Hey guys.
I've got my Amusa piano recital in 2 weeks, for those who know what it is. I'm getting really nervous and anxious with all the numbers being thrown around like 70% failure rate etc. I didn't practise enough early in the year (because I didn't have time) and now i'm trying to pull it together right at the end. My pieces still have a lot of work to do, and it's in two weeks! By the way her's my program.

Mageau, Elite Syncopations.
Beethoven Sonata Op27 no 1
Rachmaninoff, Elegie opus 3 no 1
Chopin Valse E minor op Posthumous.

I can play the whole program from memory, with memory slips every now and then, But I just can't pull everything together!Especially the 4th movement of the beethoven..

Anyway i'm wondering.

1. In terms of the actual playing, what do you need to show them in terms of musicality, etc. Do you need to hit every right note? Or are they a bit lenient? Basically what is a pass inn terms of the playing?

2. What is the extent of the general knowledge needed to pass?

I'll probably ask more questions, but i'll start with just these. I really, really want to pass this time because i dont want to have to do it next year with year 11 at school! With all the studying, and i'm a basketball player.

Help would be appreciated.

thankyou.

If you look back over the last 4-6 weeks you'll find at least 2 threads on this - I think most if not all of your queries are dealt with. But briefly:
[1]It's not so much that they are "lenient", it's that, as in performance, a slip or a wrong note does not spoil a musical performance.

[2]As for the general knowledge, get a hold of the syllabus from your teacher and read the requirements. While you're at it, read the criteria for a satisfactory result.

But do look back through recent threads for more info.

Agreed, but the main thing to keep in mind is that this is a test of performance, so a musical interpretation will be more important than whether or not you play everything from memory, or if you hit a few wrong notes.

Good luck and let us know how you go.

Marcus

Here's a link to one of the threads I mentioned.

Oh ok thankyou that thread helped me a lot.

Also the 4th movement is really frustrating me. For those who know it, all of the bits where the left hand has a lot of running notes while the tune is in the RH (man there is a lot of them). My left hand goes out of time with the right. I can play everything well seperately, at tempo, and well faster if I wanted to. My RH is just so much more controlled than my left, probably because I had an infected thumb that lasted for two months so I could only practise the RH. Problem is that the exam is in two weeks and I HAVE to get these bits good together.! How should I practise the bits to get them good in the limited time I have?
Thanks.

I sat my exam today! I played quite well, except for a few stumbles in the fourth movement. The elegy was amazing (by my standards haha)and I was able to answer in depth all the general knowledge questions.

I think I will pass but it depends on how much they care about stumbles, (I had one or two quite bad moments in the fourth).

Sooo anxious for my result!!

Good luck!
Let us know when you get your results! Did you play anything from memory? As an aside, how many hours practice were you doing to prepare for the exam, and how long did you take to prepare your pieces. I ask because I may one day sit my AMusA.

Cheers

Marcus

Thanks!
Yeah I played it all from memory, didnt have any memory slips either

Well earlier in the year I didn't spend nearly enough time on the piano because I also play Basketball at a high level. I was supposedly practising for 2 hours a day, though that rarely happened. About 2 months before the exam I realised that I really needed to start working harder, so I started doing a lot more, then 1 month to go 4 hours a day. With two weeks to go I was still severly underprepared (especially in general knowledge) so I spend 8 hours a day playing and 2 on general knowledge. So I guess I pulled it together at the last minute.

Well in terms of how long it took, I learnt my Chopin Waltz in the middle of last year, but it was never good, and I came back to it this April. The Mageau I had learnt at the start of last year, and came back to it again around April. The Rachmaninoff I started in June, Beethoven at the start of the year.

And good luck if you sit the exam! It's a great thing to do. Even if I don't pass i'm very happy i've done it as it really made me enjoy music a lot more than I used to. AND the 200 000 dollar Steinway exam piano was a thrill to play on!

Nice going on your performance!

Was this some special Steinway?

I don't know the Mageau piece. Is it a rag like piece like the Scott Joplin work with the same name?

I don't know if it's a "special" steinway or not but I NEVER get to play on a steinway and this one is supposed to be a very good one.

The Mageau piece is based on the Scott Joplin piece. It has 3 of the 4 themes from the Joplin, but Mageau added her sections to it based on whole tone scales. Basically a whole lot of strange rhythms/note patterns and cadenza like sections.
It was kind of fun to play, but i'm not big on her pieces, or pieces from ragtime composers.

I can't believe it.... I failed.

Sorry to hear that, nextbigthingg

However, it's not that unusual to fail on the first attempt. I've accompanied singers and instrumentalists who passed when I thought they shouldn't have, and others who failed when I thought they should have passed. So although the examiners are marking to a set of criteria, there is still the personal opinion factor. Hopefully the report should give you enough information to know what to concentrate on for next time, if you decide to resit. I know you'll be disappointed, but try to work out with your teacher how to use the experience for your benefit.

