For pieces in the alternative list, can we use any old version or is there a set one as the 'original'? I have debussy arabesque 1 in a free book i got with my piano and it looks right but i'm not sure...i dont have to buy it again for the exam do i?

you can use any version of the music you play for an exam unless a specific arrangment of the music is needed. e.g. the Beethoven Op.79 Sonata calls for the AB edition, if i were to play it for Grade 8. i'd use my Schirmer Edition of the 32 Piano Sonatas

Be careful you dont' confuse "edition" and "arrangement".
They are not one and the same thing.

You can use any edition, unless one edition is specified.

An arrangement may mean the original is simplified and may in fact have some of the notes missing. Different editions are less likely to have interfered with the actual notes of the piece, but may have less fundamental differences in eg expression marks, phrasing, dynamics added, and that sort of thing.

You can't actually use any version of a piece, for instance some versions of Fur Elise have the whole middle section missing.

Crazy Purple Piano Freak, your edition of the Debussy Arabesque may be ok but I'd want to check it with a standard edition to make sure it's not altered or simplified in some way.

what i said is quoted (pretty much from the syllabus information) :|

I've not seen where in the syllabus where it states you may use any version of a piece.

It states you may use any EDITION of a piece unless a particular arrangment is specified.

I rest my original case.

i also said PRETTY MUCH

i rest MY case

Yes, there's a big difference between edition and version. It's most definitely worth checking that your edition is not a simplified arrangement of the pieces; if one ends up in the position of offering "a wrong piece or study" or "not being prepared to perform the whole of the work specified", then it's possible to get disqualified!

The syllabus states "Candidates may use any edition of the music, except where a particular arrangement or transcription is specified".

Maggiemay, you may well know... how do you tell the difference in the listings between suggested and specified arrangements? It's always worried me slightly - I wonder if it's just that I haven't come across a list which has a specific edition that MUST be used, but I find the wording of it a little confusing... maybe I'm just being a little dim... I often look at listings and am not entirely sure what the difference is in the wording between suggested and specified....

GCBS there's potentially a huge gap between a different edition and an arrangement, which may be drastically simplified.

"Pretty much" may not be near enough, and your original advice could just have been misleading.

Sarah - I've not had many issues with differing editions to date. As I understand it, specified would indicate that it must be identical or very similar, suggested seems to indicate that it's given as an example - but they may well mean more or less the same thing in the AB listings . Where the differences are in phrasing, suggestions of expression and similar, or perhaps in keyboard music where the notes are apportioned differently between the hands or staves, I don't think it's important. If the basic notes are different it's another matter of course.

Suggested is perhaps less definite than specific, but I'm not certain there is that distinction. Where I have been in doubt I have checked my edition with the stated one - perhaps in the music shop or have got a bit of advice online. If I'm in serious doubt I either get the specifed edition or if still not clear, I find another piece! (cop out!)

Of course there are instances where a thinner texture with fewer notes may actually be considered more authentic (early keyboard music for example) than a mid 20th century or slightly earlier edition with more notes and with the harmony filled out, although this may look more difficult to some players.

However with so many "easy play" arrangements on the market it would be all too easy for a student to produce a version of the piece that was nowhere near the standard required. Many of these arrangments give the title without indicating that the piece is incomplete, or not the same as the original.

This is an odd one actually and it would be interesting if the AB had to defend the case where someone played an easy edition which wasn't clearly indicated to be such. Given that the AB do state in the regulations that:



I bet they'd actually have a difficult time arguing legally that a candidate should fail if they do play from a simplified edition: after all they were allowed to use any edition as it said in the regulations... Unless providing an example edition in the syllabus implies specifying a particular arrangement or transcription; then again someone using a different, but equally difficult edition, with say one note different and an extra 'p' marking somewhere I guess could be disqualified if this is the case making the suggested edition therefore obligatory . Then again I'm not a legal expert and they've probably consulted one, so I'm sure they'll know what they're doing....

Having said all of that, this is of course just pedantic speculation, and in practice I would advise you to check your edition against one that you know to be correct (perhaps the one on the syllabus) to avoid simplified versions (particularly likely in pieces that come with pianos); failing that, if you have a good ear, check it against a recording of a professional to be sure. If it's any help we got a copy of the music for that in a book entitled '50 greats for the piano' free with our Yamaha Clavinova and it is the full version; so if it's that book you should be okay.

Thanks maggiemay... sounds like it's not me that's confused so much as the regulations which are confusing! Things like the Gluck for flute grade 5... I have two different arrangements of that, both similarly hard but quite difficult - I do wonder whether they are both equally "valid" - and it's more worrying when pieces are in "collections" - which many of my flute pieces are - and one can't necessarily check them against the "real thing" unless it's available in your local music shop - that's one time when you pianists have a real advantage!

AP: I wonder whether the AB have ever had to face such a problem.

The thing that I find most confusing is that, generally, it doesn't SAY in the syllabus whether the edition(s) they've listed are the specified ones or simply the suggested ones...

I think that's right Sarah - I kind of feel I know what they are trying to achieve, but it's quite difficult to put simply into short guidelines in the syllabus.

It seems it may be less of a problem for instruments that have the published books - at least there is a nucleus of material to start off with. I wonder if it would be possible for AB to publish a more comprehensive list of acceptable editions in some cases?

If a candidate produces a different edition in an exam, I suppose it's up to the examiner to make a decision on the spot. I've never known this happen but I guess it must happen now and then - anyone have experience of it?

I've had to source an alternative edition for one of my exam pieces as the original is out of print. I received details of it from the AB via email, so I plan to print out the email and take it with me on the day so if the examiner queries the discrepency I can show them that it's authorised. I realised, actually, since it's a harpsichord piece - a Byrd Pavana and Galliarda - and he wrote lots of them, I could probably play whichever one I liked, and the examiner would be none the wiser I have, however, made the effort to find the right one.

Yes... I guess the thing that sort of worries me is when there are one or two similar-level but quite different arrangements, whether one would get penalised... however, one of the ADVANTAGES to playing the flute is that the examiners seem to tend toward being less familiar with the repertoire, so maybe you can get away with having something slightly different anyway. I seem to recall that they have a right to ask to see the music you're playing from?

The thing that seems strange to me is that they make such a point about "any edition including those suggested except where one is specified" and then fail to make it clear when it's a specified edition and when it's just a suggestion! I guess sometimes it is obvious - eg especially when it's a piece that wasn't originally written for that instrument - but often it's not entirely clear.

Yes they do, if you're playing from memory you must take a copy of the score in case the examiner wishes to see it (not sure if this applies to singers who are required to play from memory). I wonder if this has anything to do with people memorising from photocopies and never buying the music .

I have a recording of MY music and the abrsm recording and they sound about the same...but i'd better check! Thanks!

Heh - yes, possibly! Also, with the less common instruments, it's so the examiner actually has a chance of seeing repertoire that they might not actually know, i would guess.