I'm New!
I've just bought a new flute - I've upgraded from my Yamaha 211 to a 411. I tried a Mizawa but it just didn't feel right - have I made the right choice? Also, I'm 15 and passed my Grade 8 last year. I've decided to move on to a diploma, but not sure what the content is like. Is it similar to a normal exam? also, is the basic ABRSMDip the right choice? Please help!

Emily

Hi Emily! I'm afraid I don't know anything about flutes. so will leave that part of your question.

If you look at Diplomas on the ABRSM site it will tell you all about the requirements. DipABRSM in performance is the best place to start - there are three parts to this: 35 minute recital, Quick Study and Viva Voce (which includes programme notes). There is a wide choice of music on the syllabus.

The diploma is a big step up from grade 8, so don't rush into it, but take some time to explore new repertoire. I think the Trinity Guildhall requirements are different from ABRSM, so look at those too. It's very expensive (current DipABRSM cost £160, and you will have to pay an accopanist to travel to the centre as well as play, so probably around £250 altogether) so you need to be confident of passing before you enter.

Hope this helps!

Thank you!
I think my music teacher would accompany me (hopefully) she's grade 8 piano so it would be okay! how long do you think it would be a good idea to leave it before entering? Is it a really big step? I was going to do the 2009 xmas exam period - would that be too soon? I don't want to do it in the summer because of school exams and too much pressure...

Thanks
Emily

PS i don't really understand the programme notes part - do you just write about which pieces you chose?

With regards to flute choice, choose the flute that you like best! There is no right or wrong flute.

As people have said a diploma is a huge step. It's not just like a grade 9. Can I ask what you got in your grade 8? Whilst this isn't that crucial if you did just pass then you might not be ready to do your diploma. Have you asked your teacher whether she'd think you'd be ready for one. It might be more beneficial to expand your repertoire, technique and knowledge (I've found grade 8 has been the starting point to learning!) and not rush into doing your diploma.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

PS - you say in your new members thread that you are doing a diploma this year, but in this thread you say 2009. Can you clarify? Also, I am not sure when the closing dates are for diplomas.

Hi,

With regards to whether you've made the right choice, whatever flute feels best for you is the right choice. My teacher has a lovely Yamaha 481 (or 471... can't remember) which is the open holed, B-Footed version of the 411. It's a really good flute!

I'm not very knowledgable on diplomas, but you do have to start at the 'bottom' with the dipABRSM, as it's a prerequisite for the LRSM. It does seem like hard work, so you're best to leave it for a bit until you're sure you're ready.

Happy fluting

Glad you went with which flute felt right not with brand. Any flute which sounds and feels good for you is the right choice.

I think that a year would be a big step to take are you taking academic exams at this time too? Perhaps looking at repetoire etc might be a good idea. I know some one who took dipABRSM very talented she failed:( . It isnt like going from grade 7-8 it is a huge step. You say in your resume that you only just passed grade 8 so perhaps some breathing space is a good idea

Those on the diplom athread might be able to give you some insight.

Talking of diplomas, yes the step from grade 8 to diploma is huge. Id say you can get away with lots of things in grade 8, which are essentials of the diploma.
Tone should be developed, no airyness in the sound, well focused, and variety
Technique secure, the occasional slip in grade 8 is ok, diploma is expected to be note perfect
Musicality is important, of course its the same with the grades, but you have to show some intelligence and thought behind the phrasing and the way you play it.

Im sure there are lots more things that apply to this. Just dont rush into it, even if it means going back to basics to secure them at a high standard. Good luck!

Diplomas are really professional qualifications and require you to be well above grade 8 standard. A diploma accompanist would usually have a diploma in piano, or at least be at that level of playing, as the recital should sound professional.

If you have been to classical concerts and bought a programme there will have been programme notes in it. You do write about the pieces you are playing; if you look on the diploma bit of the ABRSM site they give you a lot of advice about writing the notes.

If you only scraped a pass at grade 8 I think you should leave a minimum of two years before your diploma. My son is doing his DipABRSM on clarinet in July after getting grade 8 merit in March 2006 and then grade 8 distinction with different pieces in March 2007 (he got 28, 28, 29 on his pieces) and his teacher is still not certain that he will pass the recital part of the diploma. The stamina required to give a 35 minute recital is much greater than needed for grade 8, and the standard expected for the pieces is much higher.

