Hiya every1!

I was just wondering if anyone thinks that by the age of 16 I should be a higher standard on piano than grade 3.

Eveyone on the forums seems to be on really high grades!! Im currently waiting for my results from my grade 3 exam (OMG I hope i passed!)

I started playing piano when i was 13 simply because i was already playing electronic keyboard and my mom thought it was about time i learned to play a 'real' instrument!!

Over the passed 3 years i have tried to play tuba, euphonium, trombone, violin, guitar, recorder and flute. (only flute and recorder have stuck!)

So do you think that i am too old to be on this grade? (By the way i am not saying that grade 3 isnt an achievement cos it is!)

Any thoughts?
Charl

I did Grade V piano last year and I am much older than 16 In fact more than twice that age

So no I don't think you are too old to be on Grade III

Hiya Charl,

No you are not too old! You're never too old to learn to play a musical instrument. I'm in my 30s and on Grade 3. I hope to be learning new instruments when I'm in my 90s.

I'm 16 and on grade 3 too, and grade 3 flute, albeit i've only been playing flute for 3 months so thats quite good. Piano is great to play and i can play to a higher standard than grade III but for the exams, its not just sitting and playing really is it?ITs technicalities
Naomi xxxx

no it doesnt matter how old you are, as long as you enjoy it thats all that matters!!

good luck with your results and let us know!!

Nat

Hi Charl,

I'm twice your age and about to sit GIII piano in June.

Just enjoy what you play.

Grades are nothing compared to the enjoyment you get from playing an instrument.
Treat them as something to do alongside playing and not doing grades just for exams sake.

Good luck and enjoy !

Fiona

You should be pleased that you are so young doing grade 3. I did my grade 3 when I was 47 and wish that I could have been half that age. But actually age does not matter in the least! (except when you get to over 40!!)

Naomi and Charl what pieces did you do/are doing for grade 3? Have you looked at the grade 4 pieces yet?!

Nat

havent looked at grade 4 yet.havent decided on my A or B piece but i'm doing C:3-Tango and all my scales are done and dusted.I got perfect marks in my aurals last time so thats no battle.just the other 2 pieces
Naomi xxxx

congrats on getting perfect marks for aural! that is something i have never got and never will get!!!lol

Nat xx

Lol.I wish I could for my pieces.I'm good at sight reading too.my low point was dynamics in my last exam.Whats your forte?
Naomi xxxx

i dont have a forte!!!lol! i tend to have a habit of messing up exams!!!
my pieces are usually the best- scales not too bad but for grade 4 i actually know them all really well so im hoping for excellent marks there!!! sight reading isnt too bad if i dont panic and err.....dont get me started on aural!!lol
my best ever mark foraural was grade 2 piano 16/18 i was made up!!!

Nat

16/18 rocks man, lol.So where abouts are you from? We seem to be having like this huge conversation through these message boards, lol.Quite funny! Aurals are sucky but I'm good at listening and stuff.I have to be, lol, I do AS French, German, Music, and English so its pretty much a criteria, lol.
Naomi xxx

yes we have a few convo's goin on in different messages!!lol

Im from the North West not far from Chester. what bout u?

ooh im doing AS german, music, english and sociology so we r quite alike!!lol

Nat

Chester isn't that far from me.About an hour and a half.I live in Northumberland, 1/2 hour from Newcastle, and 20 minutes from Morpeth.

I do not like german, lol.Orals next monday, the 26th.i am so bricking it! Even more than ABRSM exams!

You play the clarinet don't you? and Sax? I'm piano, flute and a bit of other stuff, and voice.Do you sing? If so, what type of music? Musical role models?

Naomi xxxx

yeah german is well hard!!!

yes i play clarinet and sax and piano and violin and a bit of flute and a bit of guitar!!!!lollollol

well do i sing? hard question!!! i hate my voice and dont think i can sing anything in tune, but my head of music keeps trying to give me confidence and make me sing. i sang a solo at out xmas concert and every1 inc teachers husband and families etc kept coming up to me saying i was fantastic!!! so errrrrr.......i dunno!!!!

Musical role models-im not sure i have just one i like and look up loads of ppl famous and none famous!! i do love katie melua at the mo though i think she is great!!lol

Nat

oh my gosh, i adore Katie Melua, and Aled Jone, Donny Osmond, Norah Jones, Hayley Westenra, Charlotte church, etc etc!

I've just been playing flute for 3 months and i've never played better than today.My tone and vibrato just clicked, i nearly cried!

I sing everything but I get such satisfaction from singing opera and stuff like that.I sing solos all the time, but this time, my music teacher, who i am really close to, let me organise the talent show and it went so well.I came 3rd with this song i wrote and performed with friends, and my friends (they are usually older than me) were shocked and surprised at all the stuff i did, lol, and my music teachers, past and present were totally proud and my head teacher asked me to do it again next year and said he couldn't believe it so i'm now like a celebrity through the schools lol.Doesn't it give such a sense of satisfaction to do something like that, after all the tears and stress?the best part was my music teachers, cause i am really close to them all, past and present as said, and they were all so proud!My current music teacher, she is more of a child than us and steals our food.is yours like that?
Naomi xxxx

Katey Melua - something about her pronunciation of certain words makes me feel she tries far too hard to speak. It makes the hairs on my back stand up, which disturbs me, as I have no hairs on my back.

