Hello again and thank you all for your helpful responses to my previous post!
I just have a question which stating to worry me the more I read this forum...
How long HONESTLY is adequate time to prepare from a cello dip abrsm? I only just really started my programme properly, despite having messed through most of them once or twice before, and being very familiar with recordings of them. I have a BMus, but not in performance, and am a late beginner, who only just started working properly on technique.. that said i got a 1st in my final recital, and am used to preparin 2 exam programmes a year, in 3-4 months. I'm just kind of panicking when I read about people spending an entire year...what is it that necessitates the long preparation time? Is it the learning of the pieces technically and playing them musically, or is there a crazily high standard expected, where the examiners scrutinise every aspect of your technique and performance??? I could play the pieces technically, almost,
AHH! Neither me nor my teacher have any experience of dips. I don't have a clue what to expect... how many hours practice/study would ye recommend i put in between now and the exam? Thank you for your help!

Well I knew I wanted to do my dip after grade 8, and kind of assumed I'd be able to do it in about a year. But people on this forum have got it about right when they say a 2 year gap is more realistic, because by the time I've taken the dip it will be just over two years since my grade 8.
I've been playing one of my pieces (the Mozart) on and off since I finished my grade 8. It's one of those pieces you think you've cracked and then you go back to it later and it needs more work. The other pieces, I've got mainly under the fingers, so I'm just working on the odd passages/bars that are manky and interpretation now.
I've been practising 2-3 hours most days, usually about 6 days a week. Although not this week because my violin's at the luthier's for a week - I took it in expecting to get just a new bridge or something to raise the E string up cos it was cutting into the bridge, and the guy tells me I'm getting a new soundpost and fingerboard as well! I just hope it doesn't feel too different, although as long as the sound is improved I'll be happy.

It's impossible to answer this without knowing your current standard of playing. If you have been playing at above grade 8 standard for 2 or 3 years it probably wouldn't take you very long to put a programme together. I think the year's preparation you mention may assume that you are starting work on the diploma straight after a grade 8 distinction or similar. People find the 35 mins needed for DipABRSM is quite a step up in concentration and stamina from the 10 or 15 mins required for grade 8 pieces; if your final recital was similar in length to the Dip you will already have built up this stamina and won't need as long to prepare.

The examiners are looking for quite a professional standard, i.e. a recital which an audience might be willing to pay to hear. So you should have good tone, good technique, good intonation, good musicality, very few slips, etc. Some of the pieces on the diploma syllabus are also set for grade 8, but a good pass at grade 8 would not achieve a good mark in the diploma. The standard is meant to be similar to that reached at the end of the first year of a performance-based university course; your teacher should be able to advise you as to whether you are at that level, and if not, how long it would take you to reach that level.

Your sightreading also needs to be good, as you have to play a grade 6 piece (after 5 mins to look at it) which has to be performance standard. I imagine the viva voce section might be easier for you than some candidates, as you will already know a fair bit about your instrument and its repertoire from your BMus, and perhaps also have experience in writing programme notes. Again, these things can take a lot of preparation if people don't already have the skills.

As BerkshireMum says, it completely depends. Between my piano grade 8 and DipABRSM, I took six months to prepare, going from not even knowing the exam existed in May, to taking it in December. But I was able to do that because I had a lot of the skills required - good sightreading, for instance - before I started.

The basic answer is it depends entirely on you. The standard you should be aiming at is that of a professional recital. Tape your pieces and listen back to them. Would you pay to go and hear them?

It's very possible to make the leap between grade 8 and DipABRSM in a year, if you have the skills and the motivation. But do remember that music is a journey, not an aim - enjoy it. There's no rush!

Hi,

Like cellocase, I also did my dip 6 months after my grade 8, and was 5 marks short of a distinction. Sightreading is also one of my strongest areas, but isn't perfect by any means. I think I did about 6 hours practice a week, had a job, and have 2 kids. The hardest bit for me was the viva, so do loads of research!! However if you've done a degree in music I expect you'll be well on the way in that respect. You can do anything you put your mind to!! Go for it!