I’m thinking of asking my teacher to skip the Grade 7 piano exam, as I don’t really like the pieces in the syllabus, and I wonder what others’ advice would be.

I took my Grade 6 last December (thanks to support from this forum!) and passed with merit. Since then I’ve been doing Hanon exercises, scales and started playing Bach, Prelude in G (A4 in the syllabus) and Invention in D minor, which I performed at the school concert last week. I’d like to play Handel’s Queen of Sheba next! I’m also taking IGCSE Music and I’ll do the exam next summer.

I guess at the end of the day you can skip what you like, but your teacher may not agree !

Its many years ago now, but having done two of the easier Beethoven sonata movements in Grade 5 and 6 (LCM) (Op79 3rd movement, and Op 10 No3 2nd movement) my teacher got me learning the whole sonata Op10 No 2. Then when I was nearly there with it she told me it was an ALCM piece so I skipped both Grade 6 and Grade 7, and took ALCM about a year and a term after Grade 6. The Bach P & F and the scales were a bit of a struggle but I got there ! In the end I didnt have an Aural/Sight reading problem though.
I also skipped from Grade 6 to 8 on the Organ (ABRSM)
I guess things are a bit different now, I havent done an exam since 1965

oops - double post, sorry!

As a rule of thumb, if you got a merit at grade X you should be able to pass grade X+1. Since you got a merit at grade 6 I can't see any reason why you would want to take grade 7, even if you are going through the grades. Come to that, you can skip grades 1-7 and go straight to grade 8 if you want, there are no prerequisites for grade 8 except grade 5 theory (or equivalent).

Even then, grade 8 is only a mark of progress: If you are serious about learning to play rather than gathering qualifications you don't need grade 8 to learn the post-grade 8 repertoire (although it is a prerequisite for the Dip ABRSM and I suspect you would find it hard if not impossible to get into a music college without it). On the other hand, passing the grades can be a way of proving to yourself that you really are good enough to move on, a sort of "giving yourself permission" to move on. Strange as it may seem, that was certainly the way I felt about it, although I did skip grades 6 & 7 on the piano (with a 35 year gap) and grades 1-4 and 6 on the flute. There is certainly one school of thought that believes that the only grades actually worth bothering with are 1, 5 and 8. Not sure I believe that one, except that once you've got grade 8 no-one will take much notice of your grade 1-7 results or lack of them.

Good luck.

I don't think it matters about taking a grade 7 exam, but you need to do enough grade 7 repertoire (not necessarily this year's exam pieces, but something of similar standard which your teacher feels would improve your playing) to progress to the point you would have been at had you taken the exam. Then you can move on to grade 8 repertoire confident that the skills are there to tackle it well.

Talk to your teacher about it. If she thinks you have enough exams under your belt, she may be very happy for you to skip grade 7. As Robodoc says, taking grade 8 is definitely a good idea, and you want to achieve the best mark you can in that, so don't rush straight into grade 8 exam pieces. Your teacher will be able to advise you, but most people would leave 18 months to 2 years between grades 6 and 8.

I think it's fine as long you cover all the material in grade 7
Good luck for the preparation

There seems to be a prevalent, and I think misguided, view that one "ought" to take all the grade exams in sequence, and that it is somehow wrong to miss out any.

I mean, if you wanted to learn the famous Moonlight Sonata (Op 27 No 2) would you feel any guilt, or any need to ask permission if you did not first learn Op 27 No 1?

Truth is you can take as many or as few exams as you want to, or just those that you need (if any) for some external requirement (like getting into a music college, or going on to study for a Diploma). The significant milestones in piano are Grades 1, 5 and 8.

I did Grade I - IV and then stopped at age 14.

I started studying for Grade V many years later, but changed teachers before I could take it.

My new teacher told me not to bother with Grade V and I took Grade VI instead, passing with merit.

We then moved straight to Grade VIII which I eventually passed.

I was, I confess, primarily motivated by a desire to "pass" Grade VIII, and so I achieved my end. I now hardly play at all, haven't learnt a piece for ages except desultory passes at Jesu Joy Of Man's Desiring.

Is this helpful? Probably not

Edward

You've been a serious musician! I worry about my aural, but mostly sight reading development too. In sight reading, I hardly get half the points, and I know that the higher the grade, the more it matters Thanks for sharing your experience!




I agree with the way you look at exams, as proof that I've reached a certain level. My worry is that I have only 3 full years at school left and I'd like to have grade 8 by year 13. I care both about playing and having something to show for.

Many thanks! :]








This is exactly the alternative I have in mind: do equivalent pieces and cover the scales, aurals and sight reading too. My teacher (who is a 'he' by the way! ) has planned so I can comfortably take grade 8 by year 13. Of course I wouldn't rush into grade 8 pieces, it would be suicide! If my teacher says no to my suggestion, I trust him. There's no bargaining with him! haha

Thank you!




I did miss out grade 2! About Moonlight Sonata, you've read my mind! It's my ambition to learn (eventually!) the whole thing, one way or another! I suppose what matters is if you have the necessary background.

Thanks for the advice!




