I just took my Grade 1 violin Exam, and I am starting my grade 2. When the teacher played the pieces for me to decide, i couldn't decide which ones to play for the exam. He said to tell me my decision next week. does anyone have any suggestions on which pieces to play?

I skipped grade 2 as an exam but chose to learn the songs..

I chose Rondo for (A) - purely as I felt it would impress the examiner
Moon River (B) its my fave piece of music ever
Cossacks © - looks quite hard but its not and its so fun to play...lovely piece of music.

Good luck - im sure you will do fine.

ps I find it helps to get the book, then, like you did, ask my teacher to play them and help me choose, but also buy the book with the CD....its more expensive but honestly - once you get to grade 3 you will find the CD so helpful...even at grade 2 it would help to play it (esp if you learn line by line) you can keep pausing and going back etc.

My daughter played the above 3 songs for her exam. Loved them.

Whilst waiting for her exams, she got a bit bored and she actually learnt all the songs in the ABRSM book herself, as she found all the pieces quite nice to play.

I played (and still sometimes do), all of the grade 2 pieces in the book, except Moon River because for some reason that tune has always just got on my nerves.

Myself I wouldn't pick Rhondo because however much it impresses the examiner he can't give you any more than 30 points, and if you struggle with it because it is so much harder than the others you may get considerably fewer than 30 points.

I agree about Cossacks, it is fun to play and not that hard once you have got used to it - and I love doing double stopping.

I would just listen to the CD and choose the ones you like best. After all you are going to have to listen to them a lot!

My teacher works to the school year even though I'm an adult learner, so I have to chose my Grade 2 pieces when lessons resume in September. I was wondering, are there any tunes the examiners hears time and time again? It occurred to me that as much as I love Moon River, they might just get fed up of hearing it over and over again and that maybe I should chose another piece.

What do you think?

Grade 2 pieces are very short, so if the examiner is totally fed up with it, he/she doesn't have to be for long. I don't really think it matters whether the examiner hears it many times. Quite often it happens that there is a favourite on the syllabus that many people go for. Play what you want to play, as long as you can play it well enough for the grade.

I try to pick songs that I know I can play with feeling (if thats makes sense).

I wouldnt just play a song cos it looks good on paper or because I dont think many people pick (in which case would save the examiner listening to it over again).

I pick songs that Ican imagine playing, and also ones that I know I can express the feeling of the song (or try to)..

Have you got a friend who can play them to you - I find that the CD is too "perfect" in that it can put you off when you hear the cd then attempt it....

In normally take my grade book to my teacher and ask him to play them all....then once we have chosen the song I then use the CD to help me practice..

Another tip - if you shy away from a piece becuase it looks too difficult or fast - download "audacity"..its free but you can slow songs down and play along at your speed until you are used to it and can speed up