Have just been convinced by my teacher that I should do Grade 4 cello !!

Is anyone else committing themselves next session!!

Best of luck with that, ali bali bee

I'm only entering students for exams in session C, not doing any myself - but best of luck to all of you doing exams in November/December!

I'm hopefully not taking any exams (unless I fail my ATCL ) in session C. I think the next one will be Grade 8 flute session A 2013.

Thanks Barry - I'll keep you posted on progress! Hope your cello playing is going well!

I'm tinkering with the idea of another tuba exam. I've got the music, and there's only one or two notes I can't actually play yet...It's also a way to force myself to tackle Hindemith, a composer who's always left me stone cold.

It's going OK thanks : but judging by you going for grade 4, yours is going better than mine!

It's that clarinet, you see, it just looks all nice and shiny, and it's always calling to me : 'play me, play me now...'

Not really - I did grade 3 10 years ago (and was about to do grade 4 but had to pull out due to a bad back!) - so have just picked up again! Not so impressive!!

I know what you mean about the distraction of the clarinet - it's still my preferred instrument and the one I spend most time practising!!

Perhaps we can do some cello duets sometime! (Need a cello smiley!)

Good plan, and yes, we do

Absolutely

Grade 6 singing.

Entering myself for grade 8 theory (There..it's in black and white. No going back now! )

I'll be entering for something but I'm not sure what.

I will be entering my first pupil for an exam! (well, I think it counts, we'll ignore the fact he's my dad and it's to try and raise some money for a charity) I would love to do another viola exam but I'm not sure if my time would be better spent on other things and I will do a theory exam. I just have to work out which one...

Good luck everyone. I'm going to attempt grade 5 violin.
I'm thinking about grade 6 theory as well, but I'm not sure how long it will take me to get my head around it. I did grade 5 theory in 2005 and have forgotten it all, so am starting from scratch with the very helpful mymusictheory dot com website, and so far am confidently back up to grade 2
Anyone know when the online booking opens for the session?

I was looking at the theory dates and it says that you can book 6 weeks before the closing dates (clear as mud?) So I was planning on entering a week before the closing date just to make sure I wasn't too early and, if there were hiccups, I wouldn't be too late.

I'm hoping to do Grade 6 singing - I never did get round to 'using' my Grade 5 Theory (1969).
At present the most difficult decision is which pieces to choose from a total of 146 songs across the four groups!

Possibly Grade 6 alto sax. This particular goal keeps receding into the distance, for various reasons, so it may not be till Session A 2013.

Or later.

I want to enter grade 1 cello, but have never done a music exam in my life and keep wobbling

It also depends on whether my (soon to be) new cello makes me play better

Hi, I would like to enter for Grade 2 practical and theory.. Does anyone know if I have to use the 2012 pieces or can I use the new 2013-2014 pieces?

Thank you

Hey
You can't use the new 2013-14 pieces UNTIL 2013, so in session C this year you would still need to use the 2011-12 syllabus. Hope this helps

I'm going to go for grade 4 piano. (slightly hesitant smile)

Good Luck

Thank you.

Hopefully I'll be entering for Grade 3 harp

DipABRSM Teaching for me!

And my pupil will be (hopefully) taking Grade 3 singing.

I'm also taking LCM Music Theatre Grade 7, and maybe LCM Music Theatre Duet Grade 3 at Christmas too...

Do I sound like an exam addict? I feel a bit like one...

Trying to revive this thread. I have entered for Grade 3 harp. What has everyone else signed up for? Also let us know when you get a date!

I really like my pieces for Grade 3 so hopefully this will show through when I play them. Also, hopefully going to switch from a lever harp to a pedal harp some time after grade 3...I'm very excited

Good luck for your exam AWebb I'm not working on any exams this session - still need to get myself a teacher lol

What do you think your next exam will be, clariflutegal?

I'm up for DipABRSM Teaching this session. (Needs blowing brains out smilie)

Hopefully a clarinet one! Maybe Grade 6 cos I've a million scales to relearn! If I manage to learn them again ok I might try for Grade 7 cos that was the exam that I was due to do but I said that I wanted to concentrate on my GCSE's instead (then A Levels!). I've got the number for a teacher but I'm trying to fight a cold that I've got before I attempt to book lessons

Grade 3 piano! At last got round to it.....