This is VERY helpful! You bring out the difference between getting a qualification for the sake of it, and enjoying making music. I think the trick is to get a balance between the two. It's a pity you don't put your investment to use, I'm sure you could play pretty much anything you like!

Why not give it a shot!





Thanks a lot!

If you have particular difficulties with sightreading or other supporting tests, then sitting the grade 7 exam might actually "get in the way" for you - providing you feel you can master the pieces, why not save the time you'd have to put in learning the grade 7 stuff and focus a little more on those areas you feel are more dodgy? Grade 7 is a big jump up from grade 6, but grade 8 probably not proportionately higher still, and if your time is better invested in a particular area then do that. The other thing is that only exam repertoire can be a bit dull to work on, and since it is advised that musicians work on non-exam material too, you might well be better off spending your time broadening your scope whilst preparing those supporting tests.
On sightreading in particular, it is great fun to heap up a stack of music and just plough through the lot, not focusing too much on the detail. Since the graded exams will set their sightreading exercises about two grades lower, you should be able to find appropriate material to work with. I also picked up a good few sightreading skills by playing songs, which sound daft if you stop to get a chord right.. .
Good luck for your attempt on whichever grade you do opt to do, and I'd echo what the others have said - there is no need to collect a full set, and if grade 8 is your ultimate goal and you have such a sound basis to start from, why not work towards that .

Thank you for your advice! I had my piano lesson yesterday, and my teacher says I'm sitting the grade 7 exam! I'll certainly play other pieces as well. I plan to learn the Queen of Sheba for my IGCSE ensemble and hopefully Moonlight Sonata too I agree with what you say about sight reading. The thing is, when I know what the piece sounds like it's so much easier, but at the exam I'm clueless!

I skipped grade 7, and got a merit at grade 8. If you want to do it there's no reason why you shouldn't. The only problem I had was scales and sight reading took longer than they should have done to learn, as I hadn't done the grade 7 requirements so come grade 8 there were suddenly scales not only in 8ves but 3rd and 6ths as well.
x

I certainly don't want to get in the way of you and your teacher and I am about to 'just' express an opinion.
If I made up my mind that I wanted to skip grade 7 and go for grade 8 when I am ready and my teacher told me 'I AM sitting grade 7', I would tell my teacher that he could go to sit grade seven on his own because I am not going there
Again, I am NOT saying that this is what you or anyone should do, I am just saying that we all have opinions/views and if one does not want to sit grade seven I don't see why they should unless they needed the bit of paper for some purpose. Not sitting grade 7 does not mean you refuse to learn any of the skills you may need to be able to sit such exam, it just means you don't like the pieces on the syllabus and you rather not do it! you can still learn pieces at that difficulty and all the scales/blah blah/aural/sightreading. Of course if you said I don't want to learn anything at grade 7 difficulty then it would be different.

Ok, glad you are happy to go with your teacher's opinion anyway, you found what 'you should do'

join grade 7 discussion
grade 7 '09 candidates

If I remember rightly, the requirement to sing at sight is still included in the ABRSM grade 7 exam - practise this, and you may well find that some aspects of the sightreading test also fall into place, because if you have worked on singing out something, you are also working on trying to hear it in your head. I don't have absolute pitch, or anything remotely near it, and I can't easily sing at sight either, but I have got the ability to guess at the rough shape of a piece of music just from reading it, and am sure this has helped my sightreading too .

This is an excellent point.

Exams are a great motivator for those who need that, but as far as real progress is concerned, if you can motivate yourself without the grade-goal, then you will fare better. Especially if sightreading is the main stumbling block. No matter how much you may think otherwise, once the exam is on the horizon, you will not be using your available time to practise sightreading; you will be wanting to perfect your pieces. If you skip a grade (and have the gap, rather than just 'skip a grade') you can spend the time poking at all sorts of music, which will throw up all sorts of questions, for which your teacher can provide the answers.

I have had countless pupils who have been making excellent progress between exams, but they were unaware of it because of the absense of certificates, and while the next grade drew a satisfying line under what they were capable of to date, I could clearly see that real progress halted for the last few months of the run-up to the exam. 'Perfecting' is obviously an art in itself, but not every detail of every piece needs to be perfected for this skill to be improved. Particular difficulties in particular pieces can be worked at and the resuting benefits transfered to other music.

Your own teacher will know you best, and know what makes you give of your best, but in most cases, I'd say that if motivation is not a problem - skip the grade and spend some time on playing as much as possible in the interim.

Im really sorry but I’ve been caught in revision for school exams and I just saw your comments! I think I have some explaining to do: I’ve had the same teacher since I started piano at 7. He used to make me write down how long I’d practiced every day and expected me to practice one hour a day by the time I was 10/11, which was when I rebelled and refused to fill in any sheets. I told him he’d have to judge by what he heard if I’d practised enough between lessons and since then we’ve got along nicely! I do look up to him because he’s really motivated and talented; he gives recitals and composes too and he’s not old, he’s in his 30’s. I do trust him and I hope the Grade 7 pieces will ' grow' on me. Thank you all for your advice!