Hi,

I'm going to be taking grade 2 violin this spring, and was wonder how many other forum members are going to be doing the exact same thing?

The pieces I have chosen are:
A) Menuet in G
B) Russischer Marsch
C) Napoleon Crossing the Alps.

I was wondering what others have chosen, and which pieces others our finding hardest. I'm having real tunning problems with Menuet in G.

Also, could someone please tell me, what speed should scales be played at for grade 2? I've been practicing at 60bpm, is that too slow?

Thanks, and good luck to everyone working towards their exams this spring!
LG

I did my grade 2 a couple of years ago. You've chosen some nice pieces there though. I really hated the Minuet and had lots of tuning problems so did the Mozart instead. I played different pieces to all of those in my exam but really liked your B and C list pieces. Actually I think I might go and play them again now!! Makes a change from grade 4 ones!!

Not sure about the scales. You're better to take them steady and get them right than rush them and have bad intonation etc.

My son did grade 2 violin last month. He did the same list B and C pieces but did Papageno's Song for list A. He had a few co-ordination problems with B and C mainly because he would never practise them slowly.

I don't know how fast the scales should go but his teacher was very insistent that they should have the rhythm specified in the syllabus (i.e. crotchets on the tonic quavers on the other notes). Like everything else he would not slow the scales down. Crotchet = 60 (given the mostly quaver rhythm) was probably about as slow as he could be persuaded to go and would be plenty fast enough I should think. No idea what speed he would have gone at in the exam! Go as fast as you can be sure of getting very good rhythm, tone and intonation, I don't think they expect them very fast at grade 2. Sorry not to be more help.

Good luck with it.

I will just 'paste' something quoted in the free booklet from ABRSM (these music exams..)

Recommended minimum speeds for
scales and arpeggios
Please refer to the piano, woodwind, brass and jazz scale books
published by the Board for further information.

Strings

Bowing will dictate the tempi of slurred scales and arpeggios for
strings. Scales and arpeggios with separate bows should be brisk,
using no more than half the bow length.
Guitarists should start scales at
e= 88 at Grade 1,
increasing to
e= 184 at Grade 4,
reaching
q= 120 by Grade 5,
q= 132 by Grade 6
and
q= 160 by Grade 8.

that's all it says in this booklet, maybe you can ask someone who has the ABRSM book on scales and arpeggios for grade 2 to have a look in there as it will say what is the minimum tempo.

I think you should play the scales faster than 60. 90 is probably about right; a pupil of mine played hers too slowly and got marked down because of it. Learn to play them a little faster than 90 and then 90 will seem slow (and easy)!

Violinia

Gosh you've got me worried about the scales now because I don't have a metronome! I'll check my speed with my teacher at my next lesson.

I'm hoping to take Grade 2 in June (does anyone know when the entry date closes??? because my teacher missed the march entry closing)

I have shocking nerves though so I'll be amazed if I can hold it together enough just to pass!!

I'm playing;
A - La morisque. I was going to play the Menuet but repeating the down bows at the 'f' and then 'p' sections makes my bow bounce too much with nerves and it happens less with La morisque. I like playing the Papageno Song.

B - Moon Sprites. I just love this one and know how to play it well. Please, please, please, let my nerves GO AWAY on the day because I can put a lot into this one. I can't get my fingers to go fast enough for the Russischer March although I really like it.

C - Moderato. I can put a lot into this and enjoy its challenges. I was going to play Napoleon but again, if I'm nervous my bow-shake ruins this one and I can manage the Moderato better... although I have a bit of bounce at the beginning of the third line where it goes from 'f' to 'p'!

My scales are mostly secure and my arpeggios are there if I take a second to think through the fingering. I hope everything will be 'automatic' by June so that I can enjoy playing the scales. It's just the B-flat arpeggio and the A-arpeggio that I need time with - everything else is fine.

