What grade should I be at? (1 Viewer)

[Hermzie]

During the HSC when you have to perform the practical piece, at what grade should you be at in order to be able to play for the examiner and do well?
I'm in year 11 right now and I'm in grade 1 for the violin and I'm not sure if I'd be able to do well in my HSC if I played at say, grade 3.

At what grade are most people at when they do their hsc?

 

[Phanatical]

For Music 2, if you want to score well you'll have at least 7th grade AMEB, or equivalent. You'll be up against students with their AMusA and LMusA, so grade 3 violin won't do you much good.

 

[Hermzie]

What about for Music 1?

 

[ujuphleg]

The candiature for Music 1 is much bigger and therefore, there is a bigger range of people from those who can't read music to those who are also doing 7th grade.

I wouldn't worry so much about what grade you are at or are going to be, but more about picking a piece which demonstrates what you can do effectively. Remember, HSC examners don't have scores, so what is more important is your performance prescence and if this means a simpler piece then go for it. That is better than a hard piece you are going to struggele with and play badly.

 

[Hermzie]

Thankyou so much for that I was really nervous before because a few friends of mine had mentioned that most people sitting for music 1 need to be able to play at a certain level in order to score well and seeing that I haven't been playing as long...yeth...

 

[Kelvy]

It definately depends more on how well you pull it off on the day than how difficult the peice actually is (that said, don't go in and play like twinkle twinkle little star virtuoso-style ). If you want to impress, pick a showoffy peice (which I admit, more often than not, require technical flair) but there are many easier peices out there which are as flashy - just make sure you pull it off though on the day! Thats the main thing

 

[trumpet geek]

you should play some fully weird contemporary piece where you bow under neath the strings and scrape your nails up and down the strings on the fingerboard and play your violin upside down and make lots of strange noises.

 

[dannyboy_588]

hmmmm

as has been said, you don't need a certain skill level, as long as you play well.

but as has also been said, it helps to have a iece that sounds good....

you can always play a solo line to an ensemble piece...

like Air for G String... just the 1st violin part....

ask your music teacher for more ideas....

 

[pristine]

i don't know about you, but i'm doing diploma piano, played guitar and drums for 2/4 years and am doing 4 performance pieces for HSC [im doing MUSIC 1] - 2 piano, 1 drum, 1 guitar piece... and i'm having trouble with the whole "what grade should i be in" too......

 

[dannyboy_588]

mmhmm

there is no grade requirement...

as long as you play well...

 

[felafel]

you should play some fully weird contemporary piece where you bow under neath the strings and scrape your nails up and down the strings on the fingerboard and play your violin upside down and make lots of strange noises.

ahahaha

hear hear

 

[dannyboy_588]

mmm

or you could just play 4:33 by John Cage...

 

[ur_inner_child]

or you could just play 4:33 by John Cage...

isn't that the one where he mangled up the inside of the piano?

good luck.

EDIT: NO WAIT!... I know which one...


ahahaha good joke. Now I feel like an idiot.

 

[Phanatical]

I did a 3000 word rhythmic analysis of John Cage's 4'33". Got good marks for it too.

 

[soulshine]

for real? Have you got a copy of that essay handy? I think it would make an interesting read!

 

[Phanatical]

http://www.secsmusic.org/composers/quahandrew/comptechessay.doc

 

[Jase]

do you music people actaully study something like 4'33" in theory? .. like as part of the history of contemporary/postmodern music? that would be pretty cool.

 

[beccaxx]

one of my friends only started playin an instrament in yr 11 and was doin music.. 1 i think.
anyways she changed instruments bout 3 times before sticking with singing, which she did welll with til the trial.... i dont know how she went in that but someone sed she wasnt as good as she had been.

anyways, point of the story: when all else fails jst sing!

lol, and dont stress, practicing anything u will get good. if all u no on ur instrument is ur performance pieces and u no them fantastic..... that should be enuf

(says bec who chose 2 do art over music.....)

 

[freakcore]

Well they are really supposed to mark it based on how well you play in your chosen 'style' not how difficult it is. For example if someone goes in and plays one of Rachmaninoffs preludes but plays it in a disjointed fashion and has all the phrasing and interpretation out of whack then another person who goes in and sings or plays a simpler song but does it "in the style" will supposedly do better

 

[demosthenes]

absolutely agree.
I am playing at an L-mus level, and am doing a jazz piece (which u cant really grade) an really difficult L-mus piece, and a grade 5 piece. It sounds odd that i am doing a grade 5 piece, but i think that if u play ANY piece right, then u will succeed. This piece is technically very simple, but it evokes emotion and is (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for the saxophone. So it depends on how you play it.

If you have good musical perceptions, maybe playing something slow and emotional will be good for you (even if u havent been playing for all that long.)

I dont know but....