Hi Violists!

Long time no post! I'm here to tell you guyz about your viola graded exams.

We will all be taking ABRSM Graded Exam syllabus. Seems that Dr Yeo prefers ABRSM over Trinity Guildhall.

Basically there's four parts to the exams. Pieces, Scales, Quick Study(Sight Reading) and Aural.

Lets talk about pieces first. Basically you are required to choose one piece each from three sets of music. There are 3 sets of 6 pieces of music in total. From experience, Set A focuses more on basic stuff like pulse-keeping and rhythm. Set B focuses on technical skills and Set C focuses on performance skills.
Here are some links to the repertoire
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
or.. Complete

There are some General Regulations to follow so make sure you don't break any rules and fail before you even do it. Heres some important points for those lazy to open the PDF:
a Candidates are required to perform on acoustic instruments (electric instruments are not permitted). Aaron pls take note of this. lol
b In Grades 1 to 5 the teacher or accompanist may tune the candidate’s instrument before the examination begins. The examiner will not do so. In all other grades candidates will be required to tune their own instruments.
c Candidates should provide themselves with music stands and stools if they require them.
e Intonation, production and quality of tone, bowing and finger action, and posture will be taken into account in the marking of the pieces and studies, scales and arpeggios.
g Candidates should use their discretion in the choice of pieces in order to present a contrasted and balanced programme.
h A live piano accompaniment is required for all pieces, except those which are published as studies or unaccompanied works. Candidates must provide their own
accompanist, who may remain in the examination room only while engaged in accompanying.
i By Grade 5, candidates should have acquired some skill in vibrato.
l The tests of Playing at Sight will be given without accompaniment. Candidates will be given a short interval of up to half a minute in which to look through and, if they wish, try out any part of the test before they are required to perform it for assessment. Treble clef will be introduced in the Grade 6 tests for Viola.

The requirement for scales and sight reading for the different grades are stated in the respective PDF files attached up there.

For scales, the examiner will ask you to play some scales. And you have to play the scales he/she asks you to do. Duh.

For sight reading, you are provided with a very short piece. For grade 5 the standard is around a Herber Kinadsojfakc etude (screw the spelling). Good luck with this part. Ask Bjorn for advice if you dont know how to sight read to save your life.

And.. Aural! My favourite!!
Here are some links again:
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
or.. Complete

The Aural test goes like this:
The examiner will play some music. You are required to tap the pulse, or sing a few phrases echoing the piano or from the score. You are also required to identify cadences for grade 6. The last part is the examiner play one long piece and you are to identify the features of the piece. For grade 6, you are required to identify the style and period, and maybe the composer. (the stoopid examiner asked me the title of the piece during my grade 8 aural lol!)

If you need help in aural I think me and larry will organize some practise sessions with you people! Dr Yeo is NOT teaching aural, but I have the necessary materials to coach grade 3-5 ppl.

Please perform well for this test. The marking scheme is as follow

Schedule of maximum marks for all grades:
Pieces:
1 30
2 30
3 30
Scales and Arpeggios 21
Playing at Sight 21
Aural Tests 18
Total 150

Pass is 100. Merit is 120 and Distinction is 130. Lets all try to aim for Distinction shall we?

Good luck!!


Cheers,
Choong

HCISO Violists23:40<3

Hello,
This is Wilfred. :) Happy Chinese New Year!

Can someone please post? Because I'm not very good at elaborating about random topics which come to my mind despite the past year's worth of practice I've got in History lessons. Honestly.

Anyway, looking back on the past CHINESE LUNAR year ( XD ), I have to say it's been a fruitful year. Ignoring the ominous message below, we've improved a lot! :) Honestly, you don't really hear Mr Chan praising the viola section that much a few years ago. Even having a viola section being praised is a phenomenal feat in itself. So here's a "job well done" to all of us! (No credit to me of course XD)

That being said, there's a long way in front of us! In just half a year, the Sec 4 batch will be leaving. Such a sad truth, isn't it? But no need for any crying as you gaze upon our stout backs, while we walk step by step towards the door of no return. (Okay, I shall stop being crappy and melodramatic just for the sake of being that :P) But seriously, improving is what we have to do.

What Chay Choong said pretty much covers the basic part of what has to be done. But I would just like to add something... Music is a natural priviledge for all of us. As such, it should be both "natural" and a "priviledge" to you. When putting up your viola, if it feels unnatural and you feel like you have to contort your spine to do so, you're probably not doing it right. If you look in the mirror and feel that your image looks crushed and tortured, something has to be done. If your back hurts after you play the viola, something is probably wrong as well, and so on. Listen to yourself when you play. If you think you sound bad, chances are others will think so too. But why is that so? That's something that you have to work out by yourself. Lastly, have you ever played in a completely dark room? When you don't just concentrate on the images which make up your score, and you employ your senses, everything is different. Let your fingers feel their way around the fingerboard. Feel your fingers sliding over the strings. Feel your instrument vibrating upon your chest as you pull your bow across the C-string. Feel the strings' resistance. Listen to that lone sound resounding around you.

Wilfred



P.S. Can someone please tell the sec 2s that we even have a viola blog?

HCISO Violists19:23<3