How long between music grades

It is true that exams are a good way of measuring progress, it is rewarding to feel that you have passed a certain level and this reward can be a motivation to try even harder to achieve the next level. Despite all this, we must never forget that we are learning to be musicians, not just technicians and musicianship is a skill not best learned by playing the same three pieces for 6 months or more.

One of the best ways to learn musicianship is to play with others. This is a little harder for pianists, but still, you can try to find duets or even accompany other instrumentalists. The more pieces you are exposed to, the better a musician you will be and regularly having something new to learn, even if not to the same standard as an exam piece, will do wonders for your sight reading. It gives me an idea of the progress somebody would have made at my age.

I know it would be primarily based on experience, but in my opinion, it helps as well. Show 2 more comments. Active Oldest Votes. I've had students reach grade 8 in three years, and others never reach it in twenty. Improve this answer. L3B L3B 2, 7 7 silver badges 24 24 bronze badges. Add a comment. Tim Tim k 14 14 gold badges silver badges bronze badges. I don't believe in talent. NeilMeyer - really can't believe you said that! Make it into some sort of question.

The answers will make interesting reading. Read the suzuki books to know my feelings on talent. If anyone ever tells you cannot do music, ignore them and get a better teacher The only difference between you and the teachers at Julliard is in fact 10 hours of practice and maybe some theory work.

Neil Meyer Neil Meyer I thank you so much for your comfort! I am twelve. And yes, I agree there is no such thing as talent, just pure hard work! Sorry, but I'm opening a book on how much this gets downvoted. What do you mean? OrangeOrange OrangeOrange 1 2 2 bronze badges.

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Nowadays there are multiple examination boards, but all their exams share the same core content and are calibrated to the same Grade scale. In brief, Grade 1 is the entry-level exam and Grade 8 is the hardest. In practice, the number of skills and abilities required to pass each successive tier increases, as well as the difficulty.

Grade 1 is simply centred around the performance of prepared basic pieces and scales; while by Grade 8 a student must demonstrate a suite of skills including improvisation, sight reading and a thorough understanding of musical theory demonstrated in a separate but parallel Theory exam.

Grades 1 to 5 act as a scale of a student's formative musical development: while they will receive certificates in each one, they do not count towards higher education requirements. Grade 5 acts as a gateway exam for Grades 6, 7 and 8, and introduces a theoretical element; a student cannot skip straight to Grade 6, regardless of skill they already have.