Lets keep this thread going because it will be really interested to see how everyone progresses over the next 8weeks or so... although I don't want to turn it into a mark-competitions because, like I say, passing will be a real achievement for my nerves!!! (I'm such a wally )

I'm thinking of putting in for Grade 2 in November but have only just got the books so haven't discussed it with my teacher yet. I was interested to note everyones' comments about the various pieces they have chosen. I also suffer from nerves with the bow bouncing so will have to consider which pieces would be best for me to do.

I wish I was doing my grade 2 again. Grade 4 pieces were a challenge, and I took one look at my grade 5 book and said no way!!

Thanks for the help, I will!

Yes, my scales are coming along quiet nicely too, though I have problems with B flat major and F major. Finding the right place for my second finger gets me, I go too far back, and end up playing A and E. I too hope my scales will be automatic by June, I really must practise them more and get them up to speed!

Yes, I think we should keep this thread going too. I don't know any other violinist besides my teacher, so it's great to be able to talk to others at my level. hopfullly if either one of us finds problems at any piont we could help each other out. And I agree totally, no mark-competitions! Violin is a hard intrument to learn and nerves in an exam are terrible (I didn't score very highly in my grade 5 guitar this march through nerves! My hand was shaking at one piont, so I know what you mean). Passing is the main thing!

It sounds as if your playing is very good, I'm sure you will do very well and hopefully I will too!

It is possible to "test" the starting note for a piece or scale by quietly "dabbing" your finger on the string. In this case you would tap and hold the 2nd finger gently on the string where you think it should go and the string will vibrate quietly at the pitch it will give when you bow it. You can then move it around dabbing until you get the right pitch. If you very gently vibrate the open string first then dab the second finger to produce a minor 3rd (first two notes of Greensleeves or Brahms Lullaby or any minor arpeggio) you will be in the right spot. Hope that makes sense - a bit tricky to describe but easy to do with a bit of practise and can usually be done quietly enough that audience/examiner don't hear (I don't think examiners mind that kind of thing anyway as long as it's done quietly)

Thanks for the advice earplugs, I will try doing that before I play B and F major from now on and get used to doing it quietly!

That's a good tip - I'm always worried I don't start F major exactly in tune.

What about the aural tests for Grade 2 - are they difficult? I haven't done an aural test since my grade 8s over 20 years ago!!! and I was so stressed I can't remember a single thing about them

Do you think it's possible to over-practice the pieces? I'm actually trying not to play them every practice session (every second day at the moment) but to vary it with lots of other music so that I don't get fed up of the sound of them... in fact I'm practising the whole book and will probably make the final decision about which pieces to play much nearer the time.

Just tip about la Morisque. It has no intro and the accompanist is to come in at the same time. We didn't realise this would be a problem until the exam. It was my daughter's first thing in the exam. She nodded to the accompanist, as they had agreed, and started to play but the accompanist didn't start. This completely threw her and the piece went badly wrong at the beginning and she lost 6 marks which she should otherwise have had.

We will make sure we choose pieces with an intro next time!

Good luck with it.

I think you can over-practice the pieces, I know you can certainly over-play them. I try to vary my practise too, I'm learn other pieces as well, such as Canon in D. I think if I only played the exam pieces I would get bored very quickly, so I think play other pieces, or at least trying to, is very important for me too keep my interest in my exam pieces, if you know what I mean?



Thanks for the tip!

I just 'tested' myself with my scales and got 3 out of the 4 I played wrong with mistakes in the arpeggios too and I've been playing them for months now. I just couldn't get my brain to concentrate enough. I got the shoulders relaxed, the bow in the right place, a nice tone but then the notes were wrong! I just can't seem to do everything at once If I get the notes right the bow has slid up to the bridge or my shoulders are up round my ears..... it's all soooooo hard!!

Then I 'tested' my pieces, playing them all the way through with no stopping, and there were mistakes in them too - one of them I messed up two whole bars!!!!! but managed to keep going in the correct tempo so I wouldn't have lost my place.


Is it ever going to all fall into place????

Lottie, don't panic! For a start - a couple of mistakes here and there don't mean you'd fail!