Ooh, which pieces?

English dance, Enigma and Stroll on. English dance is really hard, apart from the A major scale in the middle. Finding it all really hard if I'm honest. But my sightreading and scales are good.

Hey, you'll be at the same centre as me. Shame it's unlikely we'll cross paths!

Good luck, Splog!

Thanks AWebb, and good luck to you and to everyone else.

Also have my first trumpet student doing grade 2. Scary.

Another one here doing my Dip teaching.... Looking forward to it, but a little as well. I've a student doing grade 1, but other than that we're having a break from exams.

Grade 8 flute for me. Slightly worried to say the least. Been desperately trying to practice the aural this afternoon, but not doing too well

Any experienced dip takers remember how long it takes to get a date through? I am getting a bit antsy, and my boss would quite like to know what day I need off work!

Just got my date through for grade 3 piano. It's in four weeks! Eeeeek!

Loooooo-ong term goal is to be able to accompany my own students. My teacher thinks my goal should be to stay one step ahead of my kids. My daughter is taking grade 2 piano just before mine.

Better go and practise....

I like that goal. I sort of wish I had beginner aquaintances to be competative with, but sadly my best friend has G5, and my singing pupil has G4, so my c. G1-2 skills are not really likely to overtake them any time soon!

ETA: Oo, got my exam date through for my wee pupil! Seems I have 4 weeks as well!

You can always keep in touch with me. See which of us can get to grade 5 first.... My teacher said I had to do an exam as it would focus my practising.

I'm only getting one lesson a month, so you might win... I apparently don't have to take Grade 1 per se, but I do apparently have to sit it with my teacher marking Apparently she marks about 10% harder than the examiner would!

I'm doing Gr 7 trombone and quite apart from thinking I may have been a bit overambitious, I realise I'm playing a piece by a composer whose name I can't pronounce. Does anyone know how to say Derek Borgeois?
Is it "Bor-joys" or "Bor-jwuz"?

I don't want the examiner to think I'm clueless, well, at least, not before he's heard my scales...

It's jwa - a as in hat. It's French. Soft sounding j (without the "d" sound at the beginning) First vowel is more of an oo.

What else are you playing? And how can scales be difficult. Trombone scales are great fun. Start anywhere. Move slide up two positions, move up two, move up one etc... Got to be the easiest instrument ever for scales. Well ok, harmonic minor - move up three eek!!

Hmm. You're right that the scales can be done by working in intervals but sadly the trombone isn't long enough to be able to fit all the notes in one go, so when you reach the top of the slide you have to go back out again, blow a bit harder and get onto the next harmonic. The higher up the scale you go, the less you go back out and the more scope there is for forgetting this and finding you should have turned round earlier, at which point you realise you have no idea where you are. And you get the same issue descending. I think perhaps strings have this sort of problem too. The only answer is hours and hours of practice.

I'm doing Bruckner's Ave Maria (beautiful piece) and Jim Parker's Dances with Bears (great fun). I like the Borgeois too because it's got lots of variety.

I know. I have exactly the same problem with trombone scales. Remembering which position you have to go to after you get to the top. But if you can think about just moving up the slide in intervals it does make it easier.

Good luck. Sounds like you'll have great fun

Date received today for Grade 7 oboe. 27th Nov. Nurse get my blood pressure pills.

At least that's more notice than I've had previously. Now, where did I put that oboe?

Best of luck. You've plenty of time to prepare so blood pressure pills not required. Leave nurse to find oboe while you sit down and work out your final practice schedule! (I'm still waiting to hear when the exam will be and am therefore still in headless chicken phase.)

Just got my date through as well...28th Nov. So I have 5 weeks..hm...

Alex

I prepared the Bach, Wilder Reiter and Stroll On. For financial reasons I will have to do the exam as a mock only, which is next week.



I'll keep you posted, I've had my receipt, I kind of hoped maybe they'd not receive my entry but no such luck, I'm in now!