I see what you mean about the words, but the music, I don't know, its just so lilting and relaxing.I like all music though.Norah Jones is so talented!
Naomi xxxx

QUOTE (MBC_Tiger @ Apr 16 2004, 10:52 PM)

I see what you mean about the words, but the music, I don't know, its just so lilting and relaxing.I like all music though.Norah Jones is so talented! Naomi xxxx

Yes. "Feeling The Same Way" is a very emotional song. One of the few songs to make me cry.

lol davidmusic you amuse me very much!!

my music teacher(AS one)always asks me if i have any chocolate! i am VERY addicted to the stuff!! she always has a laugh and i think she is great, she also teaches me clarinet, sax and does singing with me.yes im really close to my 2 music teachers i think they are great and i really look up to them!!

well done on the talent show!!!

ooh so now your a celebrity!!!lol

Im a bit like that! some of the younger kids at break times go "ooh nat please play fur elise" and "your really good" and i go "no i wont play it for the 10th time" and " err no im not" lol!!!!!!!!

Nat

The music I write is like that but obviously, not as good, or I would be famous and raking it in. However, I do cry at some of her music. Mainly on the first album. The second is very country.
Naomi xxxx

Never have chocolate before singing. Wise advise from the Choristers.

I never do. Rule of an opera singer!
Naomi xxxx

QUOTE (DavidMusic @ Apr 16 2004, 10:48 PM)

Katey Melua - something about her pronunciation of certain words makes me feel she tries far too hard to speak. It makes the hairs on my back stand up, which disturbs me, as I have no hairs on my back.

Katey Melua - I don't really like her but I'm not really sure why? Maybe she does try too hard. She certainly isn't Joni Mitchell.

I don't think she tries to be Joni Mitchell.I'm not a Joni Mitchell fan anyway, myself but I do like a couple of her songs.
Naomi xxxx

QUOTE (MBC_Tiger @ Apr 17 2004, 09:48 PM)

I don't think she tries to be Joni Mitchell.

Yes you may be right I don't really know enough about her to comment.

I like people who try to be individual like Katie melua and Norah Jones.Refreshing!
Naomi xxxx

QUOTE (MBC_Tiger @ Apr 17 2004, 10:02 PM)

I like people who try to be individual like Katie melua and Norah Jones.Refreshing! Naomi xxxx

I like Norah Jones too.

Her new album is more country, and I prefer the first one, I have to say but they are both great.I really like Northumbrian music a lot right now too, plus I live in Northumberland.
Naomi xxxx

i really love katie melua's music its wondeful!

Me too.It just carries me away.
Naomi xxxx

Naomi and Nat- I know the topic of conversation's changed now but anyway- you're both doing German AS level? I'm really surprised- I'm doing German, Music, English, History and Biology- but there are only three people in my whole year at school (300 people in my year) doing German, and I know hardly anyone else who does. I'm finding it really hard actually- orals coming up soon! (I'm doing my presentation on Beethoven!). Don't you find it really useful for music? That's the reason I chose it anyway!

hgirl, I find it hard and orals, argh! Are you doing all your exams in the summer.What year are u in, 12 or 13? My presentation is on Mozart, and for French Joan of Arc.I also do Music and Eng.Lit.5 people in my german class.2 in music.4 in french. 28 in english!
Naomi xxxx

I'm in Lower Sixth (that's year 13 for me but I think in England it's year 12- we start school at 4). There's about 24 ppl in my eng.lit class, but I'm all alone in music!! It's because I'm doing it without any classes, so I just work on my own and check up with the music teachers in school every so often. In the proper music class in my year there's about 9 people I think. Oh- i miss French!

i hate german its really hard im droppin it next year,

2 ppl in german
2 in music
5 in sociology
6 in english!

yeah it is useful for music and the other way around!!
in zeitgiest 1 thre is a bit on mozart and i knew it all already!!

hgirl what board ru with for music

Nat

I'm dropping German too and we use zeitgeist as well.
Where do you live Hgirl?
Naomi xxxx

Oh no- don't drop German!! I'm dropping biology- it's so random compared to all my other artsy subjects! My German textbook is called Brennpunkt and there's a whole chapter dedicated to Beethoven and Mozart!
Emmmm I have no idea about exam boards... nearly sure it's the Northern ireland board (CCEA) because that's what we did for GCSE. (I'm from NI btw)

I have Brennpunkt also.I might wait til i get my results.I just dont like it right now!
Naomi xxxx

oh yes im dropping german

we dont have brennpunkt

its almost guarateed that ill fail german!!

i dont think i'll fail.perhaps a D?
naomi xxx

that's not very positive thinking! I'm disappointed in you!
I'm such an idiot- I always mess up my subject choices and then change my mind later (hence the having to do AS music all on my own cos I decided too late that I wanted to do it instead of biology!) and in 3rd year when I was picking my GCSES i decided I didn't want to german, then decided I did, and anyway, to cut a loooong story short I had to do german on my own as well, after school, with no proper classes! I basically had no GCSE teaching, which means I'm AWFUL at it now! I'm sure both of you are way better at German than I am so if you're getting Ds, what does that mean I'll get!lol

I got an A for French and German at GCSE but at AS a D is fairly good, then you get your A's and B's at A2
Naomi xxxx

QUOTE (MBC_Tiger @ Apr 17 2004, 11:23 PM)

i dont think i'll fail.perhaps a D? naomi xxx

mmmm...... maybe a D!!1 or an E!! if i could be bothered woth it id get a C but im have no desire to sit and write essays/babble on in german!! hence i will do really bad!!oh well its music i love!!!

Nat

Yeah I know I'll do really well in music!
Naomi xxxx