THE WAY OF PIANO • MIND • BODY • SOUL
Written by ANDREW EALES
”What grade is this piece?”
Having been a consultant for three of the top exam boards, compiled several graded anthology publications, and reviewed all the UK syllabus offerings in depth, it’s probably no surprise that I am often asked to comment on the grade level of pieces.
I certainly think that by analysing current and previous repertoire choices set by the main exam boards, we can draw a number of common conclusions about the Grade Expectations underpinning them, but it must be emphasised from the start that considerable variety currently exists between the equally accredited boards, and that standards have notably shifted in recent years.
In this article I will begin by explaining in more detail why it is becoming more difficult to assign clear grade levels to pieces. I will then outline the common technical and musical content currently found in the syllabus pieces for each grade level, primarily based on recent ABRSM choices, but having also referred to and reviewed the main alternatives.
I will also link to recommendations of suitable music for each grade level, so that those keen to expand their teaching and playing repertoire can explore the wide and wonderful variety of music that is available for today’s players at every level.
Why grade levels are so elusive
All players have distinctive personalities, musical tastes, piano playing strengths, and weaknesses. A piece which is challenging for one player may be relatively easy for another, and vice-versa. A well-devised exam syllabus reflects this range of musical competencies and engagement, offering sufficient variety to promote progress while allowing scope for players to showcase their strengths.
Work developing core skills between grades, and the wonderful variety of pieces that should be enjoyed before starting preparation for the next exam, play a crucial role in consolidating progress and laying solid foundations for continuing success and musical enjoyment. Exam pieces reflect this expectation of progress between grades, and it is unwise to take shortcuts from one grade to the next if our aim is to foster musical ability.
Historically, and with this in mind, many pieces were considered too easy to set for one grade, but too difficult for the next. More recently, exam boards seem to have become more relaxed about including such pieces, so there is now a greater range of difficulty within grade selections. This has blurred common perceptions about which grade a piece is suitable for.
A recent example is Schumann’s First Loss, which appeared at Grade 3 with one board (LCM), and simultaneously on the Grade 4 list for another (ABRSM). So which is correct? Teachers will encounter many such conflicts, and a comparison between the boards reveals perplexing inconsistencies in benchmarking.
Those specifically looking for easy options will rarely be disappointed, and there is a widely held (and I believe justified) perception that in recent years standards have been steadily but systematically eroded. Where easier pieces now appear at higher grades, determining their suitability and grade level becomes ever more elusive.
The slow movement of Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata was previously set for ABRSM Grade 6, but is now on their Grade 8 list. No wonder so many teachers, parents, and musicians are profoundly confused.
A study of “support test” requirements further confirms a deliberate lowering of expectations in recent years, but here a further problem emerges: these tests often bear little or no relation to the musical understanding, technique, and musicianship skills required for playing the repertoire that has been set within the same syllabus. We cannot therefore use the support test requirements as any indication of expected repertoire content.
Further fuelling uncertainty, assigning grade levels to arrangements of music not originally intended for solo piano (e.g. pop songs, movie and game themes) is especially problematic due to the absence of past precedent. Nor in many cases will an effective performance of these arrangements be one which strictly adheres to the simplified written score.
To sum up, when trying to establish what grade a piece of music is, the above considerations all complicate matters. Perhaps in the final analysis, this simply isn’t how we should think about music anyway!
But bringing together my observations of typical expectations, the following guidelines will I hope generally hold true, and be of practical use to players, teachers, composers and publishers considering the suitability of any piece..
Expectations, Grade by Grade
INITIAL GRADE
Pieces included in the pre-Grade 1 syllabus will usually be one page. Key signatures might include at most one sharp or flat. In general, pieces will remain within a closed five note position, but some may stretch to intervals of a sixth by extending the thumb, or move hand position between sections.
Expressive details include staccato, tenuto, accents, and legato passages in some pieces. Dynamics range from piano to forte, with occasional use of diminuendo and crescendo. Some pieces include a ritenuto. Direct pedalling is occasionally included as a special effect.
GRADE ONE
Syllabus pieces at Grade 1 typically range in length from 16-28 bars, depending on tempo and meter, and are usually presented on a single page, occasionally two. Key signatures may include one sharp or flat, but chromatic notes (accidentals) are common.
Grade 1 pieces include more frequent hand position changes, stretches of a sixth or seventh and hand position changes within a phrase. Occasionally, pieces include the use of thumb-under technique. The melody is sometimes passed between hands, requiring effective voicing.
There may be longer passages of quavers, and simple syncopated rhythms. Some pieces include tempo adjustments. Hand crossing appears, simple chords become a regular feature, and pedalling is occasionally indicated.
Dynamics range from pianissimo to fortissimo, and may include more gradual dynamic changes. Phrase shaping (without specific dynamic indications) is also expected for best musical results at this level.
GRADE TWO
Grade 2 pieces are typically one or two pages long, ranging from 16-32 bars. Major and minor keys rarely include more than two sharps or one flat. Pieces with compound time signatures or swing quavers occasionally appear, and off-beat syncopations (including chords) are common in the jazzy pieces selected.
The syllabus pieces now include more significant hand stretches between notes, within a legato phrase. Connecting hand positions by passing the thumb under is a standard expectation, and occasionally we find short passages using legato thirds in one hand. Semiquavers make an appearance. Chromatic notes and passages become more common.
