The grading System

[zheer]

Hello people.    Am not sure whether you will agree with me 100% that the grading system is inaccurate.According to the system Chopins waltze op.64.No2 is only grade 7, whereas his Fantasie Impromptu is grade 8.Beethovens sonata op.27 No2 is only grade 7 whereas Chopins Etude op.25,No1 is grade 8.Well for some reason it took me 2 years to learn the waltze but only three days for the fantasie impromptu. In my humble oppinion the Beethoven sonata is far more demanding than the Chopin Etude,since it has taken me 10 years to learn the sonata and only a few months for the Etude. Please give me your oppinion on this subject.I mean what are they looking at the music or the fingers.

[Ruro]

I think I can give you a possible answer:

Some individuals can naturally excel at other things people would find impossible!
*coughs* trills *coughs*
Whether it's the genes, or whether it's a recurring activity in your life which no one else has, I dunno... but something makes you friggin special at it

I guess what I'm getting at is.... you just so happened to excel in the skills required for a certain piece! I myself can't jump down the piano and hit a chord correctly without looking (I require some luck), so pieces like Chopin Op.9 No.2 completely insult me with it's demand, but something like A Burgmuller Progressive Study.... don't see no jumps there!

Atleast that is only a possiblity ^_^

[allthumbs]

Hello people.    Am not sure whether you will agree with me 100% that the grading system is inaccurate.According to the system Chopins waltze op.64.No2 is only grade 7, whereas his Fantasie Impromptu is grade 8.

Are you talking about the ABRSM Grading system where Grade 8 is the highest level before the Associate levels? I'm not that familiar with it but I would guess that these pieces would be placed at that relative level. I think Fantasie Impromptu is a much more difficult piece than the Waltz.

The RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music -Toronto) syllabus puts the Impromptu at the ARCT (Associate) level and the Waltz in Grade 9. (RCM have 10 grades before the Associate level.)

Beethovens sonata op.27 No2 is only grade 7 whereas Chopins Etude op.25,No1 is grade 8.

Are you talking about the first movement of Sonata 27/2? I would say that the level would be below the 25/1 Etude.

RCM has the entire Sonata at the ARCT level. All the Op.25 Etudes with the exception of No.2 are listed at this level as well.

Well for some reason it took me 2 years to learn the waltze but only three days for the fantasie impromptu.

It took me much longer to learn the Impromptu than the Waltz and I have never learned any piece in recent memory in mere days. I'm a slow learner. (In more ways than one1)

In my humble oppinion the Beethoven sonata is far more demanding than the Chopin Etude,since it has taken me 10 years to learn the sonata and only a few months for the Etude. Please give me your oppinion on this subject.I mean what are they looking at the music or the fingers.

I'm presently working on the 2nd and 3rd movements of the Sonata and they are challenging. I would agree that the Sonata seems to be more demanding than the Etude, although I don't play the Etude.


Cheers

allthumbs

[zheer]

Well thank you for your response. Zheer.

[llamaman]

3 days for Fantasie Impromptu?  Not again!

[jehangircama]

the FI is in trinity's ATCL syllabus. the waltz is grade 7  ABRSM i think or max grade 8. and the sonata should be about ATCL but i'm not sure of that.

[zheer]

Well surly its not what you play but haw you play, therefore you could say that that was grade 8 standard rather than that was a grade 8 piece.You Know what i mean.

[la_leggierezza]

hello! 

i just finished playing moonlight sonata (complete) and chopin op 25 no1 among other things and i find them very similar in terms if difficulty (the whole sonata and the etude). i think that they must be level 8 because i ve just finished it.

hope it helps u

 

[thierry13]

3 days for Fantasie Impromptu?  Not again!

Someone who thinks Fantaisie Impromptu is hard?  Not again!

[zheer]

As Shnable ance so admrable said, "The Beethoven sonatas are  far greater than they can ever be played" , hence the reason why i think it is above grade 7. I feel that it is way more difficult than the Fantaisie Impromptu and Etude op25no1 put together.

[bearzinthehood]

I doubt the third movement of Op. 27/2 is grade 7.  It takes a good amount of control to be able to play this piece well.

Then again, I guess it matters how well you have to play it to pass.

[bernhard]

Yes, I believe that over the years the pieces have become easier for each grade (I am speaking of the ABRSM with which I am most familiar). If you look at the syllabuses in the 1950s, often pieces that were classified as grade 3 then, turn up in the recent syllabus as grade 6.

However this could be due to changes in attitude as well: recognising  and taking into account musical as well as technical difficulty. Satie’s Gymonopedie no. 1 is a case in point. In the 1950’s it was a grade 3 piece. In 2000 (I think) it was grade 6. Is this a case of dumbing down? Or is it a recognition that the piece requires more musical maturity than a grade 3 student would show?

But overall, yes, I believe that exams have become easier to pass (or more difficult to fail).

Best wishes,
Bernhard.