Any Canadians out there?

[viking]

--------------CMC COMPETITION------------------
Hi.  Im from Saskatchewan, Canada.  I just came back from CMC (canadian music competition) and I was wondering if there were any people that also competed.  If not, I greatly encourage all of us Canadians to try it.  There are some crazy good players there!   The competition consists of 3 rounds, of which you must attain a certain mark to pass.  The National or final round is held every year in a new and different city across Canada each year.  For more info go to cmcnational.com.  Is there anybody here from piano 16 or piano 17?? Because if there is I probably saw you perform
SAM

[keys]

you got your name back!

[lagin]

Hmm, guys....I've been trying to access RCM's website all day, but my computer won't let me.  I can access anything else, and could always access this site before.  Is it my computer or the website?  Can you guys get on....?  www.rcmexaminations.org

[keys]

I was having the same problem with the RCM site

[nanabush]

yepp

[brahmsian]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Alberta!

[lagin]

I'm definately STILL waiting for my examiner's comments.  I took my exam almost a month ago, but alas, they are still not online yet.  Did any of you guys get them yet, or just the mark?

[schrewbie]

I'm from Calgary, Alberta.

[brahmsian]

I'm from Edmonton.

[jeremyjchilds]

Yes I am Canadian,

I live in Abbottsford, and am working on my A.R. as well as everyone else...

[keys]

I passed the ARCT performer's exam!! Yayay!

Man, is there anything more exciting then piano exams???

I think not.

 

[Siberian Husky]

im canadian by the way

[lagin]

I'm definately STILL waiting for my examiner's comments.  I took my exam almost a month ago, but alas, they are still not online yet.  Did any of you guys get them yet, or just the mark?

bump

[Siberian Husky]

laura..just let it die..its on its last limbs..im sure you'v exhausted all you could out of these canadians..now let this breed of people rest

[lagin]

bump

consider that bump officially unbumped
i got what i was waiting for now, yeahhhhhhhh!

[dss]

Hi fellow countrymen,

if any of you are from GTA, where do you usually go when one wants to see a pianist concert. I've been looking everywhere for the last five days, but cannot see anything scheduled. I find it kind of weird that culture centre like Toronto has nothing scheduled for this year. At least that's what I was told everywhere (Massy hall, Roy Thomp.  etc.

Maybe it's not exactly piano hotbed here, or am I missing something.

Thanks a lot.

[dss]

Hi fellow countrymen,

if any of you are from GTA, where do you usually go when one wants to see a pianist concert. I've been looking everywhere for the last five days, but cannot see anything scheduled. I find it kind of weird that culture centre like Toronto has nothing scheduled for this year. At least that's what I was told everywhere (Massy hall, Roy Thomp.  etc.

Maybe it's not exactly piano hotbed here, or am I missing something.

Thanks a lot.

Checkout www.offcentremusic.com for 2005-06 music salon concert season.

[Aziel]

Nope, not Canadian


Aziel Diabolus is Not Canadien!!

[lyret]

Hello all.  I'm from Manitoba and doing my grade 8 on August 19.  My repertoire is
Sonata in c- 3rd Movement  by Pescetti
Sonata in G+ 2nd Movement   by Beethoven
Puck  by Grieg
Milonga del Angel  by Piazzolla
and my studies are Dance of the Marionettes and Song of the Waterfall
I'm also working on THe Heart Asks Pleasure First for grade 9 as I love the song and had to start playing it as soon as I got a hold of it.

[jz_rach2]

 
i'm from Toronto and i'm currently taking some summer courses at RCM T.O. central
i'm still working on my ARCT. originally i was going to take the AR exam this summer but i can't since i still don't have my 4history done... i'm taking that course now^___^
i love piano.. and i love Rachmaninoff. especially Rach2 haha, that's why i'm "jz_rach2"
LangLang is my idol. i love Pathetique Sonata too, it's just wonderful and it's in the 4history course i'm stduying now...it's soo nice to "meet"you all
in Sept i will be studying with Ms M. Orlov of the Faculty of Music at U of T but i still have 1 more year of high school left. i will major piano at u of t when i graduate^____^

[keys]

i'm from Toronto and i'm currently taking some summer courses at RCM T.O. central
i'm still working on my ARCT. originally i was going to take the AR exam this summer but i can't since i still don't have my 4history done... i'm taking that course now^___^
i love piano.. and i love Rachmaninoff. especially Rach2 haha, that's why i'm "jz_rach2"
LangLang is my idol. i love Pathetique Sonata too, it's just wonderful and it's in the 4history course i'm stduying now...it's soo nice to "meet"you all
in Sept i will be studying with Ms M. Orlov of the Faculty of Music at U of T but i still have 1 more year of high school left. i will major piano at u of t when i graduate^____^

Excellent. I looked into the RCM community school - but I already have my ARCT, and it didn't sound like they really catered to that level pianist.  How and when did you audition for Orlov? I played the first two movements of the Pathetique for gr 10! I liked the Waldstein the best though.

