Along with all the current piano grades there is an excellent choice of pieces here with just a few lemons.

I would give A1 a miss it is so dreadfully boring. (Sorry Francois, not one of your best). A2 - the magical Mozart 'Courante' - would be my choice were I to take the exam again, but I have not been able to interest any of my grade 6 pupils in it so far. A3 is more suited to grade 7 and best avoided IMHO. Definitely the one to go for is the alternative A4 - 'Solfeggietto in C minor' by CPE Bach. This is barely more difficult that a grade 5 piece yet is enjoyable to play and listen to.

I find B1, the Beethoven 'Adagio', to be the least interesting of the three B pieces in the book, but quite ok if you like Beethoven Adagios. Both the Chopin and the Stenhammar pieces are short and quite excellent. Either would make a good choice but I personally prefer the beautiful, lush, late romantic Stenhammar. Once more there is a very interesting alternative piece and that is B4, the Gliere 'Prelude'. It has a key signature of 5 flats but is not unduly difficult to play. Rather like a 19th century version of the Solfeggietto mentioned earlier.

Now the C list! Most pupils will opt for the Malcolm Arnold 'Buccaneer' and enjoy it immensely. Many years ago I enjoyed learning it and then playing it in the school music competition. The adjudicator was Mr Arnold himself, but he only awarded me 3rd place. However, if I were to be taking grade 6 again I should choose C2 - Oscar Peterson's perky little 'Jazz Exercise No 2'. The jem of the entire book! Then there is C3 - oh my goodness, surely not another of the Satie 'Gnossiennes'/'Gymnopedies'! The Associated Board seem to be going through a phase of selecting these 'free form type wishy washy' pieces from the early 20th century. There is similar Koechlin piece set for grade 5. Come on guys - these pieces have long been relegated to Music FM!

After that little rant I have one more nice surprise for you all. There is a quite excellent alternatice C piece that anyone could learn in a couple of lessons, and that is C4 - the Poulenc 'Staccato'. No more than a grade 5 technique is require here, Poulenc never disappoints and the piece is well worth looking at.

Well, I do hope this is all very useful to other teachers with grade 6 piano pupils. If there is a sufficiently large feedback - ie 1 or more - I shall do a similar run-through of the grade 7 pieces with which I am even more familiar.

I have just had my candidates marks in for grade 6 and i am disappointed. He played the 'Solfeggietto in C minor' by CPE Bach (A4) the Beethoven Adagio (B1) and the Satie Gnossienne (C3).

I am astonished that he only got 20 in the C piece. I was present at the exam and heard him play beautifully, the advantages of being in a church! Results received online not in post yet but I am totally shocked by the marking of this piece considering how i heard him play. Having been presenting in every diet for the last 10 years i've never had a mark as low. I'm thinking it might have been the legato that has pulled his mark down, he played it very expressively and considered all of Satie's text.

Will wait on the comments and see what has been put in print but i am totally shocked, especially as it cost him a merit!

On a brighter note he scored 114 in grade 4 sax which i thought was a fail!

Not a teacher, but I'm doing Grade 6 in... oh... about 3 weeks :agh:

I've tried all the pieces in the book, plus the Solfegietto, which I found impossible . Well, I managed to get it to allegro vivace, but nowhere near Prestissimo! I also couldn't play the Couperin, which left me with the Mozart and Scarlatti. I like them both the same, but in the end decided on the Mozart, as I found the trills in the middle of the texture in the Scarlatti a bit hard. (Does that make sense??) Even so I can never seem to make the 'Courante' flowing and legato enough...

B piece - They're all very nice. My piano teacher initially said "I'm not teaching you the Beethoven, I've taught it to all my other pupils and I'm sick of it!" I did have a go at it myself, and also the Stenhammar, but I find it hard to make that legato enough without using so much pedal that it smudges. I'm playing the Chopin, which I think is a lovely little piece, very expressive.

And finally, for the C list I chose the Oscar Peterson, which I agree is the gem of the book! It's full of life and I really like listening to it, as well as playing it - I hope the examiner agrees!
Again, I had a go at the other two (Buccaneer and Gnossienne) and liked them, but I think the jazzy one suite me more, and my teacher agrees.

Nick

@andrewliv

Sorry to hear about your pupil's Satie. I have been entering pupils for almost 20 years on a regular basis (and quite a few in the previous 20 years before that) and these days I never cease to be astonished at examiners' markings. Over the past couple of years in the Ripon area we have 'enjoyed' quite a few harsh/strict examiners, and the general concensus of opinion is that the Board's policy is to up the standard.

@madbassoonist

First of all good luck for the exam - it sounds to me you are well prepared for it. Why do you think the 'Solfeggietto' needs to be prestissimo? It needs to be reasonably brisk, but prestissimo? I'm glad you went for the Mozart, but it is harder to bring off than the notes might suggest.

My pupil (he's 14) will be taking the exam on 10th July. He's doing the Scarlatti, the Stenhammar and the Malcolm Arnold. The Scarlatti is more suited to grade 7 so my next two G6 pupils will be doing the Solfeggietto. Yes, the Stenhammar needs to be just SO leggato, and one's pedalling has to be spot on. Both my next two pupils have chosen the Oscar Peterson over the Malcolm Arnold.

I know it's not necessary to follow performance directions given, but that is how my edition is marked. (It is: CPE Bach Selected Keyboard Works book 2, published ABRSM.) The metronome mark is crotchet = 132.

As for being well prepared for the exam... you haven't heard my scales and aurals