All the best, currawong.

Sorry to hear... next time

Yeah Thanks.
My teacher was actually shocked that I didn't pass. She passes around 12 AmusA's a year (in 2007 4 people got distinctions in the state, she had all 4), and a few LmusA's a year and she is an examiner, and she couldn't believe I didn't pass. She actually offered me the option of appealing (which is extremely rare) because of it, which would mean that my two examiners would get asked if I was borderline or close to passing, if so I would get 2 different examiners and sit again in three weeks (the next session is in April, i'm NOT learning my pieces for that long).
I said no though because my exam made me behind in school so I have to pass, and i have other committments. So anyway my teacher decided she will complain to the head of AMEB (I guess she really believed in me haha) but i'm not going for Amus now. Going straight to LmusA because my teacher think's i'll be fine. Just for the qualification i'll probably do my AmusA again after the LmusA in a couple years. Starting Beethovens Les Adieux sonata soon
I'm still shattered thoughh, but I'm using it for determination to improve.

Sorry to hear about that nextbigthing.
However, I think that your attitude is to be applauded. I really admire your determination to move onto LMusA. One of my friends failed AMusA also, despite having a highly polished and competent program. He had a recital with an examiner the following week to find out what he was doing wrong, and the examiner could not understand why he had failed. I have also just read Piano Notes by Anna Goldsworthy, a very talented pianist - and she failed AMusA the first time despite having a polished program.

Music can be so subjective at times. Keep up the good work though!

Marcus

I'm playing that Beethoven piece right now, it's a killer!

Yeah Thanks, and I know what you mean by subjective. My mum (who is a teacher) went to the examiners I had Teaching clinic. He apparently said everything had to be played a certain way, no exceptions. My mum also said that she had never seen the pieces he used as examples played the way he played them. So I guess he didn't like the way I played, but it's not just me. Apparently the last 5 people he's examined for AmusA have failed.
One of my teachers other students who is an AMAZING pianist, was asked by three well known professionals overseas to play his Schumann sonata for them. They were blown away by his performance. Long story short, he sat his LmusA with that piece, with the same examiner I had, and all the comments about everything, including that piece, were negative, and he JUST scraped in a pass, my teacher thought he was almost a sure fire distinction.

Anyway my teacher is complaining to a few AMEB people, which actually annoyes me a bit because I just want to move on. I figure as long as i'm at the level for passing AmusA the result doesn't really matter much.

I'm choosing my LmusA program now! It's so hard to choose! Right now i've got:
Beethoven Les Adeuix Sonata.
Rachmaninoff Prelude in G Minor (learnt last year)
20th century work, haven't decided yet, right now narrowed down to Bartok, Debussy or Barber.
One of chopin's bigger works (probably), mainly looking at the second scherzo, or 1st ballade.
And either a Chopin waltz (probably grande valse brilliante) or etude, or a Liszt piece (being my favourite composer). Looking at either Trancendental etude 6, Ballade 1, or Les Jeux d'eau a la Villa d' este.
With everything though, I may change my mind, I love many of the pieces in LmusA.

Yes I know!
I am not entirely happy with the way I played it. I was playing a lot of basketball early in the year, and not enough piano. This sonata suffered the most as I had to "rush" learning it. Some bits didn't come out the best.
But oh man, the second and fourth movements were a challenge.
Lovely, underrated sonata though!

Sonetto 123 is on the AMus list - it's 104 which is on LMus list (2009 manual). Actually, what's weird is that 104 is on the list for AMus and LMus. I wonder is it a misprint? But I guess if your teacher is an examiner she will have noticed this.

That's one good thing about the AMEB - there's plenty of choice

Yes thankyou, I just realised this as well. Yes my teacher noticed it too. Sonetto 104 is in AmusA and should not have been printed in the LmusA syllabus, according to her.

Gah, update.
My teacher called another examiner who apparently had a few very good students fail from this guy. Now this other examiner wants to hear me play my program and see if she can figure out why I failed. My teacher and mum are also heavily leaning toward appealing, while definately writing a complaint. So now I have to get my program up and running again.......... I appreciate people trying to work for me but I just want to move on!!

Of course it's not just "this guy" as there are two examiners, and they are expected to examine by consensus. Though maybe he's a bit overpowering
One strong ground for an appeal is if the written report doesn't match up with the result (eg well played! - result=fail) Put positively it means that the report should indicate exactly what was lacking in the performance, and give you a clear idea of how to go about passing next time.

But I hear what you're saying about wanting to move on, and totally understand the feeling. Best wishes whatever you decide to do.

Yes you are right, but the examiner who writes the report gets the final say, and well, everything on the report.

