Grade x?

[melaladi]

I see a lot of people discussing a piece that is grade 3, or a grade 2 exam... What exactly are these piano grades?

[roseamelia]

They are near the beginning not very difficult but sometimes I would have some problems on grade 3 because I was just learning. Now I'm in grade 5. What song was it?

my book is "Alfred's Basic Piano Library" I've been through level three.

[zoecalgary]

In many Countries there are boards that set standards for music ability in many different instruments including piano. They group requirements into grades. In the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) there are 2 preparatory level and then grades 1-10 and then I believe 2 levels past that for performing.  So when people are talking about grades of a piece they are often referring to the standard as set by some board.

Sometimes adults like myself use the 'grade' of a piece to assess relative difficulty for us and where we are at. Not that that stops many from playing anything they want but helps us know some pieces are just not within our grasp. Or alternately that something is working our ability with some hard work.

If you google RCM or ABRSM you will get lots more information on the boards and requirements.

[melaladi]

Thank you.