[lagin]

Out of curiousity, how many of you guys prepared for your harmony exams by using, "The Materials of Western Music?"  Those big door stopper books that go turquoise, florescent pink, and baby blue?  Did you guys use a different one for harmony 5?  I don't like the size of that baby blue one.  My phone book is rivaling it.  Which books did you use for counterpoint and analysis?  Should I stick with activity books like the others or just study from a text book?  I'm sure my teacher has a plan, but I wanted to know what the rest of you guys did/recommend. 

Oh, and for those of you who did or are doing more than one theory subject at a time, which ones should I couple up?  I did harmony and history 3 at the same time, and harmony and history 4 together.  I was going to do history 5, and counterpoint 4 together, but was wondering if analysis 5 was easy enough to stick in there too?

[abell88]

Out of curiousity, how many of you guys prepared for your harmony exams by using, "The Materials of Western Music?"  Those big door stopper books that go turquoise, florescent pink, and baby blue?  Did you guys use a different one for harmony 5?  I don't like the size of that baby blue one.  My phone book is rivaling it.

Move to Toronto; you'll get a bigger phone book 

I was fortunate enough to do my exams before those books came out...I used a tiny book called Elementary Harmony and Counterpoint, by Eric Rollinson (who had taught my teacher). He used a different method of naming chord inversions (Ia for root, Ib for first inversion, etc.), but other than that it was a wonderfully useful and succinct (105 small pages) book. I used that for 3 and 4 harmony, then for 5 I got another one published by University of Western Ontario (Western conservatory was the predecessor of Conservatory Canada). I don't remember the name of it; I didn't like the way the text was laid out (looked like bad poetry), but it had all the necessary info, again in a brief format.  For counterpoint I used Rollinson's Free and Double Counterpoint... supplemented with the Bach chorales.

By the way, I lent my Rollinson to a friend a few years ago when she was doing her 3 harmony...she got all the rules down to one sheet of binder paper...

[keys]

Out of curiousity, how many of you guys prepared for your harmony exams by using, "The Materials of Western Music?" Those big door stopper books that go turquoise, florescent pink, and baby blue? Did you guys use a different one for harmony 5? I don't like the size of that baby blue one. My phone book is rivaling it. Which books did you use for counterpoint and analysis? Should I stick with activity books like the others or just study from a text book? I'm sure my teacher has a plan, but I wanted to know what the rest of you guys did/recommend.

Oh, and for those of you who did or are doing more than one theory subject at a time, which ones should I couple up? I did harmony and history 3 at the same time, and harmony and history 4 together. I was going to do history 5, and counterpoint 4 together, but was wondering if analysis 5 was easy enough to stick in there too?

I must have used the materials of western music  - my textbook was enormous. My teacher had me cut it into sections so it was easier to work with. I wrote three exams the year I did my theory 5 (all three level 5 subjects), The workload during the year was fine, but that weekend was pretty rough.  I really enjoyed counterpoint 4 but my teacher told me that I was unusual.  Apparently it is one of those things you either 'get' or you don't.

[Siberian Husky]

im canadian

[marcus314]

Hi everyone!

I am a new Canadian member of this forum. I am from Vancouver and will be doing my ARCT Performers IN 3 DAYS!!!! I am somewhat nervous because I do not consider myself to be a very good piano player. As a matter of fact, I do not have much confidence in myself. I am very afraid of completely forgetting a whole section of a song during the exam.  What are some of the ways to calm myself down and perform well during my exam???

Here is my repertoire for my ARCT Performers Exam:

List a : BACH - English Suites #2 (Prelude, Sarabande, Gigue)
List b : BEETHOVEN - Moonlight Sonata (all three movements)
List c : CHOPIN - Ballade No. 1 in G-
List d : POULENC -   15 Improvisations Pour Le Piano (3 of them)
List e : PROKOFIEV - Vision Fugitives (#1,3,8,15)
Concert Etude : CHOPIN - Etude #3 in E+

Man I am very nervous of performing badly on the exam. Can people who have taken their ARCT exam describe what it was like and how it was different with say Gr. 10's exam?

