My son (aged 11) is doing Grade III piano and I have a couple of questions.

1. Is it me, or is the choice of pieces really difficult this year? I'm a Grade VIII pianist (though a poor sight-reader) and I find most of them really tricky - the Purcell "Hornpipe", for example, and the "Bonny Bobby Bluetoe" by Greaves.

2. That "Bonny Bobby Bluetoe". Can't stand it, and neither can my son. Unfortunately his teacher, who in all other respects strikes me as a particularly good teacher (kind, funny, engaging, very good with children) insists on choosing his pieces for him. This happened at both Grade I and Grade II, but I sort of ignored it because all the pieces seemed to me to be much of a muchness in terms of difficulty and enjoyment. My son would much rather do the Bartok "Round Dance", which I can sightread with ease (which implies, to me at any rate, that it's by some measure easier than the Greaves, which I cannot sightread at all)

Should I say something to the teacher? I don't want to question her methods, but I think it's a bit odd at Grade III to be insisting on which pieces the child learns, as opposed to allowing them to listen to them all and choose for themselves.

Thanks

Edward

I certainly think that the Purcell is hard for the grade, and I seem to remember that in a previous thread I was not alone in thinking that.

I don't know about these particular pieces, but in general I'd say that a pupil - of any age - ought to be involved in the choice of what to play - especially when it comes to exam pieces which inevitably they are going to be playing for some time - and that - other things being equal - they ought to decide which ones to play. Apart from anything else, if they like the pieces they're playing, they're more likely to want to practise them! There are always some good reasons for avoiding certain pieces, I imagine. For example, my children have in the past been advised not to play certain pieces they or I liked - either because they were too short to reach the pedal or because their hands weren't big enough for some of the chords. Of course you can get round those problems by simply leaving out certain notes, or not pedalling, but if doing that would ruin the piece, it's porobably better to choose something else.

I would ask the teacher why she is so keen for your son to do Bonny Bobby Bluetone rather than the Bartok. You might agree with her reasons. If not, why not suggest that he learns both and then make the decision on which one to play for the exam much nearer the time? My children have often started off learning 4 or 5 pieces from the syllabus and not making the final decision until a couple of weeks before the exam.

I can only speak for my pupils, but I have a system (sort of!) I pick the pieces for grade 1 always, grade 2 get a little bit of choice, ie do you like A1 or A2 etc, and grade 3 and above are given time to play through all the pieces (including alts if I have the music), then we discuss their choices.

I know each teacher has their own ways of doing things, but I agree (personally) that the grade 3 Bartok is simpler to play than Bobby Bluetoe, in fact in the last set of exams I had 2 grade 3 pupils playing Bartok (which they chose themselves) and they scored 27 and 28. One of thse pupils did begin Bobby Bluetoe then changed their mind !!!

I can only suggest you have a polite word with the teacher about changing the piece, provided time constraints are not an issue.

best wishes

My goodness! NO the teacher should not be choosing by grade 3! I can understand choosing/giving strong direction for grade 1 and to some extent grade 2 but music should be for pleasure. Of course we all get pupils making unsuitable choices - but that's part of the learning process.

Actually I do rather like Bonny Bobby Bluetoe - and I usually hate all AB piano C pieces. A2 & A3 are both so lovely I play them all the time for pleasure. I put a big cross through the Purcell as I think it's hideous - is your son being made to play that one? For the B piece I would choose Chant de la Creuse - it took a while to get into but I think it's quite haunting.

Your son's teacher has probably assumed that Bonny Bobby would hold more appeal for a child - most of my pupils love it! (Personally I am sick to death of it!). I would gently let her know that your son dislikes it - there's nothing worse than trying to get a child to practise a piece they dislike!
And yes - I also think the Hornpipe is difficult for G3, but most of my G3 pupils have chosen it because they like the piece - I always let them choose as I think motivation is of paramount importance!

Bear in mind that peris who teach groups don't have the luxury of letting children pick their pieces at any grade. The best they can do is play all the pieces and if the children can't agree (as often happens), gently persuade them to opt for particular ones.

I used to be horrified when I first heard about peris picking pieces but what choice do they have in a half-hour shared lesson when kids often turn up a bit late and then have to take instruments out of cases, tune violins, put shouder rests and rosin on etc etc?

But having said all that, home-based teachers should definitely let their students choose as soon as they're ready to.

Yes I think G3 is really tough this year, a huge jump from last years G2. I've got a 10 year old doing it in March and it's taken her ages to learn the pieces. Have you looked at the alternative pieces? The Mozart Allegro and Maikapar Passing Thought are nice, and not too hard for the grade.

Yes, I agree that the pupil should pick the one that they like, after all they are the ones who will have to practice it lots and lots and A - it is only fair that they prefer that choice B - they will learn it better, surely if they enjoy it, simple logic.

A grade 2 pupil I have has picked the very modernistic Balinese-based piece by John Macleod. I always play the 3 choices through and I spent a good while talking about it (I was hoping she wouldn`t pick the much less interesting Garage Sale, although I would have happily let her do it obviously). I am pleased that she chose it partly as the examiner will possibly be impressed at her choice (as i pointed out to her hehe). But yes pupil must be happy with the choice he or she made it is only common respect for the pupil especially at grade 3- plus level I think.

cheers

I let my pupils choose - even for grade 1. However, there are ways and ways of doing it, and they nearly always end up playing the pieces I would have picked!

I agree with Violinia about the difficulties of group teaching. Sometimes I end up with a group playing different pieces - this has to be on the understanding that they will get less time devoted to their pieces than to the "majority vote" - the sort of kids who will go against the group vote are usually the ones who put in the time at home so do OK in the exam. I make sure parents are aware of this too, via the practice book. This stops the "my child gets less attention in lessons than the others" complaints. After all - 4 kids in 30 minutes is 7.5 minutes each if you look at it like that - surely they can play at least one of their own choices in "their" time?

I let them choose their own too - though sometimes I'd steer them away from something if I know from experience that others have particularly struggled with it. We go through all the options and the pupil gives each option a mark out of ten. If two get the same mark I might do a little gentle persuasion depending on which I think the individual will find easier. But I do think they practise more if they like what they're playing. If you think the teacher might be miffed at 'interference', why not get your son to tackle, say, the first line of the Bartok, and say to her, "Hey, I had a go at this on my own and I like it far better. Can't I do this instead?" I have no qualms at all about allowing pupils to change pieces if they're not enjoying something - they'll still have gained something from the experience.

I have no qualms at all about allowing pupils to change pieces if they're not enjoying something - they'll still have gained something from the experience.

I let my pupils choose, but often and ideally we will learn several pieces before settling on the exam piece. A teacher will know a pupil's strengths and weakness and may "guide" the pupil in his/her decision. I too think the Grade 3 pieces are difficult for the grade, not just technically, but musically too. Chant de la Creuse and Round Dance need mature musicianship and a good understanding of phrase structure. I have enjoyed teaching them to musical pupils.

Yes of course the Round Dance is fairly simple to sight read, but the test is in the dynamics, more than the actual notes, or am I getting it wrong?