Brilliant new Trinity Guildhall syllabus

[stevehopwood]

Hi folks

Have a look at the new Trinity Guildhall syllabus for 2007 onwards, at https://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=173. I know it is not available to all who read these boards; I should campaign for it if I were you.

It is brilliant for pianists. The 'technical requirements' and aural sections have been well thought out and blow the competition out of the water, particularly the AB with their exponentially increasing number of scales per grade.

It is even possible to avoid aural altogether until post grade 5. For those who do choose the aural option pre grade 6, it is listening and discrimination based, not short-term memory and singing based. There is no singing - a major cause for concern amongst young candidates here in the UK who are usually embarrassed and unhappy singing in front of strangers.

It looks as though Trinity Guildhall have been listening to teachers in devising the new syllabus. After the pieces and technical work, pre grade 6 candidates choose two options from: improvising; aural; musical knowledge; sight-reading. Sight-reading and aural elements are compulsory, post grade 5. 

Check it out.

Steve 

[pianistimo]

is there a way to search inside the cover?  i like to take my time at music stores and look at  how the system is set up.  sometimes i accept it completely (as i have with bastien) and other times use supplements of my own.  it's nice to have a complete system that saves money buying everything to supplement (as with the different books of bastien  - theory, sight reading, etc.)

libraries are another great resource that i'm finding is FREE.  whenever you are running out of funds or the parents are - you can check out stuff at the library and make a few copies for fun stuff to sightread, work theory, or pieces to play as repertoire.  i've found even flashcards can be homemade and work fine.  esp. the ones you can print for free off the internet. 

piano lessons don't have to be expensive.  (good to see a book that includes all of this stuff in one).  you can pattern your lessons after a level of MTNA or trinity and make homemade certificates, too, that show a consistent level of development.  personally, if you are a teacher that lives far away from a community - or cannot afford the gas and time to go hither and yon - there is much to learn from comparing syllabuses and then having less formal 'testing' at the end of the year.  basically, the last lesson or two can be a sort of test and recital.  test on one lesson and recital the next. 
 

[stevehopwood]

piano lessons don't have to be expensive. 

Hehe, mine do, and the more expensive the better.  After all, this is how I earn my living, so I charge as much as I can get just like any other businessman.

Steve