Thank you

[keys]

The ARCT exam is much more enjoyable then the Gr.10. You just sit down and perform, the adjudicators do not cue you. Depending on how much time you have allowed yourself you can rest between songs. Bring some water with you if you get thirsty, I always get thirsty during performances. There are two adjudicators, I had two for my Gr.10 exam as well because there was one apprentice.  I passed the ARCT performance exam, but if I hadn’t it would have been one of the better ones to fail. Chances are you will continue to learn new repertoire, so you can give it another try without any additional effort, unlike the previous exams where you would have had to continue ear training drills. 

[nanabush]

The thing I'm looking forward to for my Performer's is no scales, ear tests, sight reading...

And my fried who did his ARct said he had an hour of repertoire, I never saw anywhere that you had to have a certain amount of time...  It'd suck if I picked all short pieces, and had like 10 minutes lol... that'd be funny as a joke.

[marcus314]

The thing I'm looking forward to for my Performer's is no scales, ear tests, sight reading...

And my fried who did his ARct said he had an hour of repertoire, I never saw anywhere that you had to have a certain amount of time...  It'd suck if I picked all short pieces, and had like 10 minutes lol... that'd be funny as a joke.

A sonata (list B) in itself is above 10 mintues haha

[marcus314]

The single sonata (list B) should take at least 10 minutes haha.

I tried to play my whole repertoire today and it took 49 minutes. Not that bad I guess.

[abell88]

I believe there's a maximum time allotted, and they stop you if you exceed it...might want to check into that.

[nanabush]

Right, well I'm playing the Grieg Sonata for sure, so that's about 15-20 minutes, never checked for sure, and If my teacher's plan goes well and I do manage HR 2, that'd be good.  I have Soooo many list D's I wanna play can't choose one though.. 

[mcgillian]

Hey everybody,

I'm 20, I live in Montreal, (I got to Mcgill as a voice major). I just finished my Grade 10 RCM exam. I think it went okay. Scales are always a little bit disastrous, but what can you do; thank God I'm not tested on them anymore. The examiner was really nice- afterwards she encouraged me to do my ARCT- so I think I got at least 75.

Here's my program if anyone's interested:
Studies by Scriabin and Loeschorn.
Bach P+F VII Book 2, Eflat major
Beethoven Sonata Op. 2, No. 1, first two movements
Chopin Polonaise in A major
Debussy Arabesque No. 1
Somers, Strangeness of Heart

Mercifully, that's over. Now I just have to decide what I'm going to start for my AR, (although I think I'll take some time to do a little technical overhaul.)
I was thinking about Bach's Italian Concerto (even though its overplayed), and a Schubert Sonata- I love A minor op. 143. Anyone have any experience with this one, or any other Schubert sonata recommendations? I think I'll play the Brahms Rhapsody op. 79, no. 2. As for list D, there are so many I want to play. My teacher recommended Granados Goyescas, or the Poulenc Improvisations. Any other ideas?  And in List E, I have absolutely no idea. I'd love to play something Canadian, (but probably not the Louie piece).

Anyway, that's it.  Let me know if anyone has an ideas.

[jz_rach2]

How and when did you audition for Orlov?

my current piano teacher, Ken Marple, had studied with Ms. Marina Geringas, who from i heard is a good friend of Ms. M Orlov's. originally Ken was to send me to Ms. Geringas since i've already decided that i'd study piano in univ. but Ms. Geringas, having heard about my situation, recommended Ms. Orlov to me. so Ken made a few phone calls and i went for an audition with her in the middle of July. the audition was supposed to be at the end of Jul but Ms. Orlov was in a rush to leave T.O. so it was arranged two weeks before the date it was originally set to. i didn't play very well in my audition due to limited practice time(i played all my AR pieces except for the concert etudes) but luckily she accepted me under the condition that i'd work very very hard. 

