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Thanks 88...you know I may have that book. I'm going to look through my stacks of music. I'm going for level 5. It seemed like a nice place to start. I have the theory practice books, the syllabus, the repertoire, the etudes etc and I'm waiting for the aural practice CDs I ordered. I'm enjoying the prep and hope to take it in December. They offer one in August but I'm not sure I'll be ready enough by then. It's not the only music I'm working on but it is a goal

WiseBuff, I looked again at the level 5 technical requiremens, and I think you'll be best off finding or buying the technical requirements book. There are too many requirements to be sure of describing them in words accurately.

But for the broken chords, basically you start in root position and play a broken triad in root position, then first inversion, then second inversion, then root position again (now you're an octave higher). Then reverse the procedure, playing the broken chords from top to bottom until you're back where you started. Finish with a V I cadence.

That's a lot clearer when you can see it in notation.

Actually 88 that is very clear to me. I know the cadences and the chords but wasn't sure how they wanted it to flow. Do they want both hands to play root, then 1st inversion, then 2nd? or left hand then right hand up the keyboard?

Hands together. This is mentioned in the syllabus, which is available for free download here.

The arpeggios, on the other hand, are hands separate.

Hi there, not RCM but you can see ABRSM grade 1 and grade 5 exam videos here:

http://www.abrsm.org/en/students/examvideos/

Cheers

Nick

Coming back to this thread after awhile away. I just got my comments/marking sheet back from the RCM Grade 4 exam. I can see that my self assessment and the examiners matched. I did quite well with my 3 pieces, 2 studies, and sight reading. I really struggled with the ear tests and it was noted on the comments that I needed more attention there!

What surprised me were the detailed comments on everything I did. That was nice and really appreciated. There was generally a positive comment and also something to work on to get even better. I can't wait to talk to my teacher about this and get clarity on some of the things. For now, a lovely boost to my ego to get comments like this:

"A lovely sparkle to your touch!"
"Beautifullly prepared!"
"Very elegently played with many details of articulation and dynamics intact"
"A great romp!"
"Great attention to articulation and a wonderful sense of passion and drive!"

And then of course some of the things to continue to work on:

"Be sure this is fluid, even, and clear"
"Keep working to develop shaping and dynamic contrast"
"Think 'up' to avoid heaviness and allow you to shape phrases even more"
"Pay more attention to the direction of the phrase"

As I said earlier, for me this was a great experience and I would do it again. I haven't yet decided what grade I'm preparing for next (Grade 5 or 6) as I'm taking a bit of a break and working on 'fun' pieces now. I am slowly working on some of the grade 5 materials now though and finding the ornaments a bit of a challenge. But Fun!

How is everybody else's exam prep coming along?

Well, my comments said aim for even greater fluidity for the broken triads.

Hope that helps!

Hi LadyChen, sorry I didn't see your comment earlier! Thanks! I just got my comments sheet today (June 5th). Not sure if that's generally fast or slow, but it sure has felt like forever. There was some really good and specific comments though (as I posted in my other thread) so it was worth the wait.

Thanks! How is your exam prep coming along?

It sounds like you had a good examiner. There's nothing more frustrating than not knowing why you got the mark you did. It's nice when they give you some concrete things you can work on.