i want ask those who had passed grade 8 piano exam~did you play wrong notes on your scales ?? i am very afraid becus my freind told me that eventhough he had played all notes correctly,he still got about 18/21 only...yet i had made lots of mistakes on my scale....! i don;t want to fail the exam......!

I'm just about to do my scales and I make mistakes on the harmonic 6ths as my brain does not like to have the split vison required to play this type of scale.
Sorry I can't help you with regards the marking system but I suppose all mistakes effect the score in some way I'm sure as they are after all technical excercises as opposed to the musical performances of the pieces.
What speed are the scales to be played? 80bpm on the minim? Also, are the scales in 3rds and 6ths at the same speed or a bit slower. The reason I'm asking is because I have learnt them all from memory and they dont seem to have the tempo markings in the syllabus. I suppose I could just buy the scales book but its a bit of a waste of money when I can already do the scales.
Thanks

Gae

one or two wrong notes shouldn't matter too much. Keep practicing and you should be fine! Also, just because you made a lot of mistakes on the scales doesn't mean you'll fail the exam!! When is your exam?
Good luck!

Have you already taken the exam? If so, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see what the results say. It's very possible that your friend only got 18/21 because perhaps his tone was uneven, or perhaps his tempo wavered slightly, even though it was note-perfect. It's not just about what notes you play, but how you play them as well!!

Even if you make major mistakes in your scales, it doesn't mean that you'll fail. The examiner looks at your playing / performance as a whole. I had a student doing his Grade 6 and on one of the pieces, he made a very major mistake which he was very embarrassed about, but he still got a distinction even though he was convinced he failed!

Good luck,

Mrs M

Gae... Grade 8 minimum speeds for scales ...

Octave apart... minim 88
3rds and 6ths .... minim 63
3rds separate hands ... minim 52
chromatic in minor 3rds... minim 76
All arpeggios... minim 66

sbhoa was kind, but in future...all the minimum speeds are available in the booklet "these music exams" which is also available online: http://www.abrsm.org/resources/theseMusicExams.pdf

Thanks sbhoa.
I didn't realise the chromatic minor thirds were so fast!!
I'll have to start practicing them!!

Gae

FAST???

I go faster than that without even trying.....
Then again they were my late teachers favourites

QUOTE (sbhoa @ May 26 2005, 03:28 PM)

Gae... Grade 8 minimum speeds for scales ... Octave apart... minim 88 3rds and 6ths .... minim 63 3rds separate hands ... minim 52 chromatic in minor 3rds... minim 76 All arpeggios... minim 66

Where did you get these speeds from, sbhoa? They're not in 'These Music Exams' except for the standard scale and arpeggio times.

Don't worry! I needed a few attempts at B minor (embarassing - I could do all the harder ones!) in my last exam and still got 20/21. Granted it wasn't grade 8, but I think they'll forgive you slips and attempts if you do the phrasing well and stay in tune etc.

In the scale book for the grade.

Well, I'll be taking my grade 8 also.
I guess you need to achieve the minimum speed stated on your scales book and it has to remain consistent for the other scales of the same category. Also, the tone must be even.

the rest are printed in the abrsm scale book

QUOTE (sbhoa @ May 27 2005, 05:01 PM)

In the scale book for the grade.

Ah, that explains it. I have the big all-purpose scale book so do not possess the Grade 8 scale book. I'm pleased to know we aren't expected to get all our scales to the same speed, but disappointed I didn't know this earlier.

Thanks for sharing the information.