[jz_rach2]

My teacher recommended Granados Goyescas, or the Poulenc Improvisations. Any other ideas?  And in List E, I have absolutely no idea. I'd love to play something Canadian, (but probably not the Louie piece).

i'm doing Granado's Maiden&Nightingale for my AR, it's a beautiful piece, just beautiful.
also, if you want something Canadian for list E, i'm doing Larysa Kuzmenko's In Memoriam to the Victims of Chernobyl: it is a very dramatic piece indeed, also very technically demanding, especially for people with small hands. (but you're probably ok). the composer, Ms. Kuzmenko currently lives in T.O. and i'm sure she'll be more than happy to see you play it. my piano teacher and i just visited her last month for this piece and she seemed to be pleased to hear that "the young people of today" are playing her compositions. if you like stravinsky and are into pieces of dramatic mood changes, you'll like this one. "In Memoriam to the Victims of Chornobyl" by Larysa Kuzmenko...btw, i find it very cool to play because playing it feels like you're telling a story of the diaster in Chernobyl. Ms. Kuzmenko has taught me a lot so if you have anything to ask just e-mail me or use msn janezhanggracey@hotmail.com. =) you get to play the lowest note on the piano for this piece and you get to play as loud as you want!!!!

[lagin]

So does a performer's ARCT have to take up the full hour to be worth full marks? 

[mcgillian]

So does a performer's ARCT have to take up the full hour to be worth full marks? 

As far as I know, there is only a time maximum of an hour. They will stop the programme if it exceeds this limit. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is minimum time requirement.

[keys]

There is no minimum. There doesn't have to be - all the pieces listed are so bloody long.

[marinated tofu]

Hey!  I'm Canadian.  I'm from Ontario originally, but now I am a piano performance major out-of-province.  But I'm going home in 4 days!  WHOOOOEEEE!  Like you all care.....

[prettypianoplaying]

Where in Ontario did you live?

[lagin]

Okay, for those of you who are done their ARCT theory co-requisites, I have three questions.

1.  On the counterpoint exam, were there many modulating sequences to figure out, or was it mainly just your staight ordinary key modulations.  By modulating sequence I mean, going along the circle of fifths, and usually modulating every few beats.

2.  On the analysis exam, do you have to do a complete harmonic analysis of anything, or is it mainly structural analysis?  Is this exam as easy as it appears?

3.  On the grade 5 history exam, where did you get information on the 20th century and canadian composers?  The internet?

Thanks guys.

[llamaman]

Here's my program if anyone's interested:
Studies by Scriabin and Loeschorn.
Bach P+F VII Book 2, Eflat major
Beethoven Sonata Op. 2, No. 1, first two movements
Chopin Polonaise in A major
Debussy Arabesque No. 1
Somers, Strangeness of Heart

Errmmm....Isn't Debussy's 1re Arabesque Gr. 10 not ARCT? I would know I asked my teacher if I could play it, and she said "No, it's Grade 10"

[mcgillian]

Errmmm....Isn't Debussy's 1re Arabesque Gr. 10 not ARCT? I would know I asked my teacher if I could play it, and she said "No, it's Grade 10"

The Arbesque is indeed Grade 10. I was listing my Grade 10 program... sorry if I was unclear. Are you working on your ARCT? What are you playing?

[lagin]

Well, this is a very old thread indeed, and I haven't posted in it since last year's piano exams, but since this year's exams are coming up, I'll resurrect it!  Who else am I going to complain to when I'm waiting for my marks to come back?

So in the mean time what exams are on everyone's schedule this year, and what are you playing?

I'm aiming for Harmony 5 in May, and grade 10 practical in June.

If anyone has done their grade 10 please encourage me, because my teacher has me somewhat concerned about the 75% I need to be able to take my ARCT eventually.  I have been informed that my Beethoven is not up to snuff, and I thought I played it rather well.  Are the examiners REALLY that much tougher on you than in grade 9?  I did some major errors in my grade 9 exam (not losing my spot, but playing things with wrong rhythms that I thought were right, which is especially bad when half the piece is based on that rhythm...., or not having my notes sound again and again and again and again in the left hand of a piece.  We're talking like every beat for a whole line), and I still did just fine.  How bad can grade 10 be?

[mcgillcomposer]

OK, at least the RCM is trying to encourage people, young and old, to play music. However, for the serious pianist it is really only a stepping stone. The musicianship exercises demanded by the RCM are incredibly primitive relative to what the complete musician should know, and the level of the required pieces is well below that of those required in a university degree...at least where I go.

[lagin]

What kind of pieces are the "norm" where you go?

[mcgillcomposer]

Well for starters, there is no concerto playing or chamber music...which is a huge defecit for the serious musician.  Obviously there may be some difficulties in organizing such things for exams, but it does not excuse the playing of concertos and chamber music from the complete musical education.

