Well, after 8 years with no piano exams of any description (indeed, no music exams other than GCSE) and just playing pieces that appeal to me (and, for a brief period, not really playing the piano very much at all) I decided to get cracking on doing grade 6, aiming for next summer or so (only having lessons every couple of weeks, so figured it'd probably be best to start early!)

Just thought I'd make up a thread to see if there's anyone else doing it? Which pieces are people going for? As for me it's the Couperin (A1) from list A, the Beethoven (B1) from list B and the Jazz exercise (C2) from list C.

I'm preparing Grade 6 with a different choice of pieces:
- Scarlatti's Allegro (Sonata in d minor) and Mozart's Courante (List A). I'll choose which to play at the exam according to the standardI can achieve in each case.
- Beethoven's Adagio (List B)
- Satie's Gnossienne (List C)
No problems with List C or List B but the List A pieces require lots of dexterity and agility.
The only hidden difficulty with the List C piece (Satie) is how to achieve the right atmosphere with such a relatively easy piece. It can be mastered - technically - in a little over a week but the polishing up takes a long time.

The pieces that I'm going to perform are: (List A) Solfeggietto in C Minor - C.P.E Back
(List B) Adagio - Beethoven
(List C) Gnossienne - Satie

Last two pieces are fine, as it gives me a chance to add so much expression, because it's fairly slow, but the first piece is so fast I trip up so much which slows the whole thing down and I find it really hard to add the dynamics. Argh! Wish me luck for the autumn!

You 'guys' doing the Solfegietto should look at the thread running on 8yr old Emily Bear. In the first post on that thread, the third YouTube clip is of her playing the Solfegietto !. By the way - many years ago , my tecaher once made me practise it using left hand only to improve my dexterity ! . It s possible to play it with left hand only !

I'm also preparing for A1 , B1 and C2 pieces .

For A1 (Couperin)- Whenever I hear my mordents, I don't find it the same as in the CD , hearing it's too slow .
B1 (Beethoven) - I don't find any special difficulties except that my teacher tells me to be more expressive .
C2(Peterson - Jazz Exercise) - The problem for me is not to slip the notes from bar 17 to 23 .


:S I only have 1 month left to practise before the exams in September !

C3dric, hi! I chose the same 3 pieces as you for my Grade 6. My exam was over 2 weeks ago, and I'm now waiting for the result (nervous!). I think (my teacher does too) that my A1 is the least polished of the 3 pieces. I played at a speed of 80 crotchets (it was the fastest I could manage without slipping up). But a faster speed will sound nicer, like you hear on the CD. The mordents are tricky... left and right hand playing need to balance each other and the tempo must be strict - I practised like crazy on them (especially the mordents in the first few bars) until they sound ok (the metronome is indispensable for this piece!). What tempo are you practising at now? If you find it slow, I think you still have time to build up the speed since you have 1 month to go to your exam.

B1 is a gorgeous, imaginative piece of music. I loved learning it. C2 is fun to play, but one has to be relaxed enough to get the "jazz" mood (not an easy thing in an exam setting! ).

Good luck in your exam!

Hi, I am preparing the following pieces (I know you only need 3 but I love the Grade 6 pieces):

A4 - Bach (more or less got it, just a bit too slow)
A5 - Clementi (ditto! Speed is not my strong point)

B1: Beethoven (okish with a few sticking points still)
B3: Stenhammer (I love this piece but it needs a lot of work)

C2: Peterson (ok)
C3: Satie (just starting)

I am tentatively thinking of doing the exam in June but first of all I have to pass Grade 5 theory in November and I am also expecting twins early next year so who knows whether I actually will or not! The aural also looks a lot scarier than at Grade 5!

Oh congratulations, I don't know how I missed that you were expecting and even more so expecting twins.

Good luck with your Grade 5 theory in November and with whenever you decide to go ahead with Grade 6.

ET

I've done my exam, I got a distinction I did the Mozart (A2), Chopin (B2) and Oscar Peterson (C2). There was a thread on Grade 6 2009-10 recently, though it hasn't been posted in that recently - here. It may be useful to some people.

Hi ,
For A1 , the mordents are indeed tricky specially for bar 22(for RH) and 40 (for LH) which is uneasy for me .
Actually , for bar 22 , i do 3131 instead of the 4131 and it's quite difficult to manage the one for bar 40 ! But for the rest , I can keep at the right tempo .
I also like the B1 piece too
The jazz mood is a bit difficult to get it and it seems that i'm playing it a bit too fast :S And slipping of notes is usual and it makes me a bit scared
Have you noticed that for A1 and C2 , there are no dynamics? How did you created the suitable "mood" with the dynamics ?
Good luck with your results !

I've recently seen the grade six books. After not taking a piano exam for 25 years, it looks seriously scary. Don't know if I'll attempt it after all..my daughter will laugh at me for years to come if I don't though.

A1: I found the mordents in bars 2 and 3 the toughest to get "right". And I often slipped up in bars 19b & 20. For me, bar 22 was ok ( I think I used fingerings 4343 for the mordent). My teacher told me not to worry too much about the dynamics in this baroque piece (mf suffices), that it's more important to ensure the notes sound clean, clear, light, and the tempo is kept steady and even at all times. May I know what speed you are practising at now?

B1: It's easier to create the "mood" for this piece, isn't it, if one has a suitable picture/scene playing in the mind. The plentiful dynamic marks throughout the piece, some quite extreme too e.g. rfz, and from loud to p(subito), etc., are a great help.

C2: I never managed to play this piece as well as my teacher wanted (a shame, because it's a lovely piece and the music/rhythm is so catchy!). One really needs to "swing" the notes properly to get the jazz mood, and the very special bars 17 - 25 need to be mastered and it's advisable to memorize this section completely to avoid mistakes.

A1 : I practise at 92 crochets as it stated for the piece .

C2 : I think that this piece is quite difficult to play because of the Jazz mood and as you stated, the bars 17-25 where the notes are difficult to attain at the right time :S

Wow! At 92, your fingers must really "fly" and the music must sound beautiful! I wish I could play as fast.

Seems the Couperin and Beethoven are really popular pieces, as is Peterson's Jazz Exercise.

As some have mentioned, List A pieces always seem to be the most technically challenging, and for that reason, I've always chosen pieces in List A which are NOT marked at quick tempi: i.e. Allegro, Vivace, Presto, etc. Anything which is Moderato, Andante or slower gets my vote, and this strategy has served me well in every grade.

In light of this, my choice from List A would be Scarlatti Sonata in D Minor. Even though a slow piece might be more decorated with trills and other ornaments in general, you have more time to fit them in with slower pieces, and can maintain more control over them, compared with the faster Couperin.

List B would be Chopin Moderato for me, it's a beautiful piece.

And List C would have to be The Buccaneer by Malcom Arnold - what a fun caper to end with !

denmark

I did the exact same 3 for my exam!! (The Sonata for the first choice)