Ok......my scales are ok except that I don't think my responce for the dominant 7th are fast enough(may be like 3 seconds) coz I tend to count a 5th and start playing instead of just hear and play. Should I memorize them or keep it this way?
The problem with me is I always get excited ( hands start to freeze..etc) in the exam and might rush as in the speed keeps accelerating.

First piece is ok.
2nd piece: I am worried I hurry to much and get locked at the ornaments..hopefully I can practice it out.
3rd: This is a romantic period one and in grade 7 and 6 I have always been getting 28 for romantic period pieces but I should be careful with the far notes.

Sight-reading is better than grade 7. I donno why but it seems easier now. It's just when I get many accidentals then I might forget what is sharpen or flatten.

Aurul is ######!!!! I can't hear the left part and that means A is gone ,B, I can't sing but I might get rhythm right, C I can't hear down part but I know it either modulates to minor or major so 50%.D is the only thing I can do well( the talk about anything bout the piece)My sister is as bad in singing but she got 12/18 for the aurul and she said the examiner is impressed with her D. Has anyone got like this before?

This is my last grade and I don't wanna mess up. My teacher has high hopes on me and she placed me in the June exam while my friends got the August one. And those who failed last year are going in the June one too. I really need help on singing!

Hi tzl_tzl,

I'm due to take grade 8 soon (am awaiting my exam date - nervously!) so i know what you are feeling.


With regard to scales I memorise them so that hopefully that should cover any nerves that might throw me off course.

My first piece is OK...
2nd piece isn't as good as I'd like.. it's the Beethoven Alla Tedesca and i tend to hurry a little and also there are a few places where i'm likely to get my fingers in a twist.
3rd Piece is OK. I'm happier with this piece although it is still difficult...

Sight reading - well it's OK, not great.
Aurals, getting better. I am best at the D test like you - sight singing is OK, it's just the chord progression i can't do.

Best of luck to you. I hope it goes well and let me know how it went!!!!

I did my grade 8, not on piano on recorder, a few years ago. When I went in my pieces were fine.... I hvae never really had a problem with my pieces in exams. But my Aural skills were little to be desired. Why not try adn get the CD or tape with the Aural test exercises on them? That helped me so much.....?

Great...I just found out that a bit of my B piece page is torn. Must be me turning the page too hard.

what pieces are you all doing? im doing
a:allemande
b:allegro assai and
c:des andenken petofis

btw how are we ment 2 turn the pages it the piece is rreally fast...

QUOTE

btw how are we ment 2 turn the pages it the piece is rreally fast...

If you can't find a place with a hand free to turn over then you can copy a page.
Trouble is that is not so good if you have more than one bad turnover....

I thought that you are able to have a page turner in Grade 8 piano/harp etc exams?? Or is this just a vicious rumour that I have heard?

I had 2 pages copied for my A...the allemande too.
one page copied for B:sonata in C by mozart
N I can turn my C impromtu without any interuption.

Good luck tzl tzl. I found grade 8 aurals difficult, but only practise can improve it. Sight reading, nah, hate sight reading. And yes, you can copy pages for page turns. This is covered by the Code of Fair Practice, which gives accepted uses of photocopying.

QUOTE (ruthypegs @ May 19 2005, 06:26 PM)

I thought that you are able to have a page turner in Grade 8 piano/harp etc exams??  Or is this just a vicious rumour that I have heard?

You are so long as you apply to the board in advance (at the time of application) and you can convince them there's no possible alternative.

How do you guys listen for the bottom part, maybe your tactics might be usefull. Thanx

Hi tzl-tzl,
I'm also going to take my Grade 8 exam this month. Whoayo...it's approaching..For me, to hear the bottom melody, I've to be 100% concentrate. & Try to ignore the higher pitching melody lines. Actually quite confusing coz sometimes will be influnced easily by the higher pitching melody.

QUOTE (tzl_tzl @ May 21 2005, 12:48 AM)

How do you guys listen for the bottom part, maybe your tactics might be useful.

I really hate that part of aurals!!! I'm a soprano (usually first) and have absolutely no problem identifying the top parts, but the bottom - hello??

Haven't developed any tactics yet, I'm afraid. What helps, though, is to play the whole thing an octave higher when you practise aurals, because then the bottom part is in a singable range.

I think during auruls i will stand at the back of left part of the piano and hopefully I can hear something

Good luck. Aurals really is a pain at this stage, isn't it?

no panic la....
my G7 piano on thursday this week...which means four days later

no panic!! No nervous!! Just like practising as usual ...
Goodluck though.

Something has been puzzling me for a long time - why does everyone on this forum seem to refer to 'aurals' rather than 'aural'????

QUOTE (Cyrilla @ May 23 2005, 03:12 AM)

Something has been puzzling me for a long time - why does everyone on this forum seem to refer to 'aurals' rather than 'aural'????

Most probably cause someone started using it and everyone followed...lol ..gotta watch my english

QUOTE (Cyrilla @ May 22 2005, 07:12 PM)

Something has been puzzling me for a long time - why does everyone on this forum seem to refer to 'aurals' rather than 'aural'????

Well............. even if we don't like the plural "aurals", at least the spelling of the word "aural" is correct if you see what I mean.

I've always thought it strange that "aural" and "oral" sound the same, and at times have a similar context - just that one is ear and one is mouth!

Yes lets get back to the Aural Tests shall we?

At school we used "aural tests" and "aurals" interchangeably - aurals being accepted "shorthand".