach grade 8 (albeit this may be two or three years later, but so what, you'll be good at grade 8 rather than 'acceptable'; be a far better pianist and get better marks). In answer to how to improve your sightreading the only answer is lots of practice and experience, unfortunately there is no short cut.

So I would say work on that sightreading and don't enter any exams until you're comfortable that it's up to the standard (otherwise it'll be something you'll always struggle with but will probably give up hope and not work on it because it's becoming more and more of an uphill struggle the further you go through the grades). I'm not saying that you've done badly with a mark of 16, just that if that's what you're struggling with and have identified it as such then that's what you should concentrate on. Another question, why go straight onto another exam now? Why not just enjoy exploring some new pieces (some for playing as pieces; some for improving your sightreading) and expand your repertoire. You'll be a much better pianist for that than for just doing all the grade pieces.

Of course all of this is just my philosophy other people have different philosophies and wouldn't agree with mine; so don't take it as what has to be done.

Finally, congratulations on getting a good mark and keep up the good work .

<Smiles faintly>

The best mark I very got in an exam was 26/30 for a piece. And I was really pleased with that. Mind you, I did never take grades 1 or 2.

Congrats on your distinction!

Personally, I don't like missing grades out because I've found each one a new challenge. So I'd say go for Grade 3 rather than Grade 4. But preferably do Grade 2 first - just for the fun of choosing the pieces, and the chance to learn the scales.

QUOTE (i like piano @ Sep 10 2004, 02:50 PM)

how can i improve my sight reading?can any one teach me ?

I've found the best way to practice sight reading is just to regularly play music I haven't played before. When you think about it, you are 'sight reading' every time you start learning a new piece.

In exams I tend to concentrate on the right notes and rhythms primarily, then the dynamics if I notice them.

14 is usually the 'pass mark' for sight reading by the way, so to get 16 means you are doing better than you think!

ok...my problem is i'm already consider as too''old'' for learning piano, and i'm afraid i won't be able to complete the graded exam.so i tried to make it faster, coz i wan to play more nicer songs indeed of jsut playing ''mary and a little lamb or london bridge is falling down''. i think most ppl knew that at such age(15), if we still play those songs, it'll be really embarassing , do u agree?about scales, my teacher had already teached me and i've already practise it for weeks, and now i'm pracrising for grade 3's.


erm.........it looks like all the ppl here are advanced grade's pianist, i seems to be so lausy if compare with u all anyway, thanks for all u guys advice ...

QUOTE (i like piano @ Sep 11 2004, 03:28 AM)

about scales, my teacher had already teached me and i've already practise it for weeks, and now i'm pracrising for grade 3's. erm.........it looks like all the ppl here are advanced grade's pianist, i seems to be so lausy if compare with u all anyway, thanks for all u guys advice ...

No, I'm not, I'm not even good enough for Grade 1 yet But I'm an 'oldie' (35) and it takes me longer to learn I think.

If you can already play the Grade 3 scales, then go for it! Maybe you can take Grade 3 this Autumn, then you can start on Grade 4 or even 5 in the New Year.

Good luck.

QUOTE

If your sightreading is weak then going straight to grade 3 will probably be difficult for you

Yes. I would advise you to really work on that sight-reading - it will pay dividends all round as well as helping in the next exam.

You need to have a system for sight reading. Don't practise with familiar tunes, otherwise you're partly playing it by ear, and while that's not a bad thing in itself, it won't help your sight-reading!

Rhythm first then notes works well.
Count a bar first then tap out the rhythm.
Only then start to work out the notes.

There are some good books around which can help you practise this at home:

The Sight-Reading Source-book (Alan Bullard)

Right at Sight (T A Johnson)

Improve your sight-reading (Paul Harris)

These are available in various grades so you can work at the right level.

Congratulations on your result by the way. Lots of good advice from other posters here, so I hope you feel encouraged.
And as AnotherPianist suggested - don't be in a rush to get through the grades - it's more important to become a good all-round musician.

Maggie

QUOTE (i like piano @ Sep 11 2004, 02:28 AM)

ok...my problem is i'm already consider as too''old'' for learning piano, and i'm afraid i won't be able to complete the graded exam.so i tried to make it faster, coz i wan to play more nicer songs indeed of jsut playing ''mary and a little lamb or london bridge is falling down''. i think most ppl knew that at such age(15).

