Hello Just joined the forum after reading many interesting posts. I am 45 and have been learning since Jan 05 with a very good teacher. I am taking my grade two in Feb/Mar 05. I noticed the step from Grade one to two seemed a big leap. I guess grade one was just to make sure you could do the basics. Is the jump between each grade equal and will two to three be as big as one to two. Does it seem easier the further you go up the ladder.
I am interested in doing the grades as it gives me a measure of how well or badly I am doing. I look forward to your views on this.....thanks.

Hello Mr. Plink Plonk.

I posted a similar message on the Clarinet forum, but it seems to have been quite a while ago and it seems to have been cut off the end automatically.

Apparently they don't, the gap is equal according to the answers I got, (I am a Clarinettist, going straight in at grade 2, never done an exam before ) and it gets harder as you go through the grades.



I hope this answers your question.

PS - Don't you mean you've been learning since Jan 04?? You must be good if you've got up to grade 2 in only nearly 20 hours...

Hello plinkplonkman!

well done for taking up an instrument!

Well, starting from the beginning, as you move up, you learn new things, so it can be more difficult in terms of new stuff

and it can be easier when performing for example because you alreayd have the basics

Hello Oddball....Yes 20 hours would probably be a world record. Good luck with the exam. I was pretty nervous on my grade one although I don't really get nervous about anything else. I think it's a matter of confidence and familiarity with taking exams. I read older students such as myself often under perform due to nerves. Thanks for your reply and well spotted with the 05 thing.
Thanks for the reply Miss Fabflute...........my daughter plays flute to grade eight and is naturally gifted. She didn't inherit that from me as I struggle and have to work very hard at the piano. maybe it will come in time....that's what people keep telling me. Great name by the way sounds like something from James Bond.

Ditto with Oddball's post. According to the examinations it's supposed to be in equal difficulty as you move onto the next grade level.. although for me, going from grade 5 to 6 was a big leap. Particularly because you have to take grade 5 theory to move onto the upper grades (6,7,8). Grade 6 and 7 was another big leap for me. Grade 7 and 8 were similiar. The difference in difficult for 5 to 6, and then 6 and 7 were the scales required for the examinations.

QUOTE

According to the examinations it's supposed to be in equal difficulty as you move onto the next grade level..

I think it differs as well- it would definitely be the most difficult to go from complete beginner to grade one, and I found the gap between grade five and grade six to be very small (I already had grade five theory), yet grade six to grade seven quite big. It might also depend on the person, or the level at which you had reached the last grade (pass, merit, distinction).

Hello there,

All good wishes and believe me the further you get into it the more rewarding it gets.
100% agree with you about AB exams - a good way to pace yourself. You'll read of so many students on these boards who regard the exams as ende in themselves rather than milestones. But that's our education system in the UK today - exams, not education.
I took grade 8 a few years ago and passed by the skin of my teeth. What I learned, far more than piano, is that I'd have done miles better motivated by the music, not the determination to get this particular notch on the exam stick!
But I suppose the exams are roughly spaced in difficulty, +/- a bit here and there - and you'll read interesting stories here from members who found that such-and-such Grade 4 piece this year was in the Grade 2 lists of 1978 and things. The price of inflation?
Great.
talk again,
Rhapsodin.

Yeah... the school system in the UK seems to be going more and more towards exams as often as possible, I really don't think such a huge emphasis is beneficial to actually learning stuff, and certainly with the number of subjects people are having to take... it's just crazy. But the AB exams are a great milestone, and it IS satisfying to know you have achieved a certain standard.

I think some pieces for some people are going to seem very easy or very hard depending on what their particular strengths and weaknesses are. And there are indeed a few posts floating around about pieces that have moved up or down the scale of difficulty!