Hi

I just wanted to share our results with you all, Sbpiano and I took the Intermediate Piano Duet Exam on 6/12/07 and the results are in...........

We got a DISTINCTION!!

Hi Yamaha
CONGRATULATIONS on your brilliant duet result. I would love to know a little more about this exam as a friend and I were considering entering for a duet exam or diploma. Which board did you use and what were your pieces?
Hope your teaching is going really well.

WOW, many congrats!!

Brilliant!

Well done both of you

Hi Margaret We used the Ab and their syllabus is as follows......

Primary approx Gd 4-5
Intermediate approx Gd 6-7
Advanced approx Gd 8

The great thing is that you can choose your own pieces!! You just have to submit them to the board for approval (obviously they have to be difficult enough) 4 weeks prior to the closing date and they send you aletter of approval to take into the exam with you. The exams have no supporting tests, ie: no scales or aural or sight reading, you just play It was a fabulous experience and the examiner was really friendly and seemed to genuinely enjoy our programme which was......(in this order)


Mozart Piano Sonata K381 3rd Movement, Allegro.

Fantasia on Greensleeves R. Vaughan Williams Arranged by Hubert J Foss.

Warlock 'Basse Dance' from Capriol Suite

Warlock 'Tordion' from Capriol Suite

Moszkowski Spanish Dance Op 12 No 2

Moszkowski Spanish Dance Op 12 No 1

Our plan is to take the ABs Advanced in March and then start to prepare for the LCMs diploma GREAT fun!!!

I love those Spanish Dances by Moszkowski

Congratulations

Congratulations

I've entered three pairs of pupils for Ensemble exams, all Primary level, all duets. Everyone has really enjoyed the experience, a change from 'normal' exams. I think the examiners enjoy it, too, I was told that one examiner was really looking forward to it, he'd never examined an Ensemble exam before!

Congratulations you two on your success - A Distinction is nice..!
pianocrazy

Great result - very well done to both of you !

Many congratulations to both of you!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I did a duet exam many years ago with my sister. In those days you DID have to do sightreading - I remember we had a system whereby I would stamp on her foot on the first beat of every bar to keep us together.

We thought it was all a bit of a laugh, but the examiner was very po-faced and looked bored by the whole thing - despite the fact that it must surely have made a change from the usual stuff. The only comment on the mark sheet I can remember was that there was "a lack of baseline" in the sightreading, which incensed my sister who was convinced she had played it. We definitely didn't get a distinction. It was a good experience, though.

WELL DONE to you both!!

Hmm... maybe these would be a good option for nervous students and adult learners that reach the appropriate level.

I can see myself being a lot less terrified if I had someone friendly in the exam room with me, and the lack of aural tests would be awesome. Group sightreading sounds hysterically funny... Yup, definetly sounds like a good way to help allieviate peformance nerves.

Something for some of the forum teachers to consider?

One query though, having looked at the syllabus, there's the implication that you could do the exam with any "appropriate" combination of instruments. Does this mean for example that I could grab a clarinetist friend and select a programme of duets, provided they were of a suitable level?

Yes, you'd have to send off your programme for approval first though.

Well done, you two. A great result. Sounds like fun.

Congratulations!!

Some years ago I prepared 2 Grade 4 level pupils for the first duet level. The parents backed out at the last minute because of the cost. It was a shame about the exam but the girls did enjoy playing together.

Alison, your experience sounds a bit like mine. I did Grade 5 as a duet exam with a friend many years ago, which included sight-reading, and we too had an examiner who looked bored by the whole thing. We too had a comment about problems in the baseline of the sightreading. (Do you think we had the same examiner?)

Congratulations to Yamaha and Sbpiano