Hey..has anyone started learning the new g8 syllabus for 2005 yet. These are the pieces i think i will play

Scarlatti Sonata in D
CPE Bach Allegro assai
Chopin ...er cant remeber wat tho

i thought the scarlatti piece was surprisingly simple since my last exam was in g5 and i expected something a lot harder. But my teacher said its all about neatness n clarity..fir the B list i was thinking CPE Bach although i am having trouble with some sections..i may change it to the mozart Sonata in C though..i heard it online and it seemed nice..juz maybe a bit too long...for the C list i am stil undecided..i am not used to choosing between so many pieces before..hehe

Anyone else doin g8 next year?wat r your pieces n wat do u tink is the hardest part of g8. My friends told me that g8 aural is a real killer, and the scales itself could take months to finish.i haven started on them yet anyway..i want to get the pieces out of the way first...any comments?

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QUOTE (adrian_ehm @ Nov 5 2004, 08:33 AM)

My friends told me that g8 aural is a real killer, and the scales itself could take months to finish.i haven started on them yet anyway..i want to get the pieces out of the way first...any comments?

Yes and I think that's the idea. If you're skipping grades before grade 8 then the scales will take you even longer as you've missed out on a lot of the ones you should have done already (I'm assuming like most people skipping grades you're doing it to rush more quickly rather than going through all the work but not doing the exams). As Rhapsodin says, start working on all the sections now, don't just work on your pieces, otherwise you may well end up with a bad mark. One more piece of advice: if you're finding a piece easy you've probably missed something....

I've already learnt 80% of my scales in 1 1/2 months. It took only one or two weeks to learn ALL of Grade 5 and about three weeks to learn ALL of Grade 7 scales, so it shouldn't be too hard to learn Grade 8 scales.

If you are really good at music, one week is already very enough for you to finish all the grade 8 scales!
And I think that grade 8 aural is not a killer.

hey. thanks for al the advice..and you are right..the scales are tedious..7th, in thirds, sixths..wow i sure need lots of pratise..ehhe.
Anyway..i have started learning my C piece already...i actually didn't skip from g5 to g8..i took g5 ages ago..but continued to learn piano, juz didn't take the exams..i did do ta exam pieces for each grade though..sumhow exams cause so much stress and kills the fun in piano playing.,.like my teacher, she makes me learn the 3 pieces to death for 1 whole year..it gets quite boring..she is scared if i try any new work my pieces will deteriorate..

Anyway, thx agen for al the advice..i sure hope i do well i g8!...may continue wif diploma is a get good marks

I worked on the Scarlatti for a bit but I am already getting sick of it- not a good sign- so I'm trying the Bach A:1 as well.

I'm probably going to play the Mozart Allegro Moderato for the B section and either the Debussy or the Chopin for C.

yeah...i m beginningto get bored of ta scarlatti already..since ive been playing it non stop for weeks....hehe...anyway i wil keep doing it...ta mozart is nice...but i findthe triplet left hand and semiquaver right hand part very tricky ..have u started your scales?i am doing some now...not to bad if u reli dun mind practisin them...juz a matter or boredom n laziness

How long does it take to be ready for grade 8? I got grade 5 theory and practical years ago and am not currently taking lessons. I'm working full time too so practice is going to have to be at the weekends only.

Having said that, even when I was doing grade 5 and had all the time in the world I got lazy and left it days and sometimes only practised once a week, despite telling my piano teacher I was practising every day.

Suggestions?

Hi - I'm preparing for Grade 8 piano at the moment. I'm also doing the Scarlatti Sonata in D for list A. It's quite tricky and quite strenuous! but I am enjoying it. My teacher suggested adding some dynamics into some of the repeated parts (first time F, repetition P) and it sounds really good. ( I can't tell you the bar number - but it's on the second and 4th page and are the bars with the chords in the left hand)

For list B I am doing Beethoven Sonata in G which is also tricky but I really like it and it will be great when it is polished and ready for the exam. List C I am doing Faure barcarolle which is lovely.

Scales are a nightmare, so many of them. I have a rota so I cover them all in a week but there are tons of them. I spend months on my scales, the same amount of time as I do on pieces so they are as perfect as possible for the exam.

As for the Aural, I have a lot of trouble with it but I am doing a lot of work on it with my teacher and I have joined her singing group (as an alto) so I practice singing the lower part of a phrase. I am getting better (slowly) but I feel I am going to be better prepared for the aural than I was for grade 7.

For me, if you tell me to do grade 8 again, I think i can be ready for it within 1 week. (with new pieces)

QUOTE

Scales are a nightmare, so many of them. I have a rota so I cover them all in a week but there are tons of them. I spend months on my scales, the same amount of time as I do on pieces so they are as perfect as possible for the exam.

But aren't scales part of the normal practice routine anyway?
They are for me. I had covered all the scales a long time ago yet only just started on pieces.

Hi - yes scales are part of my practice routine but I don't normally practice so many of them when I'm not doing exam prep. Also I hadn't done many of the scales in 6th nor the 2nd inversion arpeggios.

Do you try to do them all each day?
I break it down into 4 groups which takes only 30 - 40 mins each day.
Once you get the coordination for scales in 6ths they are satisfying to do.
I would more or less do the same amount on scales whether preparing for an exam or not, probably because my first teacher expected me to do so and random scales were a part of my lessons from as soon as I could play more than one.

I only do scales for the exam..i only practise the day my teacher is coming but i start a year b4 so when it is the exam..i hve pretty much done everything..i tink scales are boring and don't help you play any better. maybe juz improve your flow n coordination

QUOTE (adrian_ehm @ Nov 9 2004, 03:10 PM)

..the scales are tedious..

ARGH!! to right the scales are tedious!! I cant stand them, but I guess you just have to take a methodical approach and work through them- though when I did my G8 it seemed like a helluva long slog, I guess it was worth it!
oh and play the debussy! Its a beautiful piece!!- one of my fave, though for me it required control!! (I like to play loud and fast!!)

QUOTE

I only do scales for the exam..

I had a teacher once who never bothered with scales except for exams(and this was one with letters after his name!) and I lost gound on them. Would never let that happen again, too much trouble to pull up again once you get lazy about it.
Besides it does make easy work of scale passages if your hands automatically know the patterns .
And if you actually engage your brain too it makes sure that you know and understand key signatures.
Up to around grade 5 I always used to group relatives together so that the connection was automatic.

If you think all scales are for is flow....how many times have you played a Mozart sonata with scale passages? how many pieces have arpeggios or similar intervals as accompaniment? if you do scales at least a little, you don't have to work so hard at those passages, your fingers stay supple and you get better, even strength in all your fingers (that pesky little finger!!!!).
Doing scales or some sort of exercises is like warming up before you go do sports - it helps! But I agree it can be soooo tedious - I used to practice doing them in rhythms as well as regularly, loud and soft on different days to make it more errrr...interesting or challenging! Once you get to be really pro you can stop and do other stuff - I once went to a lecture by pianist Andras Schiff where he said he did not do scales, he just played through Bach's Book 1 or Book 2 well tempered keyboard as a daily workout.....makes you think!!!!