And yes, the report did say what I needed to do better. Basically all style things.

The mageau he basically said all good but the ragtime sections and too much unnecessary drama, like crescendo's, etc.

Beethoven 1st was good, report said the allegro was a little uneven.

"2nd was taken at a exciting, vigorous tempo". But the "large scale melodic outline not brought out enough", which me and my teacher firmly disagree with.

3rd he thought was good.

4th he said "Virtuosic tempo was exciting, but often at the expense of musical coherence. Some slips were distracting." Partially true, but I only slipped minorly three or so times, and musically it wasn't completely there, as I had to rush learning it, but my teacher said it was surely still pass standrad.

Elegie he liked, but said "frequent accentuation in melody was distracting." And "voicing in the forte sections needed further refinement." This we disagreed with the most, my teacher thought the elegie was distinction standard. She couldn't find out what the examiner was on about here.

Chopin he actually liked a lot. But he said "Chopin's mature lyrical (can't remember what word he used here) needed further refinement." Again we disagreed.

We do agree with some things he said, but my teacher thinks that for AmusA I did these things at a high enough standard.

And I know you can't really comment on this stuff as you haven't heard me play

Also, turn of the tide, I might just be going straight on to LmusA after all :)But not positive yet, I just found out my teacher was annoyed for two other reasons. One is she's not used to having students failing, and also she had three other AmusA students around the same time as me, who she thought I was much more prepared than, and they all passed. They had different examiners.
And thankyou very much.

I appear to be missing something. Beethoven's 6th sonata has 3 movements? consisting Allegro/Allegretto(trio)/Presto. I would call that a "light" option for AmusA. The presto at performance speed is tricky, particularly when you factor the interplay between hands.

Regards the listed items for the thread, I play Beethoven's 13th piano sonata (opus 27/1). This one of my favourites, along with the "Haydn" sonata. Careful you don't play the first allegro section too fast under the adrenalyn of performance. It needs to be played fast but not too fast (chances are you will "blow the semi-quavor passages). Similarly in the allegro molto e vivace section the importance is to ensure no overlaps in the syncopated section, i.e. the dotted base represents a quavor beat which seamlessly ends with the introduction of the next rh crotchet. I place a light accent on the 1st of the group of 3, but not too much as the it is something of a musical murrel.

The final movement is certainly the hardest and it is very important to keep a sharp eye on Beethoven's phrasing and punctuation. But compared with 6, this sonata is in a different league - much more difficult to play.

Chopin's post E minor valse is regarded generally as the most difficult. Hoewever it is borderline grade VIII/diploma and very straightforward to perform. The other works I have not attempted. Personally I have never had any interest in performance diplomas, mainly because the works I perform are beyond any list. I did do Prokofiev's 3rd sonata and opus 12 with the view of perhaps doing AmusA (I play all Mozart's sonatas and Beethoven's sonatas, along with book 1 of Bach's WTC and several items from book 2), but when push came to shove I didn't see the point.

Good luck.

Yes, I think you are missing something. The OP did not mention Beethoven's 6th sonata, nor did anyone say they were playing it for AMus.

The other thing you may have missed was that the OP has already done the AMus exam, and is now going on to LMus.

And the fact that you play all the Mozart and Beethoven sonatas, that your repertoire is all beyond diploma level and that you don't see the point? Well, that could be interesting to someone I suppose, but it's not really on topic, is it, nor of much encouragement to the OP.

Bizarre, I have quickly scanned this thread. It appears Beethoven’s 6th sonata was not mentioned, but it certainly was on one of the diploma lists. Maybe I have mixed threads. Regards comments about the value of a diploma, that’s an opinion and does have merit in a forum of discuss. Other may and do have different opinions. I do admit I have never seen the AmusA list and have relied on past teachers who have rejected anything I have been working on except for Prokofiev’s opus 12 scherzo and 3rd sonata. Looking at other commentaries in this forum, it appears there are several AmusA works on my current performance repertoire.

Me and my teacher finally roughly picked my pieces for Lmus! Here they are:

Bach Prelude Fugue WTC book 1 no 7 BWV 852 (Might be dropping)
Beethoven Les Adeuix Sonata.
Chopin Ballade no 1
Liszt Transcendental Etude 6
Debussy Hommage a Rameau No 2 (Might be dropping)
Dohnanyi Rhapsody No 3 (Might be dropping)

My classical and Romantic period works are completely set. I have to drop one of the three mentioned pieces though because of time constraints. I'm leaning towards playing Debussy and Dohnanyi , thus dropping Bach.

What do you guys think?

Even though theoretically you may be able to drop the Bach (if you're using the "one from list A, 3 from list B" format) I'm not sure it's a good idea. The syllabus does say your pieces should show "at least three styles and/or historical periods". I personally think the Bach provides a better contrast.