Trust me 15 isn't too old; I started playing when I was 19 and did grade 1 when I had just turned 20. I have to admit that I did have reservations about looking silly (I said for a while that I wouldn't do exams because I would look stupid when everyone else doing them was 10 years old!) but it's not true you don't look silly doing the lower grades at all and quite a few older people do them; the examiners are very kind and encouraging and probably appreciate listening to a good performance which they can give a distinction to.

As for people being on higher grades, I'm doing grade 4 in November, not everyone is way advanced (although you did post in the teachers' forum and I would expect that teachers are...). Don't just rush through the grades that doesn't make you a better pianist you need to decide on your own goals, what yo you want out of it: a certificate with a big number to show your friends; to improve for yourself; or even a certificate with a big number on it for yourself. For example, my aim is to get a distinction at every grade (although perhaps that's not a good one as it does put a lot of pressure on you in the exam!) if you can play the scales and pieces of the standard of the next exam or even the one after (I do harder things before the exam so that the actual exam seems easy(ier)) then that's a good thing and will mean that you can learn the pieces and scales for the earlier exam easily and that will give you time to concentrate on the things you are weaker at. Also, if you play to the limit of your abilities under pressure then it's likely that things will go wrong. I don't think that you'll be holding yourself back doing this, by all means if the pieces, sightreading, scales and aural tests are far too easy for you and you're bound to get 150 then skip the grade but it's rare that there's nothing to explore further in a given piece or at a given level.

My philosophy is that I'm not in any particular rush to get to grade 8 (although obviously sooner is better than later ) but I intend to be a rather good pianist when I get there, and hopefully beyond. There's no point doing all the exams and struggling through then having to do all the work after grade 8 to become as good as you should be: why not use the exams as you progress; rather than taking them and then catching up with yourself. That way you avoid the need to go 'back to basics' later on, which is not usually a good experience.

I agree with AnotherPianist - I sometimes tell selected pupils (who have the right practice motivation and enjoy playing) that if all the grades are done 6 months later than they could do them then they could perhaps get quite a few distinctions along the way, rather than passes and merits. The fascinating thing is that years later you think of yourself in quite a different light as an instrumentalist if you get distinctions all the way - and you completely forget that you were 6 months later (what's 6 months anyway!). More importantly, it's so encouraging to get good marks along the way that it's worth waiting a term or two - but ONLY if you have the motivation and self discipline to exceed the standard NEEDED for the grade you're on (as written about in an earlier post), otherwise it just slows things down.

Incidentally, I didn't get distinctions all the way on my instruments, just the usual mixture of all three all the way through!

Just a thought which is helpful for some.
You need to be very honest with yourself as to what will really help you.

okay, thanks a lot for all ur's reply.i appreciate it.however, i think that ........i can afford to jump to grade 3, without getting through grade 2, coz almost every of my fren who learn to paly piano in an''older'' age was encouraged by thir teacher to get to grade 3.and they can get pass or merit, but til now i haven't seen any distinction, that's the only thing i'm worried with.coz i knew that i won't be able to pass all the grade, coz i'm going to go oversea 2 years later. so i just aim for every distinction for all my piano exams.no matter what grade.but of course the higher the grade the higher value it got.and i'm now starting my grade 2 &3 pieces.hope more advice from u all.

QUOTE (i like piano @ Sep 12 2004, 11:47 AM)

almost every of my fren who learn to paly piano in an''older'' age was encouraged by thir teacher to get to grade 3.and they can get pass or merit, but til now i haven't seen any distinction

That makes me the only person you've heard about so far that got a distinction in grade 3 then (I'm sure there are many others around here that did though) and the bad news is I did grade 2 in the middle as well! (Although admittedly I didn't have a full year between them.)

It's really about what you want to get out of it as I've said. Try not to worry about going to another country too much (in terms of exams at least): the ABRSM operate in a large number of different countries and even if they're not in the country you're going to there may well be a different system there.

oh yes, i agree, but i'm scared that i'll have no time or money to continue my piano lessons then.as i go oversea to study for my ambition, and not to go for my hobby, although i like it.

A lot depends on what you are prepeared to put into it.
If you are really keen to learn and scales are part of what you need to do then why have you a problem with them?
I was 14 when I had the chance to begin to learn piano and I just did scales as part of the package. Never had a problem with that because, as I saw it, if that was part of learning to play then I was more than happy to do it.

If your teacher feels that you are ready to go straight on to learning music for grade 3 then you must be doing pretty well.
Most teachers would probably have a break between exams to build new skills ready for the next one.