One of the things which I've read and known several people use quite successfully is to concentrate on only one thing at a time... so one time through a piece (or scales, or arpeggios) concentrate on making a beautiful tone... next practice session, concentrate on playing as in tune as you can possibly manage... next time, concentrate on having your shoulder relaxed.

Trying to get everything right all at once NOW can often pile the pressure on so that NOTHING ends up being right.

A quote I recently came across from the flautist and pedagogue Geoffrey Gilbert: "When practising, try and do it right for just one bar - that's progress. Then the next time try to keep it right for two bars." Set small, achievable goals and aim for gradual progress. Things will fall into place - don't beat yourself up about it taking time

Well that's it!!!! My teacher has sent off the entry form!


My first exam in over twenty years is only weeks away!!!


(Gosh they're quite expensive too.. but my accompanist is only charging a fiver, including a practice the week before )

Go for it! - Good luck!

5 pounds is CHEAP! is it because they know you and they are doing it as a favour? Does anyone know what the 'standard rate' is as I 'might' do my grade one violin this coming june

The accompanist is a colleague of my teacher at a little music studio in a nearby town. I've heard a lot about the accompanist because she's an amazing keyboard player and plays in several bands as well as teaching classical music. I've heard she can do 'anything' on a piano and is incredibly sensitive with pupils doing exams so I'm very reassured.

I don't know, what is the standard rate for accompanists? She's charging £5 for a 15 minute practice session and then the exam itself but she'll be playing for quite a lot of people on the day.

I've paid £30 per hour in the past which for the person concerned is the same as they charge for piano lessons, and if that is a general rule then perhaps it is cheaper in some areas. You should expect to pay for rehearsal and travel time. Obviously savings can be made on travel if several candidates share an accompanist.

I don't know whether you would ever be asked for practise time to be paid (i.e. them practising on their own) I never have and it would certainly not be necessary for grade 2 violin.

I need a bit of help!

For grade 2 do I need to use my fourth finger for scales, or can I just use the open stings?

I haven't had a violin lesson in awhile due to easter and my teachers arangments, so I thought I'd ask here so I can have my scales right before my next lesson.

I think using fourth finger is a good idea as it has a nicer more rounded sound, but I find it easier to use the open strings at this stage, as it makes my tunning more consistant. Does it matter what way you do it?

I hope this makes sense - sorry if I'm being a bit confusing!



That's great lottie! I still haven't entered yet, but will do it next week after I've spoken with my teacher about it. She will be accompanying me...but she hasn't mentioned a price as of yet. Do you think I should ask her about it?

I have a book on scales for grade 2 (although I am not doing grade 2 but grade 1),
I have looked at this...
Apparently the only scale you need to do which includes 4th finger is the scale of B flat Major, in which you use 4th finger on string A and E, but this gives you respectively the notes E flat and B flat which you could not reproduce with an open string! So it seems that in this scale you have no choice anyway. All the other scales you don't have to use 4th finger, in fact my book suggests open strings, so it looks like you have to do open strings.

I find my book really useful, it is: 'Improve your scales' (grades 1-2 violin) by Paul Harris, publisher is Faber Music and costs £4.50.
It has all the suggested fingering and lots of exercises for mastering your scales
good luck

I don't think you "have" to use 4th finger or "have" to use open strings for the relevant notes (obviously Ab etc would be a challenge on open strings ) in any scale.

My son used open strings for grade 2 scales (except where already stated in Bb major) and got a good mark for them. His teacher is now in the process of switching him over to using 4th fingers. I think open strings makes tuning much easier and I suspect you would be more likely to lose marks if tuning went wrong than for a few open strings at this level.

Thanks for the help guys!

I agree with you earplugs, far better to use open strings (which does help with tunning) than use fourth finger and be out of tune!

I know it sounds stupid, but as I am taking my first ever string instrument this year, I never knew that you need an accompanist
I always thought that the examiner would be nice enough to play the piano part and all I have to do is to play the violin part...

