Dear all

I live in Zimbabwe where there have been no music exams 4 years. I am now following the new Grade 8 Piano syllabus for 2005 -2006 (i plan to take the exam in South Africa in 2006) . Unfortunately this is my first piano exam!!!!!!!!! Got any tips?

The bach prelude and fugue in list A is EXTREMELY difficult (mind you I don't enjoy bach p&fs so im sure thats why!)

Is anyone doing The debussy arabesque from list C or the beethoven sonata (Op. 79) from list B?

I really don't like list A!!! has anyone noticed that list A seems to be Baroque , List B seems to be classical sonatas and list C seems to be mainly romantic and more contemporary? just a thought.

HEy...y don't u do the scarlatti sonata in D for list A. i tink it seems the easiest of the lot. you juz need to master those arpegios n u r set.y r u doing al non-book pieces.Wouldnt it be easier to use just one book. The mozart Sonata in C in list B is nice 2.Juz need to get the rhythm n melody. NO accidentals 2 worry about so its easier.I haven chosen my C piece though
Wow u want to take yr first exam at grade 8.Have u heard of aural and sight reading cos u really need to catch up there..Anyway al ta bez in yr exam

The Debussy Arabesque is a lovely piece. Stick to it.
Work hard on the Bach. They can impress the examiners if played well.

I seriously hope you know what Aural test, sight reading and scales are......they can be quite a nightmare...especially at G8 standard.

The Lists are always arranged in order of period.

I always have problems choosing my 'C' pieces...

QUOTE (pizza1512 @ Dec 15 2004, 01:39 PM)

I always have problems choosing my 'C' pieces...

Me too!!! For Grade 8 piano, I decided on my A and B pieces almost as soon as I got the book... but I learned 5 pieces on the C list before deciding which one I wanted to play!!!

But I think half the fun of buying an ABRSM graded book is teaching yourself the other pieces in it as well.

I am so happy that abrsm is finally conducting abrsm exams in zimbabwe.I passed my grade 8 last year. I played bach's sarabande. Baroque music's fingerings are mostly awkward. So my advice for you is to practice and practice. repeat the movement that you can't seem to get over. Try out different fingerings.


ps: Lists are always sorted according to the period so that candidates have
the chance to explore different kinds of music.

i am doing grade six and in my spare time i learnt the debussy arabesque it lovely!ps if i can play it now you at grade 8 should find it easy going!

I haven't taken exams for a while but I was thinking of maybe doing grade 5 theory (or jazz) in order to do grade 8 piano in 2006. Is there any requirement or suggestion that the three pieces you choose should be sufficiently different? I was planning on playing the Bach prelude and fugue, the first movement of Beethoven's opus 90 sonata and the Chopin c minor polonaise op. 40 no. 2, but I realised that those might all be a bit too tonal and "nice".

I'm not sure how I could vary it more though, since off the top of my head I'm not familiar with a lot of the pieces in list C, except that I suppose there's a possibility that the Medtner piece might be quite dark.

Any advice appreciated!

Stephen

for Khamy: Good luck with your exam! I think Scarlatti is a really fun piece for list A and I've had several students try Bach options and then feel totally liberated when they had a look at the Scarlatti.
for Steve: there's no requirement to programme-plan - just pick the pieces you feel happiest playing.

hiya

im currently working on my brade 8 piano pieces. they seem quite nice compared to the others ive seen!!

at the mo im tied between the autumn crocus and the arabesque (list c) there both nice.

anyway do let us know how you get on!!

jaime

QUOTE (steve @ Jan 8 2005, 09:35 PM)

Is there any requirement or suggestion that the three pieces you choose should be sufficiently different?

I think that the official line is that you should try to present a range of styles but in terms of marks you won't get any more or less for doing or not doing so. Each piece is marked independently according to the criteria in These Music Exams.

QUOTE (pizza1512 @ Dec 15 2004, 01:39 PM)

I always have problems choosing my 'C' pieces...

i luv the "C" pieces!!! i like the sort of music.

sorry seeing as I did the last syllabus I'm not much help, but practice makes perfect. persever until you can play!!! my teacher always says get your pieces to a high standard. scarlatti music is hard, but nice for small hands.