choosing new pieces? (grade 10 rcm)?

Question

I'm starting grade 10 piano and it's time to choose pieces... I have to pick 1 from each list.
I'd like some help deciding. I like all the pieces in List A-D that I've put down. I haven't narrowed list E down at all, to be honest I'm not really in love with any of them yet.
I'm not sure what to play... I don't want all my repertoire to be too difficult though, I have really small hands ( so I'd prefer pieces with less octaves and stretching.
So can you pick one from each list that may be suitable for me?

List A:
Prelude and Fugue in E flat Major, BWV 876 Bach, J.S.
French Suite No.5 Bach, J.S. (Allemande and Gigue)

List B:
Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:33 (complete) Haydn, F.J.
Sonata in E flat Major, K 282 (189g) (complete) Mozart, W.A.
Sonata in E Major, op. 14, no. 1 (complete) Beethoven, L. van

List C:
Polonaise in C sharp Minor, op. 26, no. 1 Chopin, F.
Liebestraum No. 3 Liszt, F.
Nocturne in F sharp Major, op. 15, no. 2 Chopin, F.

List D:
Arabesque No. 1 Debussy, C.
Élégie, op. 3, no. 1 Rachmaninoff, S.
Barcarolle No. 4 in A flat Major, op. 44 Fauré, G.
Danse du meunier / The Miller’s Dance de Falla, M.

List E:
The Rails, op. 16 Deshevov, V.M.
Rondo, op. 84, no. 1 Bartók, B.
Six Variations on “Land of the Silver Birch” Gallant, P.
Trois pièces pour la légende dorée / Pépin, C.
Three Pieces for the Golden Legend (complete)
Strangeness of Heart Somers, H.
Rondó sobre temas infantiles argentinos / Ginastera, A.
Rondo on Argentine Children’s Folk Tunes
Pas de deux Barber, S.
Toccata, op. 54 Takács, J.
Six Preludes, op. 6 Muczynski, R.
Prelude No. 1
Prelude No. 6
Synergy Gardiner, M.
Snow Games Tsitsaros, C.
Variations in A minor, op. 40, no. 2 Kabalevsky, D.

Answer 1

Pick easy pieces/infamous ones! Do not pick something like Liebestraum because nine times out of ten, you'll get an examiner that won't like your interpretation. I would do: (and yes, I'm trying to minimize the amount of octaves you'd have to do, and also if it's fun to play etc)

List A: The Prelude and Fugue (I did this for the exam! And did really well! The examiner really liked it. This P & F is probably a bit easier in my opinion than the one in the old book (P& F in D major BWV 850 I think, and that one's really overplayed and examiners hate it!) Honestly do not do the French Suite, the voicing is difficult, etc.

List B: Actually, you only need to do the First and second OR second and third movements of the Beethoven Sonata (I don't know why, perhaps it's a bit more difficult than the other two, I played this for my exam)

I would recommend the Mozart/Haydn sonatas over the Beethoven, because it has lots of octaves. (First movement has a page full of legato octaves, and third movement too, not so much in the second movement) I think the Haydn sounds better than the Mozart.

List C: Definitely do not do the Liebestraum (the cadenza is hard to figure out for some people, and lots of leaps!) I think the Polonaise is a bit more difficult than the Nocturne, because it's faster, and has more octaves, etc. But the Polonaise sounds better than the Nocturne in my opinion.

List D: Elegie requires A LOT of stretching, so it's not suitable for you (I know how to play this so I know)

Personally I would prefer the Arabesque, because there isn't a lot of stretching/octaves and it sounds wonderful, and it's not very long (even though 5 pages, it's more like 2 and a half because of the repetition) The Barcarolle is nice as well, except it's a more difficult. The Miller's Dance is a bit shorter, and it doesn't really involve any octaves. But there are leaps.

List E: The first three you can't really do because it involves octaves (lots in The Rails even though it sounds really cool, and Six Variations) I'm not really familiar with the other ones. But I played Variations in A minor for my exam, and it was really good! It's a really simple piece and it sounds nice once you figure out the dynamics/articulation. It doesn't involve octaves (maybe 1 or 2, but I'm VERY FAMILIAR with this piece) and I think the most you need to stretch (or not) is a 6th.

I hope this helps! =)

Answer 2

I'm trying to choose these too!

List A: If you are going on to do your ARCT, you need to have played one of Bach's "Prelude & Fugue" in either grade 9, 10, or ARCT. I would suggest getting it done in grade 10. That's what I'm doing.

List B: I think I may choose the Haydn one. His pieces are usually my favourite. The guy above is right; for the Haydn & Mozart, you have to play all three movements of the sonata. For the Beethoven, you either play only the first & second together, or just the third alone.

List C: Liebestraum is my choice. This is because it is a song that I really like, and many people will recognize it when you play it, even if they don't know the name. It's been in movies and TV shows often.

List D: Arabesque No. 1, by Debussy. I actually found this piece 4 days before I got my grade 10 books. When I found out that it was actually part of the grade 10 repertoire, I was ecstatic! It is my favourite of the List D's for sure.

List E: I have no idea, yet...



Good luck!

Answer 3

My preferences:



List A - French Suite no. 5



List B - Mozart 282. It is an unconventional and beautiful sonata. Everybody does Beeth 14/1.



List C - The Polonaise is my favorite by far. It's not overdone and not too much of a stretch technically.



List D - I have played the Faure and love it. The Elegie is another wonderful piece. Your call here.



List E - I like the Ginastera and the two Muczynski Preludes. Your call again, the Muczynski is easier.



This program gives you variety without resorting to pieces that are frankly overplayed, such as the Debussy Arabesque or Liszt Liebestraum.

Answer 4

Honestly, its kinda hard to pick for you, since I don't know your strengths and weaknesses. Your best bet is to ask your piano teacher what she/he recommends for you.

You can also play around a little with some of them, see which ones you like. (:

I haven't played enough of those songs to give you an opinion, but I have played both of the pieces in your list A selection, and I would recommend the Prelude and Fugue in E flat, but that's just my personal opinion.

Try out them all out and have fun with it. Good luck. :)

Answer 5

Is Debussy's Reverie still in there for grade 9? That's gorgeous. I don't have the syllabus and it's not available online ... how about a list of choices that you're considering?

Answer 6

Hello,

This course is even better than a personal guitar teacher http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=554



the site has thousands of videos and well explained lessons, everything is explained step by step and it's easy to follow. I haven't found any better online training course elsewhere.

Best

Answer 7

If you'd like an inexpensive way to understand guitar at home, downloadable guitar lessons certainly are a easy and evident decision but also for years, Jamorama, https://tr.im/zsXGG is a huge front-runner in that industry, giving quality media guitar instruction that you can acquire to your computer.

Jamorama offers a great assortment of instructions and is unquestionably an excellent pick for a beginning guitarist. Jamorama's video content is all in great HD quality, and their main instructor, Mark McKenzie, does a congrats protecting the fundamentals in an easy-to-understand and user-friendly way.

Answer 8

Learning how to read music and play the piano is a very detailed process, and combines many different skills with the challenges of learning something new. Learn here https://tr.im/howtoplaypiano

When you are learning how to play the piano, it’s true that you require email support, but you also need a variety of other ways to have your questions answered. A well written course covers many questions, but there is no substitute for having real, live support when you are unclear on something specific to your learning curve.

Answer 9

It's really up to you to decide which pieces to tackle. We don't know your strength or your weaknesses and in the end it all basically boils down to personal preference. What would you be most comfortable with? What would you most enjoy? What piece would you like to tackle? Ask these questions to yourself. :)