If only it were that easy! Can I ask, what grade are you doing? Are you taking the exam this summer, or later in the year?

The daughter of a totally unmusical friend of mine was going to do Grade 1 trumpet. Shortly before the exam the teacher said to my friend: "Of course, she will need someone to accompany her." "That's all right," replied my friend brightly, "I'll be going with her - I need to do some shopping in town anyway!"

Bad news! I don't think I'm going to be able to take grade 2!

I have just got the dates for when I will be taking my GCSEs and they're in June, around the same time as the summer examinations. I would do both but my mother thinks it would be too much for me and I do too, as I've loads to revise and am a real worrier when it comes to exams.

Oh well, I'm not too disappointed as it's been really good working on the piece for grade 2 and playing them for so long has helped me to keep in tune. So, I guess I'll talk things over with my teacher and maybe start working towards grade 3 - I have no idea when I will be ready to take grade 3, hopefully the end of this year, failling that the start of next year....I know, I know, it's going to be really hard but so was grade 2 when I first began!

Not to worry! Like you said: carry on working at it, start on grade 3 repertoire etc, skip grade 2 and do grade 3 when you are ready if you want to that is!
Now you have to concentrate on the GCSEs, good luck with it!

Awwww that's a shame. But your school exams are very important and it's true you shouldn't overload yourself. Now you can just enjoy playing your violin for fun and a break from your studying.

Try not to worry too much about your exams; everybody always thinks they could study more etc but I'm sure you'll do your best. Look after yourself too over the exam period - it's important to take breaks and eat and sleep properly... school exams are a huge event when you're in the middle of them. So lots of luck and eat lots of sardines (brain food ) LOL LOL LOL!!!!

We'll maybe get a Grade 3 thread going for later in the year

Thanks!

Yes, it will be good just to play violin for fun again without exam worries! I'll try not to worry to much about GCSE, but I think for me avoiding worring about GCSEs is a harder task than actaully sitting them!
But still, I must relax and as you say get loads of sleep and food, and makes sure to take breaks! Thanks for the advice!

Good luck with your exam, and keep us all posted on how you get on!

I'm looking forward to start working toward grade 3 now. I think starting a grade 3 thread later in the year will be good, hopefully we'll both be sitting the exam next time though!

Hi all who are studying for Grade 2 violin.

I think (?) I have chosen what pieces I am going to do now. A Menuet in G, B Simple Gifts and C Napoleon Crossing the Alps. Though I have noticed that nobody seems to be going for Simple Gifts. Trouble is I feel that they are all a bit fast and I don't know whether I can play them at the right speed. Haven't made up my mind completely yet so will still practice all of them and talk to my teacher at next lesson.

I haven't actually registered for the exam yet either but will probably go for the November slot.

When I did my Grade 2, I did:
A) La Morisque
B) Moon Sprites
C) Napoleon Crossing the Alps

For me, my B piece was easiest, then my A piece. I loved Napoleon, such a lovely tune! It took me while to be able to get the right fingering and the right speed together though, so I struggled with that, but thankfully it went well. Sorry I can't help with your first two, but I didn't look at the ones I wasn't playing. Good luck, and don't forget to enjoy playing the jolly Napoleon!

Ellie Rose

Hey, i done the same peices as you apart from Peice B.

If you just relax it will come,

I love Napolean , its a great song, gets you really happy

do u have any other grades?

XLu

I play through the whole book quite often and I find getting the pitch, particularly the Eflat, in Simple Gifts quite hard work. I can do it but I'd be worried my nerves in the exam would make my pitch slide a little and then the piece would sound awful.

Am I the only person playing the Moderato? My teacher says I'm the first pupil she's had who is playing it - but it's not really a piece that appeals to kids when Napoleon's about I think they all seem fast on the CD I have so I'm going for accurate pitch rather than speed.

ARGHHHH only a few weeks until June now!!!!!! (I'm playing th aural test CD in the car just now and it seems quite hard!!!!!... but maybe that's because I'm concentrating on my driving )