I'm doing my grade 8 piano this term (having failed it once) and just wondered what pieces everyone else was doing? I'm playing:
A1- Sarabande & Rondeaux (Bach)
B1- Allegro (Beethoven)
C14- Moment Musical (Rachmaninov)
Anyone else taking it this term?
Btw- (part of the reason i failed my last exam)- how on earth do you get your scales as fast as in the book?-especially 3rd & 6th apart??

QUOTE (debussy_fanatic @ Apr 14 2004, 08:30 AM)

Btw- (part of the reason i failed my last exam)- how on earth do you get your scales as fast as in the book?-especially 3rd & 6th apart??

im not doing grade 8 but i would think that the accuracy of the scales are more important than speed. of course if last time the examiner commented that they were too slow then you have no choice but to try to get them faster!!

my friend is doing grade 8 piano(not sure when) and she is playing A1 and B1 as well!! i know what she is playing for her C piece!!

Nat

I'm also taking the exam in the summer term this year and am playing:
A2 Handel Fugue in Gm
B1 Beethoven Allegro (although im playing the Schubert aswell)
C8 Chopin Waltz

Did you use those pieces last time when you failed? Because they normally reccomend that you change pieces if you resit the exam.
I don't find scales a problem anymore - the 8ves and arpeggios took a while to get up to speed but I practise them quite a lot and i find them fairly easy now. You just need to know the fingering so there's no way you can be unsure of what you're doing. 3rds and 6ths took a while to learn the fingering, but i find them easier than 8ves as theyre quite a bit slower (minim = 63 rather than minim = 88 for the 8ves!) Scales just need to be learnt thoroughly - after that they stay with you as a great way of building technique, they certainly helped mine. Good luck with the exam!

btw I am also a HUGE debussy fan - just ordered a CD of his complete works for piano played by Pascal Roge. Actually when I did the aural for grade 7 viola last week, test D was a piece by Debussy....and I guessed the correct composer...the examiner just smiled

practise practise practise.

lol.

gotta noe the fingerings well i guess.

certain parts, esp minor keys - are pretty demanding.

I have problems with B minor 6th apart. but then, daily practice has kinda smoothen it out.

I'm doin bach too.

I'm also taking Grade 8 Piano this term. The pieces I will be playing are:

A1: Sarabande and Rondeaux by J.S Bach
B1: Allegro (1st mvt. from Sonata in F minor) by Beethoven
C7: Intermezzo in Bb by Brahms

I know what you mean about the scales. I personally can't stand any of the staccato ones! What mark did you get debussy_fanatic in your first attempt at Grade 8? I would be interested to hear any of the comments the examiner made if you wouldn't mind - especially about pieces A1 and B1. Also, how do you find the aural? - the test I always struggle on is singing the lowest part of three!! Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated.

JLambert

hannah- no i didn't use those pieces last time.
i used pieces from the old list- i played the Shostakovich prelude & fugue, the Schubert sonata and Chopin's Nocturne in E.

I also have a CD of the complete works of debussy by martin jones it includes some of the pieces written for two pianos but adapted for solo- some of these, such as 'En bateau' are very nice. Have you heard any recordings of Debussy performed by Noriko Ogawa? in my opinion she's the best debussy interpreter in the world.

Ah yes, En bateau is lovely - i have a friend who plays flute and I accompanied her in this piece.
I've heard about Noriko Ogawa being a Debussy specialist, haven't heard her recordings though. I heard her playing at the Welsh Proms last year though, with Rachmaninov's Second Concerto and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue - very enjoyable!
btw I am also a fan of Shostakovich - must check out the preludes and fugues.

I havnt picked an A piece because I dont like the ones in the book... and I cant seem to find ANY of the A alternatives... but for B:
Sonata in D... Mozart...I hope it's the right one though
C:
Walse... (Godness know what key it's in) by Chopin...I hope it's the right one also... it's got a kool intro ... like a mental hype I reckon

but but... I'd really appriciate it if someone could send me a copy of ANY of the alternative pieces for list A... because I really need to get a move on!!! argh...

And... If anyone has a copy of Rachmaninoff's MOMENT MUSICAL... can you please tell me!! I dont think there's a single copy in Christchurch!! argh.....!!!

Here is a link to a page containing the Bach and one to a page containing one of the Scarlatti pieces. If you actually want to play them I would advise you to buy the recommended (or another good) edition for two reasons: 1) not all of the free editions are very good 2) you may have an argument on your hands when you go into the exam if you don't! These should be good enough for you to get an idea of which one you want to buy though.

Xiaoyi - take a look on www.sheetmusicarchive.net - they have a lot of pieces, which no doubt include some of the alternative pieces for list A - i know they have the Handel Suite. At least that way you get to try out the pieces instead of having to spend lots of money buying them all!
You can check if the mozart sonata is the right one by looking at the Kochel number, eg K.157 etc

Thank's a bunch guys! and... when I finally decide which piece I'm going to play, I can order it from abrsm right? Thank's again!!