Hi,

I'm planning on taking grade 8 in the autumn session and have been practicing for it since Feb/March. I've been teaching myself, and so far have been getting on ok but have now got a bit of a dilema.

I have been learning A1 - Bach, B1 - Clementi and C - Chopin from alternative list. I can play the Bach Prelude fairly well, nearly up to tempo without mistakes etc. I can play the other two pieces all the way through, about 3/4 of the advised tempo but with a few more areas to work on.

The reason for my dilema is that about a month ago I started practicing the Bach Fugue and just can't seem to get my fingers round it. I'm considering learning the Soler instead as it seems much more suited to my style.
Heres the questions - Do you honestly think that I would be making a mistake to start learning a new piece so late on? Its a real toss up to make, because I'm sure that I would never get the Fugue to the correct level and I know it would make me really nervous having to play it in the exam. But at the same time, with only a few months to go its likely that I may not have the time to get the Soler to the required level.

Has anyone else swapped pieces so near an exam? I've done it in the past but much earlier on.

Thanks!!

Well, you still have three or so months to work on the Fugue. If the Prelude and your other two pieces are to exam standard, you can focus your efforts on the Fugue. However, if the Soler suits your style and you can put all your time into that, I would suggest you might be able to get away with the change at this late stage.

How are your scales and sightreading? If these are to standard as well, it would help.

Do you have a tutor to advise you? As a tutor myself, I would be reluctant to advise the change and would be working on your shortcomings on the Fugue. What makes you think you would never get the Fugue to standard? This is something your tutor can advise you on too.

I think that's a long winded way of saying "Stick with the Bach!".


PS I did think about changing a piece in the Grade 5 exam in Spring last year. My tutor strongly advised against it (this was around about the same time before the exam as you are now). Instead, he gave me lots of help on fingerings, tempo etc. which helped give me more confidence with it.

I really can't help you here, but these are the things you would have to consider.

Are you generally a fast learner? How long does it normally take you to get a piece up to scratch? What about performing pieces? How long ahead do you begin practicing them? Are you good at keeping something going even if some spots sound dodgy? How difficult is the piece compared to the Bach? Do you get nervous easily if the piece has only been learnt for a month?

Good luck with your decision!

I have not swopped pieces before, but I did ask my student to, when I found that after 3 months learning a piece, she still had not got to the end yet. In the end she took a more complex but more 'tuneful' piece to her liking and learnt it in 1 month. But that was only Grade 6.

Thanks, my scales are ok - I can play them all but not quite memorised them. My sight reading is fine, I find that quite easy, same for aural.

The problem with the fugue is that complicated fingering is my downfall. I tend to learn pieces fairly quickly and it just worries me that after a months work I'm still really struggling with the fugue.

From past experience I would rather play a piece that I enjoy, so if by the time of the exam I was at the same level in the Soler and the Bach I would rather play the Soler as I feel I could put more expression into a piece that I was enjoying playing.

I might try learning the Soler and carrying on with the fugue as a back up just in case it all goes wrong, although that might mean that I do not have enough time to devote to either of them so they may both suffer.

So difficult to know what to do!!

Well, it seems to me that you might want to work at the Soler then. It might still be more worthwhile to do a piece you love and feel for (even if it's not completely perfect)than a piece you might be worrying about a lot in the exams. And the Bach is played before your other pieces, and admittedly not playing it well could affect the other pieces too.

Good luck!

How is the Prelude? If that is to exam standard, I would feel inclined to have Bach as first choice and have the Soler as back up. If the Prelude is good, you may lose a few points on the Fugue, but if the Soler is not good enough, you might lose more. Have you tried different fingering in the Fugue that suits you better? The fingerings on the piece are editorial suggestions, and can be changed to suit you if needs be.


Yes, it's a dilemma indeed!

If the exam entry has not gone in yet then there is no rush.
You have time to learn something else and enter when ready, though if you've learned that much since February/March I'm impressed and it seems as though you will manage it comfortably especially if the new piece suits your playing better.

Yes, you do seem to be able to learn fast, so I think a change is not as much of a problem.

Thanks that is a very good point about the prelude. I would say its nearly at exam standard just needs final touches. I think I will try different fingering for the fugue and how that goes, but at the same time try the Soler and see how that also goes.

It does seem a shame to start from the beginning again with a new piece when I'm in theory halfway there with the Bach.

