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When I was a kid I had piano lessons and got as far as Grade 2 before giving up . After a 20 year break I started back up again, without lessons, and have been playing a lot for the last 5 years. I'm very happy with my progression but am starting to think that maybe I'm picking up bad habbits or am only concentrating on areas that I enjoy. I've decided to go back to lessons and get some exams but it's difficult to know what grade to aim for. Having listened to some exam pieces, I'd be pretty confident I could play the Grade 5 pieces but would I be better off in the long run going for a lesser grade to maybe be more technically correct?

If I were you I'd get a teacher to give you an assessment. It's impossible to say without hearing you, but I would imagine you've fallen into some bad habits, as everyone does. An assessment would pinpoint these faults and give you something to work on, and a better idea of where you stand re exams. It's impossible to be impartial about your own playing, and an external opinion would be very useful for you.

Plodski wrote:Having listened to some exam pieces, I'd be pretty confident I could play the Grade 5 pieces but would I be better off in the long run going for a lesser grade to maybe be more technically correct?

Listening to music on a CD or listening to a performance of a piece of music and then having to read it from music and perform it yourself are two entirely different things. Music has that horrible habit of making something rather complicated sound rather simple and sometimes even vice versa.

What you are really saying is that you feel you could jump up three grades! That is a huge jump and probably over ambitious. Skipping out one grade is one thing - I did it but based on advice from my teacher - but three may be a mistake. Get some expert advice on that before you do anything!