hi all!
long time i didnt post here

actually i want to skip until grade 8 (with one year each grade)
but my teacher want me to do grade 6, 7 and finally 8 (i just done gr 5)
so i followed her suggestion

well, now i'm working on A3
actually quite attracted to work on A1 too

i'm quite shocked that B1 is very fast! i love this song but the tempi is amazingly horrible!
now i'm still working on this song though and working on B2 too

the C lists are good too!
C1 is so jazzy and i like it, C2 is so fast and cheerful
and C3 made me know another kind of contemporary
but C3 in my opinion is more like avant garde music, isn't it?
(by the way, C3 is so confusing )

mm, i have some questions that are quite out of topic
just want to know, what grades are these pieces:
-petrouchka (arranged into piano) by stravinsky
-le' isle joyeus by debussy
i know, these piece are not for grade 6 standard, just want to know only

back to the topic!
share your programs too like mine
thanks

m_b_r

I started grade 6 with

Beethoven sonata in F minor: A1
Burgmuller Refrain de gondolier:B4
Harvey rhumba toccata:C2

then never took the exam

I've learnt four pieces for grade 7:

Giga
mazurka in Bb/tchaikovsky Chant d'automne
Willie wagglesticks walkabout

now I'm starting the grade 8 pieces not to sure yet what.

Anyway C3 is twelve tone music, it is designed to have little sense of pulse hence why the time signatures change and the melody seems so abstract. If I was to go back to grade 6 I would actually pick this piece.

Ooh good luck for grade 6!! I'm working on this too! I intitially bought the book a few months ago, and at first didn't like any of the songs, but now I'm much better at sight-reading, and so have got further with the pieces - now I think I pretty much love them all!

Yes B1 is really fast!! I was playing it and thought how nice it was, and then I realised that I was only playing it half speed!! I don't think I can really move that fast

And Refrain du Gondolier is GORGEOUS!!

nice to see your programmes
by the way, have you tried dumia by naji hakim (it's a piece from grade 7 selection)
i heard that last week in high scorers concert and it was fabulous!
i'm in love with that piece but i'm still grade 6, so i'll try that next time..

i heard debussy and martinu pieces too in that concert
both of them are from grade 8 selection too
those pieces are beautiful too
you may try it jason..

hi singerpianist! good luck too with your exam!
i'm quite scared with the scales and arpeggios

well, many people said that too, i wondered how's the piece?
i'll try to download it

by the way, what site do you usually use to download sheet music and mp3s for classical music?
i usually use pianosociety.com for mp3s and sheet music of classical piano


no one answered me.. T_T

refrain du gondolier isn't that bad . The hardest parts is the 4-3 trill in the right hand, the chordal bit in the right (early on). Burgmuller normally does pieces which are fast eg. la tarentelle so its nice to hear him doing something laid back. Take the scales in your stride. with the melodic minors after I've past the third note, think of the tonic major and on the way down think natural minor.

hi fellow forumites!

anyone still doing for grade 6?
share your program and hardwork

my exam is in september
i will do A2, B3, and C1
have practised most scales but quite scared with the aural

any comments welcomed

Is there anyone working on the new Grade 6 piano syllabus 2009-2010?
I'm having lots of trouble with choosing a piece from List A.
A1 - I have already played this before, so I'd rather choose another piece
A2 - Oh, the stretches!!! I'm working on the RH only now.
A3 - Charming, but I am poor at trills

I am supposed to be doing the exam this term, but I injured my hand 2 weeks ago... it's not broken but I still can't practise so I'm not sure whether I'll be able to do it ! I think I'll go to the docs this week to see if I can get any treatment for my hand.

oh poor clari hope the best for you

hi teoani!
well, my exam is in september 2008 so i'm working on 07-08 syllabus
so let's we discuss another stuff like aural, sight reading and scales

i've covered all the scales arp and dim 7th but the aural is so nightmare for me
especially melodic memory and sight singing!!!

i really can't concentrate to memorise the melody because of its tricky rhythm and annoying lower part
and the sight singing can't stand the wide intervals
i cannot believe there is even 7th interval T_T

I don't mind GR 6 aural.... I think it's easier than Gr 5.

By the way, my broken reeds, I'm doing B3 too.... I love it!! I'm also doing A3 and C2. I have A3 (pre hurt little finger ) pretty ok... but I can't even attempt that piece as it hurts my little finger too much..... B3 is ok ish.... but still way too slow as is C2. I'm not convinced I'll ever get C2 up to speed!!!