I think it calls for a long session of working out fingering and trying as many different approaches as possible! Has anyone else done the fugue and have any tips on it?

Well, the music is in my car at the moment, but play all the entries of the themes and then the other part with it in one hand first and then work on the best fingering for that before working backwards on how to get there. Then do the same with the other hand. After all, those are the parts that must be prominent.
Sorry, that's all I can offer for the time being!

I'd say if you can play the prelude you're about 20-30% there, not half way. The prelude on its own would be a good solid grade 6 piece - the fugue is where the technical difficulty is brought in. The prelude is just a starter before the main-course fugue. Historically, preludes served two functions: for a performer to get a feel for an unfamiliar instrument without playing anything too taxing or risky; and to do this whilst the audience were still settling down and chatting.

I'm not saying this to discourage you or belittle your achievement thus far, it just seems you are inclined to learn the other piece at this point and wanted to reassure you that you won't lose a great deal by switching. Certainly not half the effort to learn a piece: much less than that. If you've not played a fugue before (or at least a solidly three-part invention), but have played something in the style of the other work, it would probably take you less time to get good results with the other piece than it would be to learn how to play fugue well and apply it to the Bach. Especially as you don't have a teacher - there really is a 'Kunst der Fuge' .

A tip for the future, although a little late now - if you learn a P&F in the future, learn the fugue first - or at least learn it alongside the prelude. Not least because a knowledge of the fugue will influence your performance of the prelude. Good luck with your exam .

Yes, I've just had a look at the Soler, and I think you'll be able to do it in no time, especially since you don't seem to have much problems with speed and octaves if you've been able to do the other two pieces as well as the Bach in 6 months, even though the Bach is shaky. Fugues are rather tricky finger-twisting stuff

Hi, I suggest you do the other Bach in the alternative pieces, the Bach Duet No.3. It's only 3 pages !! All my grade 8 students have changed to this one & they actually started with the Bach Prelude & Fugue earlier too. Learn a page a day & u are done in 3 days ! Remember to detach the quavers, and try to speed up your tempo & u are fine !!

I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. If you don't have a lot of experience with polyphonic music and other fugues, then it would be much better to choose another piece rather than try to teach yourself without benefit of a teacher, especially for a Grade 8 exam.

The Soler is quite fun. It is more of a slightly virtuoso piece with constant hand changeovers rather than one of the more difficult fugues from the WTC. You might also consider doing one of the Scarlattis.

I'd agree with what YAP has said, too. I'd imagine that the examiner will be listening most carefully to the intricacies of fugue. But I identified with your plight, because I had a similar one at Grade 8 myself, not with the first piece, but with the third. I poked at all of them, couldn't really get into any of them, and only plonked for one with a month and a half to go - and it ended up being my best mark! I've since found this to be the case with a lot of higher grade students - the one that they throw together at the last minute is often ultimately the best. I'm not sure why this should be; maybe people just focus more when the pressure is on, or maybe people are more realistic when time is limited with regard to what they will do best, irrespective of what they like the most. I'm not saying 'change your piece' - your teacher's advice will be the best - but don't rule it out!

I know this is almost Cliche now on here, but ill say it.

Get some lessons, at this stage espeiccaly as its grade 8, and is an expensive one to fail, get a teacher to go through the peices you know with you and 'polish (polish as in furniture, not the nationality) up' the pieces. It will really help and will probably get rid of some nerves. Not only that, but you can get some constructive criticism.

Id say get lessons up to the exam, if possible.

Absolutely agree. I misread your original post, and didn't realise until YAP said you hadn't got one. I would say a tutor is the only way you will get a fair assessment of what you need to do. Even if you only have fortnightly lessons, it's better than none at this stage. Or maybe you can go to a music service for a performance assessment?

I must have missed the fact that you don't have a teacher too. Consider the time and effort you're putting into this, not to mention the exam fee - a few lessons are imperative.

How fast does this need to go?
I sight-read it (very slowly) and am going to learn it just for fun (I'm working for g5 piano at the moment, so not looking at it as an exam piece!) and for general use.

I didn't know it was g8 piano when I tried it - I have it in a book with the word "easy" in the title so I just assumed it was something I could use for sight-reading practice. If I'd known I wouldn't have touched it. But as I got through it OK, I figure I may as well learn it.

No idea how fast I should aim to get it though.

T.