I was just wondering what sort of pieces there are to play after Grade 8 piano that aren't too difficult. I took my Grade 8 around a year and half ago but I mainly took a break fom piano after my exam what with moving to secondary school. Up to now the pieces I've learnt are Three Preludes by Gershwin and Clair de Lune by Debussy. Anything around the standard of Clair de Lune would be great.

As well as this, I was wondering when I should probably take a diploma soon and whether in two years I'll be ready. I'm 14 now so I should be around 16 or 17 when I take it (do you think it's a suitable age to be taking a diploma?). I know I will probably have to learn much more complicated pieces for a diploma.

Thank you very much and comments would be very appreciated.

Have a look at anything on the grade 8 or grade 7 syllabuses (?syllabii?) or the Dip Syllabus. If you like the Gershwin then take a look at "Meet George Gershwin at the Keyboard". Most of Children's Corner by Debussy and many of the Preludes (at least in the first book) should be in your range.

The problem is that you specify pieces ". . .that aren't too difficult". Everything's easy if you're good enough. Everything's difficult if you're not. If you're after improving your technique and repertoire it's going to be difficult. If you're looking for diploma pieces then look at the diploma list;. Have fun!

You might enjoy Grieg's "Wedding day at Troldhaugen" - might be good to do something more Romantic alongside your 20th century repertoire. It was one of the first pieces my son tackled after grade 8.

Thank you very much for your reply. My friend is learning Dr Gradus something or other which is from the Children's Corner book and she really enjoys it. However, I've had my piano lesson this week and my teacher's decided to give me the Passepied by Debussy which is in the same book that Claire de Lune is in. It's very difficult but like you said it should improve my technique. Thanks again!



I listened to the piece on YouTube and it sounds great! I might have a go it someday. Thanks very much.

You can certainly improve from Grade 8 standard to diploma standard in 2 years if you work at it (though I took my first diploma 12 years after Grade 8!). Whether you actually will be ready is up to you. 16 or 17 is certainly not too young to take a performance diploma - many musicians do and some musicians already have professional careers at that age. I would not worry about your short break after Grade 8. You'll be back at the same standard with just a few week's practice. The pieces you'll need for a diploma are not necessarily more "complicated" or "difficult" than the pieces you've played for Grades 7 and 8, but you'll be expected to play them to a much higher standard.

You could do worse than follow the guidelines I use for choosing new pieces for my repertoire:

1. Learn only pieces that you are completely in sympathy with. (The repertoire for piano is so vast that there is rarely a good reason for learning anything that you do not especially like).

2. At the same time, try to choose repertoire that any audience you are likely to play for would enjoy listening to.

3. Aim to include a mix of periods, styles, composers, types of piece (etudes, sonatas, fugues, fantasias, themes and variations, rhapsodies, dance forms, tone poems, ...), moods, tempi, keys etc.

4. Learn a mixture of pieces that are:
a. comfortably within your capabilities
b. pushing at the limits of what you can do, or just a little beyond them

5. Whatever you choose to learn. Learn it properly. Do a good job of it.


As for finding specific pieces, the repertoire lists for the AB diplomas are good for giving you an idea of what is out there. WHen I was your age I used to borrow stacks of classical collections from the local library and browse through them at home. But we were lucky to have a good library back then - with a huge collection of beatifully bound works from all the great composers. The replacement library in my home town has a dreadful music section. Goodness knows what happened to all those lovely scores.

These days I find browsing on YouTube is one of the best ways of finding out what I like the sound of. Searches like "Scarlatti piano", "Haydn piano", "Scriabin piano"etc do the business - though you have to be selective in which videos you take notice of - some of the performances are very poor. When I find a composer I like I tend to go mad - listen to everything I can find by them, then make a big list of all the pieces by them that I would like to learn. Then I whittle the list down to a realistic number and set to work.

Yes, if you are doing Passepied, you may as well learn all four pieces in Debussys 'Suite Bergamasque' .
The first is relatively easy (Grade 7-8) , the second (Minuet)and fourth (Passepied) a little awkward, and the third is the famous 'Clair de Lune'.
I think you should also learn a couple of classical period complete Sonatas, maybe Beethovens Op2 , Op10 or Op14 ones, or a Mozart K330, K332, K309 etc. And maybe a couple more of Bachs Well Tempered Klavier (Book 2 I find more interesting than Book 1, eg Book 2 Nos 1,2,5,6,7,12,13,20)
You could try some Schumann, eg Papillons, Davidsbundlertanze.
Maybe learn the complete Ravel Sonatine, or his 'Tombeau de Couperin'
For something 20th Cent. have a look at Shostakovich Preludes Op34, or Prokofievs 'Vision Fugitifs'

Just a few suggestions....

... and If you decide to take up this suggestion, please let me know how you went about mastering the enormously difficult 'Toccata'

Hi.

I'm in a very similar situation to you.

I am 16 this April, and have passed grade 8 about 4 months ago.

I am taking my performance DipABRSM later this year.

I think the main thing is you must play for longer for your diploma, it's the first time I feel I've learnt "real" long complete pieces.

Try the Schubert Impromptus (I'm doing the one in Gb), the Pathetique Sonata, and some Scarlatti Sonatas (I'm doing K208 and k209).

good luck

(I didn't want to start a new thread so I hope it's OK if I post this here, almw1994...?)


Just as a matter of interest, anybody, what level would you have to be to play Ginastera's Argentinian Dances No 3...,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5NiyPDsxFw

I have just had a go at Schumann's Davidbundler dances and Fantasiestuecke. THese would also be OK for G8 onwards

It is (much) harder than it looks - to play properly that is - and it looks hard enough! The performance in your link is a bit rough. That is to say it just sounds like noise in places. There is not enough variety of touch and dynamics, and it still sounds like he is struggling all the time. Work in progress I think - the lad obviously can play a bit. But it is not yet ready for performance. There are better interpretations on YouTube. Here is one of them by an awesomely good young pianist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZQE53BDM-I...feature=related

Yes I can hear the difference, particularly in the dynamics having played both versions again, thanks for finding that version. I like to watch the hands of the first one, in some places his fingers are just a blur, and there are microseconds when he moves his left hand to the far end which reminds me of an animal darting out its tongue to catch a fly I think it's awesome...

Actually I accidentally pasted the WRONG LINK! Sorry. This is the one I meant to include. I think you will be really amazed by it. It is in a different class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuS-Vq6DglA


I also omitted to say that I tried this piece, and decided that maybe I should look at it again in 3 or 4 years time!!

Yes, that's pretty amazing. I think the big difference is in the style - he gets over the whole Latin American feel so much better than the chap in your first link, Mad Tom.

I don't think I'd ever want to learn that. Just not the type of music I'm happy with. Good to hear someone else playing it though!

OMG that is seriously breathtaking. I'm not surprised he got a standing ovation at the end. I had a look at his web site and it seems he's been playing solely in Argentinia with a bit of Spain/Portugal, but next month he's making his US debut at Carnegie Hall



Strangely I'm somewhat comforted by that fact!

Skylark - I'm expecting you will play that piece at Leeds?

I think the reason I'm comforted by Mad Tom not attempting to play it is that I feel relieved of any sense of obligation that one day I should be able to play like that - I know I haven't got enough years left in my lifetime, although that's a bit sad in a way