Hi!

Sorry if this seems like a daft question, but I thought it best to be sure....

For the piano grade 8 syllabus, it says candidates may choose a piece from each of the 3 lists - A, B and C.

I noticed the first few pieces at the beginning of each list are grouped together by brackets saying (Selected piano exam pieces 2005-2006)

Is this just because they are all in one book, or because they are the only available pieces to choose from for 2005-2006? Or is it fine to pick any piece from the entire list?

Sorry, but it has been years since I last did an exam, and I'm entering myself this time. I ask because there is one piece from each list which I can already play well, and want to make sure I won't go into the exam and be told I've picked the wrong ones! I always meant to get my grade 8 and I really want to do it now so I can work towards the diploma. Not having to learn new pieces would save a lot of time! Though it might be a bit of a cheat....

thanks,

Amanda xx

They are the ones which are in the book published by ABRSM as Selected Pieces for the grade.
You can choose ANY from the lists.

They are bracketed because they are published together in one book.
Unusually (compared with lower grades) the book of collected pieces has more from group C than from A and B (I guess this is because there are 15 group C choices and not a mere 6 at grade 8);
specifically it contains A 1 to 3, B 1 to 3 and C 1 to 6.

Hope this is what you needed. I have the grade 8 book in front of me so am checking as I type.

Thank you so much!

That's such a relief! This means I have more time to get my scales back up to speed They are the only thing I've really let slide since I last took an exam (about 7 years ago).

I feel a bit silly now lol! Still, I would have felt sillier if I had been sent home from the exam in disgrace....

I'm really grateful thanks again!

Amanda xx

Hey - don't feel silly!
The only silly question is the one you DON'T ask!
Good luck with your preparation.

Thanks!

I hope when I've got 25 years of teaching behind me I'll be like you and help out the newbies xxxxx

Amanda,

So, do I understand you correctly in that you are teaching yourself grade 8? I have had lessons for grades 1-7 but I am considering teaching myself grade 8 since money is tight. I just hope I can get myself through it without any outside help. How do you feel about this? I hope I can perhaps just have a few lessons to steer me in the right direction.

Interested,

Shelton

Hi!

Yes, basically I just got the syllabus and started work myself! I stopped taking lessons when I was 19 - 6 years ago. Although my teacher was a wonderful musician and a lovely guy, I think he was beginning to struggle with me a bit once I passed grade 7. I kept up playing through university, and when I decided piano teaching was what I wanted to do, thought I'd better get the rest of my qualifications! I'd no idea I was at grade 8 standard playing until I looked at the list of pieces and breathed a sigh of relief!

I'm in the same position as you regarding money being tight

I know the aural part won't be a problem, and I think scales are just one of those things you just need to practise. If you have a metronome you can just look up the scale speed, so you know you're doing them right! Everything is so easy to look up nowadays with the internet, so I've usually been able to find the answer to anything I'm not sure about.

The lovely thing is that the pieces for grade 8 are really enjoyable to play, so it's not as if it's such a chore! They don't feel like "exam" pieces, if you know what I mean!

I think I will go to a teacher I know closer to the exam, just to get an opinion/confidence boost before I go ahead with it. I don't want the examiner to be the first person I perfom the pieces for.

Good luck with the the work! I've really thrown myself into it and I feel I'm progressing well enough not to have to to go back to lessons every week.

Of course it's different for everyone, but you could always give it a try and see how it goes. Just get stuck in, but don't be afraid to get support if you need it I hope you'll get a great sense of satisfaction from it!

Amanda xx

Amanda - the very best of luck with this! About five years ago I did the same, although in my case it was more than 15 years since my last piano lesson (I gave up having just failed grade 7: trying to do too much at once in O'Level year I think!). I didn't buy the ABRSM book at all -just looked through my music collection until there were three pieces I had and thought there was a chance I could play! (I think it was Bach P&F in D major, book 1, a Mozart Sonata in Bb 1st movt and a Chopin Prelude). To my delight I scored 130 - I suspect the examiner was being kind to an "older candidate"!

Some tips from my experience:

Scales are really the "killer" here- have them on cards or a chart so you can check you don't always practice the same ones. I found "hands a third apart" some of the trickiest!

If you do decide to have a couple of lessons, it's probably worth leaving enough time for you to make any changes suggested, rather than waiting until right before the exam date when it may be too late to alter "bad habits"

Some exam centres allow you to book time on the exam piano for a pre-exam rehearsal - this would be very useful!

Have you got a friend who could give you a mock exam??

LOts of sight reading practice - they have a team of sadistic composers dedicated to writing sight reading exam pieces in obscure keys & time signatures!

Best of luck!

Thank you!

Yes - that's good advice to let someone hear me play while I still have time to fix any problems!

One of the pieces (Debussy's Arabesque no.1) is one I played for A'level. I just happened to pick it because I loved it. I've gone for Scarlatti, to make a change from Bach, and Mozart's Sonata in C.

I really need to get stuck into the scales, and force myself to play the one's I don't like!

I think the sight-reading music they give you is purposely atrocious so you can't predict where the melody is going to go! The tunes are just excrutiating

I know a teacher who is very familiar with a.b.r.s.m exams, and would be able to tell me if I'm up to scratch, so that's handy!

Well done on your distinction - that's some achievement! I don't have the book yet either - I already had copies of the pieces. I might buy it for the exam though, as they are a bit tatty!

Thanks for the help,

Amanda