is it possible to jump from grade 5 to grade 8?

[autumnlove]

I'm now currently in practical abrsm grade 6. My piano teacher suggest me to take practical grade 8 in 2014. Is it possible that I can do it? Btw, I failed my practical gd 5 piano  practical gd 5 piano 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I'm now currently in practical abrsm grade 6. My piano teacher suggest me to take practical grade 8 in 2014. Is it possible that I can do it? Btw, I failed my practical gd 5 piano  practical gd 5 piano 

Well you have two years.  PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

[aindavou]

sry, but what is a grade?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

sry, but what is a grade?

It has to do with thing called ARSM or something and they have like 8 grades for piano.  I personally STRONGLY oppose this grading system, but that's just how it is.  Grade 1 is easiest while grade 8 is hardest.

[aindavou]

oohh this, i dont like that too. thx

[mozart_to_go]

If you're failing grades it's not a good idea.  If a student does well, gets high marks and learns the pieces quickly I often let them skip.

[ancientsolar]

Well , I study with ABRSM, and jumped from 5 - 7, I will then hope to do grade 8 in 9months,
which will build up to 2years in total.

 ~ from 5-8 doesnt mean you will have to dedicate that whole
time to playing the syllabus pieces either, but work on other pieces by those same composers,
Beethoven/Mozart, etc, look into their lives, who inspired them, what their lives were like.

Learning all these things should help you to understand their composing style, the emotions they went through, thus making it easier to interpret when wonder how music should feel.

Just be careful! 5-8 is a huge jump mentally and physically, ~ playing grade 8 should be more than playing what the syllabus tells you, eg, you could spend the whole 2years just learning 3 pieces.. by 3 composers, but you can miss out on so many other technical aspects..

Eg.. you could play Mozart and Chopin to a grade 8 standard.. but when it comes to bach you may only feel a grade 4-5 standard, ~ therefore learn a well rounded repertoire at grade8 standard, or build up to it at least! Whether you aim to be a performer or teacher learning about composers and playing styles its vital to havea thorough understanding of everything!

[roseamelia]

Don't you think that you would skip some things you might need to know?

[wbl24]

Yes, but here's what to do.

2012 (NOW) - start practicing scales. Make them part of your daily programme. Twenty minutes a day with the grade 8 scales book, going through each and every one slowly and surely. You have 2 and a half years, so if you start now you'll nail them easy by then.

2012/2013 (NOW) - repertoire pieces. You've about 2 grades worth to jump on, so make sure your performance technique is up to task. Prepare pieces outside of ABRSM, though by all means pick up a grade 6/7 book and play a couple of pieces in there. One and a half years to collect repertoire is a decent amount of time, and if you really keep at it, you can do it

2014 - show year. Book your Grade 8 exam late in the year to give you plenty of time to learn those three pieces. They should be your main focus for that year, though to prevent what I call "burning-in-and-burning-out*" play a few fun pieces on the side. Keep your repertoire vibrant.

*"burning-in-and-burning-out" - burning in errors and burning out mentally and emotionally for the piece.

2012/2013/2014 - enter a couple of competitions and concerts. Perform pieces. Get the feel of playing in front of people. A crowd is more harrowing than an examiner any day and if you nail that gut of yours in front of them you can certainly hold your own in an exam.

2014 - take the exam.

Personally I find jumping the odd grade a good thing - I did that as a kid, only taking 2,4,6 and 8. It means you've time to focus on pieces not necessarily for an exam and the ability to build up and command a greater stylistic range of pieces that YOU want (Rather than what's in the book). It will help you tremendously in the long run, especially when you get to diploma level in half a decade when you'll be asked to pick from a huge list of pieces a selection YOU want to perform. Because life on the piano does not end at Grade 8!

Good luck

[j_menz]

You'd have more hope of passing grade 8 if you'd actually passed grade 5.

Jumping from 4 to 8 is effectively what you are seeking to do, and since you didn't manage to go from 4 to 5, you need to figure out why you didn't and address that.

[ajspiano]

Just going out on a limb -

Maybe you could select a range of pieces (more than 3 per grade) from grade 2 - 7 that you really like (rather than ones that fit into the ABRSM syllabus of 1 exact grade) to learn over the next few years, and focus on developing your skills through those without feeling the need to pass a grade 8 exam in 2014..

Then, once you've learnt those and suddenly realise you can play at a grade 7/8 standard you can consider preparing for a grade 8 exam, as something that would be fun and relatively easy - rather than something that terrifies you slightly because of the pressure and struggle you'll go through to get there.

[wbl24]

I'm now currently in practical abrsm grade 6. My piano teacher suggest me to take practical grade 8 in 2014. Is it possible that I can do it? Btw, I failed my practical gd 5 piano  practical gd 5 piano 

Actually yes, pass your grade 5/6 first. That would be the more sensible option.