You will also have to be excellent at sightreading. The quick study is a piece of grade 6 standard which can be up to 5 minutes long; you get 5 minutes to look at it and are then expected to give a professional performance of it. The viva voce (an interview where you get asked a lot of questions not just about the pieces you have chosen and your programme notes, but about other composers writing at the time, and about your instrument generally) is also difficult to pass.

Bear in mind that AS levels are a lot of work, and see how you settle into Sixth Form before you commit to a diploma. Why not learn some new repertoire and do grade 8 again in a year's time with a view to trying a diploma the year after? If you can't get a distinction in grade 8 there really isn't any point taking a diploma yet.

I remember being told that getting to grade 8 is just the beginning, and that's stuck with me ever since. I'm working towards my LRSM on clarinet and ALCM on saxophone but I'm not going to consider entering them until I know I can play everything perfectly.

Lucid

Enjoy your new instrument, first of all .
Echoing what others have said, the diplomata are in a different league, and it is worth your while giving yourself time to attempt one - not least because of the expense involved. I'd also strongly advise that you inform yourself of what's available out there - if you want to stick to ABRSM, then look at the relevant syllabus on the ABRSM main site; but there are other options worth considering. My own experience was with Trinity, but there are other bodies awarding diplomata too - the London College of Music comes to mind, and I'll have to rely on others to furnish you with the names of more.

Decide what you want the diploma for, and look at your strengths and weaknesses and tastes in music, and match yourself to the "best bet for you". I'm a professional working in a completely different field (medicine), so didn't need my diploma for a career-boosting piece of paper - it's just that I've found I need goals to work towards in order to make progress, and have also not yet reached a ceiling where I couldn't improve further, and haven't learned all the things I want to be able to do - my final choice of diploma came down to the repertoire offered. I wasn't bothered one way or the other about being tested on my background knowledge or sightreading, so the ATCL Recital, which requires a balanced programme, good platform presence and good programme notes, was right for me.

Having gone for Trinity first time round, I now am stuck with Trinity for the next up diploma, since the ABRSM won't acknowlege the ATCL in its prerequisites - ABRSM's loss. Trinity will get my fee at licentiate level. I'm not prepared to throw my money at another diploma playing at the same level, I want to make progress .

I agree with all that you said except one tiny detail... Im not sure you would need to be able to get a distinction at grade 8 to pass a diploma, although I do realise what you are trying to put across. She can still progress in her playing without having to retake grade 8 a pass is a pass. Move on take the comments made at grade 8 and work on them

Thanks everyone! I did only just pass my Grade eight -108- but it was my aural that let me down. my music teacher was supposed to have given me lessons but I didn't learn anything and I think I only got about 8 marks for it. I did get good marks for my pieces, and my scales and sightreading were good. I don't want to sound like a cliche, but the examiner was really mean! it was last year that I took it, and my teacher says she thinks I might be quite ready for a dip by next winter definitely, and maybe this winter if I work hard over the summer. I'll have nothing to do this summer but wait for my results, so I might as well give it a go. I'm not even sure that I'll be doing the ABRSM one anyway - I'll have to wait and see. By the way, I got a Yamaha 411 - I love the tone! Also, I'm quite secure academically, so I think I'll be okay with the GCSE - AS level transition, as I'm taking an AS now and find it fine. Thanks everyone!

Yes, you are right! I didn't mean that Emily would have to actually retake the grade 8, although I think you would have to be above grade 8 distinction level to pass a diploma, wouldn't you? I just think a retake is a good way to perfect three more pieces before you have to do what is in effect a double grade 8 recital, but if you have the self-discipline to get the pieces right without the exam that's fine. The more pieces you are able to play really well, the more likely you are to pass the diploma.

I don't know the figures for Trinity, but the failure rate for DipABRSM is about 40%, so it's worth waiting until you're at the right level.

Emily, do work hard at your flute playing over the summer, and let us know what you decide to do re diplomas. Your teacher is definitely the best person to advise you, as she has heard you play and we haven't! Will you be doing Music at A-level?

Yeah, I will. I also want to do German and Maths, and an English Language AS first year, and maybe a History AS in Year 13. Just in case you were wondering!