Hi

I know this is a abrsm forum, but is there anyone here who does the LCM exams?

I do them as well as the ABRSM!

Gae

I am working towards the ALCM exam but have no experience of entering pupils.

I have the LLCM and wouldnt mind going for the DipLCM too! i had 7 pupils going for exams last septemeber and they all passed with merit!

whats the difference between LCM and ABRSM exams?

I used to use LCM exams , then gradually moved over to ABRSM for all classical grades, but now as I have a couple of students I've inherited from another teacher who've been doing LCM since grade 1, I've been preparing them for LCM grades. It's been an interesting experience-the basic structure of the exam-ie scales, 3 pieces, sight reading, aural, is exactly the same. They also have to answer short viva voce questions on the pieces. I found the pieces on the LCM list very melodically appealing and enjoyable-to be honest personally I prefer the ones in the LCM 'official' grade book to the AB grade 4 for last year-although that doesn't take into account the alternative pieces. It's also very useful to have the scales and brief examples of aural and sight reading in the one book for LCM. On the minus side, the sight reading examples are much easier than AB, and there's no online entry, (although they're setting this up) which I really miss. Also there are fewer exam centres. There's no requirement for students to pass grade 5 theory until they want to do a grade 8 practical for LCM.

The LCM is a bit easier than the ABRSM, isn't it??? I mean if you compare their grade 8 with the ABRSM grade 8, and the other grades too.

QUOTE (DGA @ Feb 17 2005, 08:32 AM)

The LCM is a bit easier than the ABRSM, isn't it??? I mean if you compare their grade 8 with the ABRSM grade 8, and the other grades too.

well look at the abrsm and guildhall syllabuses for higher grades-there are differences there as well

i enter my students for classical exams in singing with the ABRSM, but some of my students are interested in popular music and musical theatre in which case i enter them for the LCM exams and I find them generally easier.

Dont forget, the LCM also do Leisure Play and Keyboard exams for those who dont want to do the traditional Piano exams!

Gae

I have done grades 1 to 3 piano with LCM but prefer the pieces inAB for G4 this time.
LCM are more pleasurable to play - more of a tune if you like. AND the sight readings are more tuneful too.

No. I don't agree that LCM are easier than AB. It's how easy you find the pieces to play whch makes it easier or harder I think. Nothing to do with different boards.
They both have the same requirements for each grade. I did actually phone AB to ask if there is any difference and they told me they were both equal at each grade.

Fiona

I've just looked at the LCM flute syllabus, and there's a huge discrepancy between pieces set for the same grade. Eg in the flute Grade 6 syllabus, candidates can choose to play the Faure Sicilienne (Grade 5 for all other boards) or the Rutter Jazz Waltz (Grade 8 for the ABRSM).

One thing I've noticed, though, is that you don't seem to have to sing for the aural tests.

not having to sing for the aural tests could be a huge plus for boys with breaking voices. I agree that the pieces are immediatley appealing to youngsters-very melodic and tuneful. I haven't used the Leisure Play exams as such, but am using the syllabus to add to the books I recommend to adults and teen students. I haven't used LCM for enough grades recently to be able to comment on the standard compared to the AB.

QUOTE (andante_in_c @ Feb 17 2005, 02:24 PM)

I've just looked at the LCM flute syllabus, and there's a huge discrepancy between pieces set for the same grade. Eg in the flute Grade 6 syllabus, candidates can choose to play the Faure Sicilienne (Grade 5 for all other boards) or the Rutter Jazz Waltz (Grade 8 for the ABRSM).

That's crazy. I'd say even if the Faure is played really beautifully it's probably still easier to play than playing that Rutter Waltz badly. I mean, I could practically sightread the Faure and play it OK, the Rutter I'm learning a bar at a time!

I am doing Grade 7 in a couple of weeks, and have briefly looked at the Rutter Waltz and that is not an easy piece!

Actually there's a choice between the Waltz, the Ostinato and the Rondeau. The Rondeau is even harder than the Waltz at the end - I've never found a way of playing the last few bars (if you have, please let me know which fingerings work) and some of the trills (G3-A3) are very difficult on a flute with a split-E as the standard trill fingering won't work.

QUOTE (andante_in_c @ Feb 17 2005, 09:01 PM)

The Rondeau is even harder than the Waltz at the end - I've never found a way of playing the last few bars (if you have, please let me know which fingerings work)

insane... I think I know the bit you mean... I haven't ever even tried it. I just listen on the cd and think "wow". No way that is grade 6, even appallingly badly played...

The Ostinato is probably the easiest of the 3, I have conquered that, but the other 2 are very difficult...grade 6?! What do they have for Grade 8?

The Faure Fantasie and the Godard Valse amongst others. The Faure is a DipABRSM piece, and the Valse is the hardest movement of the Suite de Trois Morceaux which is on the LRSM syllabus.

The good old Poulenc first movement is there as well.

Hehe, sounds like a real variety of pieces for the different grades...weird! I wonder who chooses them.

bizarre. I wonder how they choose their repertoire...

A friend of mine who is a very good pianist has just taken grade 7 LCM and got a merit, but he is a fantastic sight reader and has great "play by ear" skills on piano.

Also, the differences in piece may be due to how well the piece must be played to gain the pass mark for it, which is why some pieces which are common to many exam syllabuses are on different grade levels.

The viva voce section, in my humble opinion, is useful to creating a balanced musical ability rather than sheer brilliance on an instrument. Trinity exams also have a viva voce section.

hornplayer

QUOTE (hornplayer @ Feb 18 2005, 12:44 PM)

Also, the differences in piece may be due to how well the piece must be played to gain the pass mark for it, which is why some pieces which are common to many exam syllabuses are on different grade levels.

That's fine, up to a point, but the difference in standard between the Faure and the Rutter mentioned above is HUGE. The average grade 6 flautist would make easy work of the Faure, and should IMO be able to play it musically and convincingly, but the Rutter... the Waltz is frankly HARD! and the Rondeau - well... a lot of long hours practicing bar by bar and getting fingers round the difficult notes... I mean, andante in c, who is aiming towards LRSM, has trouble with the end couple of bars...! to even play either of those pieces reasonably accurately, forget about expression and musicality, would be very hard work for an average grade 6 flautist. Crazy.

Yes, I did Grade 6 a year ago, and doing grade 7 in 2 weeks, and I can play the Waltz very, very, very slowly, and bars of the Rondeau, but I would have to work on them for a lot of time for them to be polished enough to play the in the exam.

Or to put it another way, the entire Rutter Suite Antique is set for DipABRSM and these three movements are harder technically than the other three.

My goodness! How weird! I wonder why there are such pieces in the list for Grade 6.