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Hi.

I've taught myself how to play up to piano - I consider myself a pretty high standard. But, unfortunately, I have run into a dilemma that what I want to do requires that you have a Grade 5 Music Pass. Do you know how I could possibly get an oppurtunity to do my grade exams - or, at least, explain to someone that I just want to be taught what pieces to play for my grade exams and how to pass them and explain I have the basic knowledge?

It's your money, cherub, the teacher will do what you want! But discuss it on the telephone first, and make it absolutely clear what you want to be taught. The trouble is that you may not be as good as you think you are at some of the required areas for Grade V, such as aural tests, sightreading and scales. These are the boring bits which unfortunately make sense of music, the musical equivalent of the Highway Code. You can drive for years not knowing the HC and perhaps never have an accident, but if you know that traffic gives way to the right, you'll probably be safer. Knowing you're playing in E major is a lot easier than trying to remember that every F, C, G, and D are sharpened every time you see one. It's a sort of shorthand. Sorry if you know this, just roll your eyes and call me a silly moo, but there's no way of knowing what your background knowledge is from your post.
So be prepared to be told what you already know and to accept that there are some things you don't know, basically! Just choose the teacher carefully, and go for someone who is used to teaching adults, and is therefore used to someone who knows what they want to do and who needs to have some input into the lessons.
And DO YOUR PRACTICE!

I have to agree with Gill The Piano on this one. Self-taught musicians can have a few gaps in their musical development not to mention some bad habits. It wouldn’t do any harm if you were even treated as a Grade 5 student and had all the normal training just to see how you fair. As your experience is probably very practically-based (or as far as I can tell from your e-mail) doing a few theory tests wouldn’t hurt also or at least working through the theory workbooks for Grade 3, 4 or 5. I’m personally dubious about people doing exams for exams’ sake – playing exams at a particular level does not necessarily make you a competent Grade 5 player. We have had teachers apply for jobs in our school over the years and we have stated as part of the selection criteria that the applicant “must be able to play at Grade 6 standard”. Even after a performance audition and a teacher has been appointed, we have often been discouraged by the fact that they can’t even play Christmas Carols for the school assemblies never mind Bachgammon!

I think you need to do a litmus test here and make sure that you are definitely at Grade 5 standard, not just at performing but within the other areas mentioned by Gill The Piano such as sight-reading, aural tests, scales and arpeggios, etc., etc.

I don’t mean to be pessimistic or discouraging here, but I’ve known people in the past who have attempted to go to Grade 3 based on their musical background and have been told by various teachers that they need to start at Grade 1 because of the gaps in their knowledge and general skills, even at that early phase. I could be wrong because I don’t know your personal situation, but just be prepared to be told that you may need to back-track a little to cover what you need to know for whatever it is you need Grade 5 for. Just be wary, as I mentioned earlier, that you may need to audition if music is a pre-requisite for what you are doing.

All the best whatever you choose to do!

You haven't actually said where you're located, but presumably you're in the UK. If not, be aware that every country has different grading systems (or none at all), so 'grade 5' can mean a lot of things.

Wherever you are, your local authority for music exams probably publishes a syllabus, and it's probably available on the internet. That will tell you exactly what you need to be able to do at each grade, in each area, e.g. pieces (typically one piece for each of a number of lists), scales (keys, patterns, tempi, etc), chords, arpeggios, sight reading, and all the stuff that the others have mentioned above.

The warning about being sure how good you are is spot on: I would venture to argue that you can't possibly excel as a musician without solid technique. It's not that knowing technique will add something to your playing; rather, it's that technique is the essential element enabling you to play. If you taught yourself technique while you were learning, then maybe you're in good shape, but if not, I would say learn the technique first and worry about the pieces after.

Started the piano at 29 - bought a digital piano (Yamaha P120) before finally getting hold of a real piano (Yamaha B1, only piano that fitted up the stairs.) about a year or so ago. Began playing a lot, and decided to get a teacher. At this point I'd been working almost systematically through the preludes from both WTC books , and to me some were beginning to sound reasonable so I thought I might be at about grade 3.

After the first few lessons it was clear that I had some fundamental problems were dynamics and timing (though that doesn't seem to stop many people looking at the utube videos of other's grade 5 efforts.) However, I've definitely improved no end thanks to those lessons in the last 9 months to the point where I found myself seated in Ealing sitting a grade V last Saturday (is it normal to have 2 examiners present?). I have no idea if I passed, but without the regular lessons to aim for I'd probably have skipped many of the scales, aural skills and be even shakier at sight reading and these make up a significant amount of the marks. For the ABRSM exam, even if all 3 pieces are played perfectly, another 10 marks need to come from somewhere for a basic pass.

So, definitely get a teacher - best thing I've done (other than taking up the piano of course.)

And a real piano if you haven't and it's practical- I don't know how people stick with digitals - totally soulless.

If you're in London, I can recommend a good teacher...

Gooday; If you had 2 examiners, then one was being evaluated - either it was a baby examiner or one being evaluated for another reason. Nothing to worry aboiut, anyway. Good on you for doing the exam! Were you nervous? Or were you drunk...?
Yours is exactly the sort of reply Hicky needed - it's hard to say he might need help in certain areas without sounding mean, but you having done it means you can speak with authority!

Thanks Gill,

"having done it means you can speak with authority", well maybe, if I pass!

Nervous? Yep! even though nothing rides on the result, so made some mistakes (but kept going, another thing you just don't do unless you have a teacher to keep telling you every week)

When I bought the digital, I said something about could I go up to grade 5 on this? The salesman said 'well, actually that could take you 5 years or more' and at the time I though 'ha - right, I'll be doing that in a few years'. 5 years later on...

But you hung on in there, dincha?!

It is important to get a Teacher if you want to take exams to cover the other elements of the exam besides the pieces. You may think that you are able to play the pieces to a reasonable standard to get you through the exam, but believe me the other exam tests (scales, aural, sight reading ) will give a clear indication to the examiner whether or not you have a basic technique - examiners are highly qualified professional musicians who will find you out in no time!

I recently had a girl who came to me for lessons who said that she had been preparing for Grade 7, and wished to take the exam quite soon. (The last exam she took was Grade 2, and although she had continued to have lessons "on and off", for some reason or other had not pursued any further exams). She played the pieces to me which weren't too bad, and with some "polishing" would probably have got her some reasonable marks in an exam- it all seemed very encouraging. However, I asked her to play a G Major scale, and after three attempts she failed to even ascend the scale let alone complete it! On further investigation, she had absolutely no idea about minor scales or arpeggios, and her sight reading was hopeless! We are now studying for Grade 5 - and to be honest she is so far behind on the basic technical requirements, even this grade is proving a bit of a challenge for her!

But don't despair - with some effort on your part and the help of a good teacher who will identify "the gaps" in your technique that need attention, you will get there!

I passed!

O YOU BEAUTY!!!! Well done...mine's a double. Or make it a treble, because that's musical, innit?