If my finger doesn't imporve, I can still do the same pieces in March.... but I have to do some different scales as I don't particularly want to!!!! I'v only just learned some of the others and my contraries are a bit dodgy still.... and some of my dimished 7ths.
My problem is the entries have to be off soon .... and I don't kow when my hand will be better.I'm very frustrated here.....

How are your pieces going????
I'm dreading sight reading.....

are you sure???
okay, maybe it dpends on people

yes b3 is so nice especially bars 16 to 31
i somehow hard to make left hand cresc-decresc in the beginning
this piece is so expressive
good luck for your a3 and b2
c2 is so hilarious (and also scary tempo), i like it but i picked c1

i almost perfect all 3 pieces
only finishing touch hehe
and also has tried sight reading with my teacher, not really bad as aural!

my exam is in 17th of september aaarrggghhhh
unfortunately, at 9th to 13th i'm going to have a trip with my school to another province!!
i just scared if i sick after that, so should have a lot of vitamins and fruits and also a lot of

when is your exam? i hope you do the exam in this year so you shouldnt work on a new scales syllabus

I am hoping to do my exam in November. My hand is a lot better and I can practice scales and the b and c pieces now. Can't do the A piece.... too much little finger of L hand in it..... it hurts.
Sight reading is so much harder than aural. Honest!!!! However, when I was younger and took my clarinet exams , I would have entirely agreed with you!!!! I hated aural then.... In Grade 5, I thought the singing back was ridiculously long........ I can do Gr 6 cadences. The sight singing ... ok it's hard, but it usually makes some sort of sense. Sight reading though..... I think there are just too many notes to read in piano sight reading. I think it's because I'm not a first study pianist... I don't naturally read chords, or space to space, line to line etc, as these are meaningless to a clarinet player....you just have to learn that that note is that fingering in the clarinet.... and you can never play 2 notes at the same time on the clarinet. My daughter is a 2nd study pianist too and did 2 exams in the same term recently and got 20 for her flute gr5 sight reading and 13 for her piano Gr 4. I would love to be a good piano sight reader... it's such a great skill.....

B3 is too slow at the moment, but coming on. I love it ! I love the first page.

Good luck with your exam!!!!

i think your hands might have fully recovered by november

sometimes i feel really bored to wait till the exam, i just want to start more challenging pieces (but my skills wouldnt let me to )

okay if sight reading is harder hehehe
i really want to take up second instrument by the way
mm well i'm really indecisive

-my journey started with tenor saxophone then alto saxophone (they are grandma's heritages haha) but suddenly realised that saxophone is not main orchestral instruments (but in jazz is so marvelous!)

-so i decided to take up clarinet because my grandma have it too. this instrument really attracted me because of it versatility and smooth tone but somehow bored because i didn't get any good teacher to teach me and didnt improve..

-surprisingly, my mom's friend gave me a flute! i did love flute but now i don't, so the flute is not use right now

-lastly, i attracted by viola and i regretted that i bought it!!! same case, no qualified teacher and didnt improve
(but really want to hear jazz viola, i think it will be so great )

-good news in the end! my teacher's church offers cheap lessons for trumpet, trombone, and horn!
and the instrument will be lent to the pupil! my piano teacher knows that recently i play the clarinet
but suggested me to take up horn whoa! well i have known this instrument becos of its rich and velvety tone but never came up in my mind to take it becos i wouldnt afford the instrument
again i started to like it (so embarassed that i'm indecisive ). but now i don't want to do the same things like what i used to do. so maybe in the end of this year will try first then if i confident with it i'll take it! yay!

fortunately, this indecisiveness never come up in piano! i still love and have passion in classical piano especially romantic and 20th century

well, so off topic sorry ahaha

just done my exam

now i agree with you clari nicki, sight reading is the worst!
and the aural went well yay!!

but, i wasn't asked to play any diminished

Sounds good!!!!!
Were the pieces good?
I can't believe you weren't asked for any dimished.
I am doing my exam in November..... My scales are okish. My hand is nearly fully recored. The A piece still hurts my left hand, the other 2 are fine, but I am playing them way too slow.
Did you play your B piece up to the marked tempo?
I did aural in my lesson yesterday and was struggling to do the singing back if the accompaniment was close harmonically to the melody.

a2 - some slips on ornaments

b3 - a bit hesitate in the end, and i realise that i played it not really soft - really hard to manage arm weight
i played it up to the marked tempo - actually would like to play it slower to be more expressive, but realise that it is andante

c1 - again, i felt hard to play it really softly

scales - second attempts on left hand c major staccato and right hand thirds staccato

sight reading - the worst!!!

aural - last minutes before exam, i worried this one the most, but it went well
i was permitted to practise singing from the score before we tune together

overall i'm really satisfied

good luck for you