Trinity College London?

[Sydney]

My teacher recommends me to take a Diploma called ATCL. I don't have a good idea of this. Is this Diploma recognised well in the world? What kind of level is this? One of their internet site tells that ATCL is the entry level of music degrees....

Any ideas of this Diploma?

[peter_g_moll]

Dear Sydney,

You might take a look at this site

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3472.0.html

which has a lot of information about piano programs, grades and diplomas.  You could download the syllabuses and get an idea of the relative standards involved.

Another thing to do is search using Google for "ATCL", "LTCL" and "FTCL", and see whether people at respectable institutions have these qualifications.

Regards,


Peter

[pianowelsh]

Hiya
Trinity College itself is very well respected internationally. The exam board is one of the most prestigious exam boards in the UK and is known for its innovation and flexibility.ie in grades (not diplomas) there are options to do improvisation and jazz chords instead of trad aural tests and fig bass and such like. They have a very strong reputation particularly in the far east where Im told they are better known than ABRSM. The ATCL level is quite well thought of. Many private teachers stop at about this level if they work only from home and this level is kind of whats expected by first year of Music college or RAM entry scholarship level. The teaching branch of the diploma is more respected gen than the performance branch. If your serious about performance you should aim to work for LTCL or FTCL in future. They have a much narrower rep list than ABRSM for this level but are approx same level of difficulty.  Trinity board has reccently merged with Guildhall examining board so don't know quite what effect that will have on them in the near future.