Secondly, there are barely and sonatas past the classical era (Grieg's Op.7 is on the list...I auditioned to GET IN to school with this).  What about Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies...Scriabin???  He just drops off the map when it comes to the ARCT.

I could go on and on, but to answer your original question.  At my school, each student has to prepare two concertos each year (1 classical or before, and one post-classical), and engage in several ensemble music concerts...including piano duet music, piano quintets, trios, etc. Solo repertoire is usually left to be chosen by the student and teacher.  For an example of a second year recital, I just saw someone perform the Liszt transcription of Beethoven's 5th, and Bach's A major concerto.  These two-piece recitals are popular at my school, and often contain a solo piece and an entire concerto (or movements from one).

Anyway, it just seems like the ARCT has no consistency in difficulty of repertoire.  Some pieces are entirely appropriate (many of Beethoven's sonatas, etudes, etc.), but most are way off in left field (Brahms's rhapsody in G minor, his Ballade in D major, Beethoven's Moonlight)

Anyway, just my thoughts.

- Andrew

P.S. And I did not even begin to discuss the technical requirements and ear training exercises...which are truly pitiful.

[lagin]

Now, I do see your point, but I think alot of the problem, is just that you have to pick your pieces from the syllabus.  While it does give you hundreds of options, it surely won't have everything.  It would take too much time and too much paper.  It does have hard pieces though, like Mephisto and Hammerklavier and La Campanella.  I agree with you that it would be neat to like have to learn a concerto, and play along with at least a c.d.  I think that would be a great addition.  They do have this in the RCM festivals I believe, just not the exams.  I also agree that the degree of difficulty is not consistent, but sometimes I like that idea

The one thing I would like you to ellaborate on is the "pitiful" technical exercises and ear training.  I thought it was most comprehensive, no?

[prettypianoplaying]

Let's not forget that ARCT isn't the highest you can go with piano!

Maybe some of the pieces you are looking for are on the Licentiate or Fellowship exams......

And who says no one in RCM is playing concertos etc...  I played a Concerto with my piano duet partner  (and friend) and they even have competitions you can compete in around here! 

And, Examinations should be only solo performers.  If you want someone to mark your concerto, go to a competition!

[mcgillcomposer]

Let's not forget that ARCT isn't the highest you can go with piano!

Maybe some of the pieces you are looking for are on the Licentiate or Fellowship exams......

And who says no one in RCM is playing concertos etc...  I played a Concerto with my piano duet partner  (and friend) and they even have competitions you can compete in around here! 

And, Examinations should be only solo performers.  If you want someone to mark your concerto, go to a competition!

You are missing my point completely, other than your comment about Licentiate or Fellowship exams. I never said that no one in the RCM is playing concertos, I merely said that it should be a requirement, because not ALL of the ARCT level RCM students are playing concertos. Furthermore, it is completely absurd that examinations should only be for solo performers. In almost every competition I know of (at least the reputable ones) there is always a chamber music requirement, during which ONLY the soloist is judged. Chamber music is such an important part of playing the piano...there is simply no way around it.

Now for lagin, I will elaborate on the technical requirements. What is missing are finger exercises that focus on particular problems. The best book I have ever come across is Dohnanyi's book of finger exercises. After studying the book for one year, and playing through all of the exercises, I could easily play any of the technical requirements on the ARCT exam. As long as you kno your key signatures, there isn't much to it. The sight-reading component was just lame...I had to sight read a movement from an relatively unknown Haydn sonata (not one of the difficult ones). OK, now for the real downer...ear training.

1) The only time signatures eligible are 2/4, 3/4, 6/8, 3/8.  If you are playing any contemporary music, you're screwed if you can only do these.

2) Interval  recognition is something I would expect to be mastered by at least grade 6. At the ARCT level, students should have to be able to identify every single note in a chord progression.

3) The melody playback is only in two voices...uhm sorry...but in th real world pieces usually have way more than two voices. After all, the purpose is to be able to transcribe or play by ear, no?

4) The harmonic progression does not modulate (uhm HELLO!), nor does it contain anything but diatonic chords (no chromaticism), and it doesn't include vii chords!!!  The cadential 6/4 is the big thing that is stressed in these progressions, but that is such a simple sound to recognize.

5) What happened to atonal music?  If you complete the ARCT, you have "mastered" music until 1900...the list of 20th century repertoire is hardly representative, and the ear training does not encourage this music.

6) The theory co-requisites are adequate.

Anyway, just my thoughts again.

- Andrew