I have just started on the Grade 2 scales, and have managed to get hands together now Also started Haydn's Allegro off list A.
For light relief I am doing "Where is Love?" , which is actually more difficult than the Haydn
Anyone else at this level??
Beverley.

Not me ! but I have just had an adult take this exam.

He did the Haydn (I think it's delightful), Kabalevsky from the B group (he didn't like any of the ones in the first three) and Garage Sale. He found consistent scale fingering very difficult although I think we got there in the end.

I don't yet know how it went.

i be doing Balleto, Garage sale (hate that one), and Little Song

Sorry you hate Garage Sale, can't you do one you like??
Bev.

Have fun

One of my pupils is playing the Haydn "Allegro" in the summer term exams.

Like Maggie - I adore this piece

"Close To Danger" is good fun too - it reminds me of scary film music!

Nobody so far likes "Garage Sale" - myself included

I've just had a pupil take Grade 2 - he played the Allegro, The Bee and Close to Danger. He liked all of them, especially the Close to Danger. As we were getting ready for the exam I realised that all three of his pieces were melody in one hand with accompanying semiquavers. Although I did think of changing one of them so he at least played one in a different style, I left it in the end as he liked all of them, and I argued that at Grade 2 maybe it wasn't so important to get different styles of playing - hope I'm right, we'll see if the examiner says anything about it in his report.

I would be astonished if the examiner even considered marking the recital as a whole: At this level if it's on the list it's fine. Whether you may wish to get him to adopt & learn some different styles as you move on past the exam is another question entirely.

I was wondering about that too - I'm a Grade Two-er - only in Jazz Piano - and I'm learning scales at the moment - but I was wondering about whether I should have a balanced program as the three pieces I like best are very similar.

The General Regs for piano (and indeed, all of the other syllabus groups) has the following line in it:


However, there is nowhere in the mark scheme for this! Perhaps one for Ask the Chief Examiner (I'm going to post it now - I'm curious!!)

I think the word 'discretion' really says it all. There's an implied suggestion that it's better for the longterm progress of the candidate to be playing pieces that vary in style, but if certain criteria for the exam can be met by playing one from each list, then any choice within that limitation has to be acceptable. It becomes more difficult as we get more advanced, and more repertoire is availabe for the syllabus-setters, to play three pieces that are very similar in style for an exam.

I just passed my grade 2 piano exam (130)! I played Haydn: Allegro, R. Fuchs Wiegenliedchen (Cradle Song) and Pam Wedgwood: Garage Sale. I think I could have done a bit better - I made a few mistakes thanks to nerves but the part that I found the hardest was the sight reading. Of the scales I found B minor harmonic the hardest one. I found 2 handed scales hard at first but once I got the two hands together for one scale the others seemed to follow quite quickly.

Well done DSO. Glad you did well.
As I am further up the grades for flute, I chose 3 contrasting pieces for my Grade 1 as a matter of course, but I imagine it doesn't really matter too much at this stage.
Bev.

Same here! I'm finding the piano scales easier to master than the violin scales for some reason, but I'm not complaining.

Congratulations DSO

Normally I'd prefer my pupils to do pieces of different styles, even for a low grade exam, and always ensure that we do loads of different styles in between exams. However, the melody with accompaniment suited this pupil and he liked them so much that I decided that it didn't really matter.

My pupil found B minor harmonic the hardest too.

Yes to both these. I think we are losing b minor next syllabus at grade 2, aren't we ?

I found with this current grade 2 set of pieces it was all too easy to end up with two in either the same style or the same key. I agree it's not supposed to matter - but I really like to present as balanced a programme as we can.

I see that new scale/sight reading books will be published in July - can we find out now what the scale requirements are?

I quite like Garage Sale - and my daughter loves it! Which is just as well considering...

I don't get to choose the peices i learn.

Hopefully changing teachers in a few weeks though to my previous AMAZING teacher lol

Garage sale would be better with more of a structure. I find it too easy to be honest, it didnt challenge me at all.

I do however love the balletto.

I do however love the balletto.

Yes - me too. It has been a hard choice between this and Allegro several times.