Hi - I can't see a discussion point for grade six piano players so i thought i'd start a thread here . If one already exists and i've missed it please point me in the right direction . Personally I've found the jump from grade 5 to grade 6 quite a leap and the pieces are tiking a lot more effort to learn . So far I'm getting on reasonably well with Shubert in F minor and have just started the Rumba Toccata. Having listened to the pieces i fancy the Beethoven for my A seletion however my teacher advises against it . I reckon I might do it anyway . So all you grade six's - how hard are you finding it ?

hi bob, i'm working toward grade 6 too. i haven't bought the selected exam book, just passed my grade 5 exam. now i'm just practising grade 6 scales and arpeggios and focusing on grade 5 theory.

i found the arpeggios quite hard (4 octaves) and haven't tried the diminished seventh yet..

good luck

Don't be too quick to dismiss your teachers advise on this one, it is a very hard piece for a grade 6 not necessarily playing all the notes in the right order, but dealing with sonata form, keeping the tempo throughout and Beethoven interpretation, I have only had 1 grade 6 on the current syllabus and he was determined to try this, it was eventually abandoned in favour of another piece.

Good luck, the Rumba is great fun isn't it

Hi... I've just started doing my Grade 6 pieces. There are far too many scales... and I don't know them all.
I'm doing A3 Casanovas. It's lovely.... I think B3 Suk... and not too sure for my C piece. Maybe Rumba Toccata.

My teacher advised against the Beethoven too... I usually take her advice (but not always!!!)

hi, i've just done grade 6 (one hour ago! lol) and i did A3, B4 by burgmuller, which is really nice, and i also did rumba tocatta, which is probably the best one out of all the C pieces!

Jacob.

I can't be bothered with it at all. I remember my teacher saying a while back that the pieces for it on the current syllabus aren't great, I hate contrary motion scales and I have other priorities right now. So, I'm not going to be doing it at all.
But I've just done grade 5 and want to keep playing a bit and hopefully improve a bit too, so I might try some grade 6 pieces at some point (not necessarily current syllabus).
Scales - I'm keeping going with the grade 5 ones and adding melodic minors, diminished 7ths, dominant 7ths, contrary motion C, E & F majors and contrary motion chromatic starting LH on C and RH on E. (Not as random as it sounds, I'm just working from a different syllabus.)




Out of idle curiosity, what's the problem with sonata form? Tempo and interpretation I can see presenting challenges, but form? Not so much...
So, now I'm worried that I've missed something!

T.

I quite like this Topic

I'm doing A:1 (Mega Piece (Go Beethoven)
B:6 (Mendelssohn (Song Without Words)
C:1 (Richard Rodney Bennet(Four Calling Birds)

Thats my 3 pieces

Daisy

Hopefully doing G6 in the June/July sitting (assuming I pass the G5 theory at the end of Feb).

Pieces are:

A2: Gigue, Handel
B3: Melodie, Suk
C1: Four Calling Birds, RR Bennett - really really wanted to do the Rumba Toccata and teacher said that if I wanted to do it I could but really really didn't recommend it (hands just aren't dexterous enough)

In some ways my pieces are determined by what I can physically play (I have really small hands - I'm 28 and have to buy gloves from the ladybird department at Woolworths ) and the pieces above aren't too bad for me.

Haven't found the jump from G5 to G6 too bad in terms of the technicality of the pieces but I did the G5 in summer last year and have been chilling out and playing all sorts of different things including stuff that is probably G6 ish.

The key thing I'm worried about is the level of 'musicallity' - think I'm making words up now. For all 3 pieces I can play the text but so far, only the Suk sounds musical. My teacher keep shouting at me - YOU ARE PLAYING THE TEXT, YOU ARE NOT PLAYING THE MUSIC and I know exactly what she means but can't seem to get my brain to work with my hands

Also, I have a thing against RR Bennett - I did his Diversion No. 5 for my Grade 5, started at a tempo I knew I couldn't sustain in the exam and made a mess of it - I know it's not his fault but I fell out with him anyway

I don't mind the scales - quite enjoy them infact, like the arpeggios but am terrible at them (thumb always over or under shoots). I don't think they are that much more difficult than the G5 just a bit more of them but once you've learned the method it's just a case of getting them in the memory - the number of times we play them to get them up to the relevant tempo (I think) means that they end up in your memory fairly quickly anyway.

Sight reading - well, I was awful at G5 and I'm really really awful at G6 but I've been practising and am determined to pass G6 sight reading (currenly working through G3 book).

The aural - I think there is a big jump in this especially the singing at sight. In the G5 it was ok as you had time to really think about the intervals, in G6 because you're singing with the accompianment I don't have time to think about it so I've been making a real determined effort to improve this as well.

Wow - I've been away for 4 days, think I've made up for it with this post

Jumper (aka tolstoy!)

Well Jumper
I really enjoyed your notes - you've put a smile on my face !
You've got me concerned though - when you mention the aural test at grade 6 . I'm hopless at singing and my teacher always leaves it until about 2 lessons before the exam before she introduces it to our lessons . It's another annoying thing i find about the ABRSM that they find it neccessary to test unrelated subjects . I'm learning to play the piano - not join a choir . I know this entry will bring a deluge of replies defendind the ABRSM however i bet they all come from people with lovely voices . Personally all my voice would be good for would be training to be a seargent mayor. When I took grade 4 Aural even the examiner burst out laughing - and i didn't blame him .
Anybody know if thers a spell checker on this thing - you've probably gathered that I've failed to find it !!

Ask your teacher if he or she will go through the aural tests more regularly. Some teachers think that you can either do them or not but it isn't true. You need to work steadily at them to improve your listening skills and to be totally familiar with the tests for each grade. Also don’t be in too much of a rush to move from one grade to the next. Give yourself time to improve other aspects of your playing rather than just playing the next three exam pieces.

In my recorder exam I was offered the choice of singing or playing one of the tests. You can also choose to whistle or hum instead of sing. You can't get out of the aural tests, but you can get out of singing them. :-)
(I did attempt to sing mine as that's what I'm used to doing in lessons.)

T.

I've played all the grade 6 pieces (working for dipabrsm in teaching ) and have to say I like them all! Except for "Microforms"....I've tried to appreciate it, but it's just not my thing at all.

Well, I'm not going to work for the exam, but I might have a quick glance through the exam book at my lesson this afternoon (not a piano lesson, but with the same teacher) with a view to getting myself a copy just for some stuff to learn. I'm currently messing around a bit with a fairly random mix of stuff ranging from grade 1ish through to g8ish and as I'm not planning to take the g6 exam, I don't think it matters much exactly what I play, as long as at least some of it is post grade-5 so that I make some progress. I want to learn some g6 repertory at some point, but it doesn't have to be from the current syllabus - if there's some nice stuff from previous years, that will do me just fine. (Recommendations welcome!)

My teacher would have kittens if I showed any inclination to work for another exam as I only scraped through the last one and I didn't prepare properly for it. So I don't think a sudden show of interest in the g6 book is going to be well-received. ;-)

T.

Sorry, just had to come in with a huge agreement - WORST PIECE EVER in my opinion (granted, not saying I could do any better but I really really don't get this piece).

It reminds me of the sounds I make when dusting the piano

that is exactly what it sounds like!

LOL I hate that microforms peice too, i'm usually very open with all kinds of music but there's a limit

Im doing the Beethoven peice, the Heller peice and the Four Calling Birds peice .

I agree too that there is a big jump from grade 5-6. I'm finding it very hard, usually i'm quite quick at learning peices but not this time lol

All the best everyone that's sitting it!

Dusting?? ;-)