Grade 2 pieces require effective voicing of melody vs. accompaniment. The hands may be required to play different articulations from each other, simultaneously. Longer notes might be held down while playing shorter notes with the same hand. Patterns are sometimes shared between the hands across the two staves, and two ‘voices’ are sometimes notated on the same stave, indicated by stem direction.
Pieces in the classical style commonly use Alberti bass patterns. Players are likely to encounter baroque mordents, grace notes (including both appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas, which must be distinguished), and recurring two-note couplet slurs.
Subtle changes to dynamics and mood are developed over more extended passages. Legato pedalling becomes a more regular requirement, usually changing once per bar.
GRADE THREE
Grade 3 syllabus pieces are usually two pages long, and range from a minimum of 20 bars to a maximum twice that length, depending on the complexity and time signature. Compound Time signatures are standard. Key signatures might include up to three sharps or two flats, but most pieces are likely to be in easier keys.
Growing finger dexterity is expected, and Grade 3 pieces will often include rapid scale and arpeggio patterns, semiquavers, demisemiquavers, and triplet quavers. They may also include short trills.
There is an increased use of accidentals and chromatic harmonies by Grade 3, and the voicing and texture are often a little more complex. However, larger chords and stretches are generally avoided, as are octave passages.
Music for players at this level assumes they can communicate with a wide dynamic range, convey all standard articulations, and incorporate use of the sustain pedal as directed.
GRADE FOUR
Grade 4 pieces are usually two or three pages long. A one-page piece would include specific challenges that justify its inclusion at this level despite its brevity. Keys can include up to four sharps or flats, but syllabus pieces in more difficult keys remain outliers.
Grade 4 Pieces have greater complexity of texture and figuration between hands. Chords require a larger stretch, for example an octave with additional third note included within that span. Spread arpeggiated chords may be included.
Legato thirds within one hand appear more frequently, at a faster pace, and using dotted rhythms. LH stretches and jumps are more ambitious, for example in Waltz accompaniment patterns. Pedalling requires sophisticated control by ear.
GRADE FIVE
Grade 5 syllabus pieces will typically be two or three pages long, and occasionally four pages (generally in pieces which include repetition). They might use key signatures up to five sharps or flats. They require a growing level of stylistic awareness across different periods and genres.
Technically, these pieces require an increasingly comprehensive range of finger techniques and dexterity, with an even touch, good tone control, and balance between the hands.
Legato passages may appear in thirds, sixths, or occasionally octaves (in which case they will represent a particular challenge to those with smaller hands). Finger substitutions and sophisticated pedalling will often be needed in order to realise the composer’s musical intentions.
GRADE SIX
Until recently, there was a clear jump between Grades 5 and 6, with repertoire selections at the higher grade based on the now defunct assumption that having taken Grade 5, the player would be fluent playing scale and arpeggio patterns in all keys, and have a corresponding theoretical understanding.
Expectations for Grade 6 syllabus pieces may have lightened somewhat, but they are still generally longer than Grade 5 pieces, typically three to four pages, and can be in any major or minor key. The current ABRSM syllabus selections certainly retain a more ‘serious’ classical component than is found in earlier grades, too.
Counterpoint with up to three voices becomes a standard feature, including as it appears in Baroque, Romantic and contemporary textures.
These pieces may include longer trills, a full range of historic and modern ornamentations, and a background understanding of context, performing conventions and traditions will help the player realise the best interpretation.
GRADES SEVEN TO EIGHT
At both Grades 7 and 8, a full range of standard piano techniques are assumed, and the repertoire covers all styles of piano playing. Syllabus selections include a wide range of core classical to contemporary concert favourites, only stopping short of the most virtuosic and extended works, which are reserved for the performance diploma syllabus.
Whilst the Grade 8 syllabus used to require a contrapuntal work and a Sonata Form movement, this is again no longer the case, yet again demonstrating the lowering of expectations. The list is now dominated by shorter character pieces in a wide range of styles. This offers plenty of appeal, but makes Grades 7 and 8 more difficult to distinguish.
With little obvious progression remaining between these two levels, I generally now recommend skipping Grade 7 and focusing on developing a wide repertoire prior to taking Grade 8.
Despite the lowering of expectations evident in Grade 8 syllabus choices, one might still meaningfully assert that easier Bach Preludes and Fugues, many of the greatest classical Sonata movements, Chopin Nocturnes, and Debussy favourites are all approachable by players at around Grade 8 level. And regardless of their inclusion in the syllabus I find most players at this level are keen to explore these most wonderful treasures of Western music.
Some conclusions
In the introductions to each of the graded repertoire collections that I have compiled and edited, I make the point that matching music to grade levels is never an exact science. Most music was not composed with music assessments in mind, but rather to be explored with curiosity, enjoyed, and shared with others informally or in performance.
Bearing in mind the many challenges and inconsistencies that I have highlighted in this article, how then do I personally assess what grade I believe that a piece is?
Firstly, and much as I enjoy the idea of “own choice” repertoire, when helping a student prepare for an assessment, it seems to me sensible to recommend playing pieces which the board have themselves selected in recent years. Avoid casting the net too far back however, as this might lead to selecting pieces that are harder than current expectations, and lack the joyous diversity that has become a welcome feature in more recent years.
More generally, I remember my role as that of an educator, not an examiner. At each level, it’s my aim to introduce players to the widest variety of music and styles, with challenge pieces alongside those that consolidate. I hope to enlarge the player’s musical experience, bringing enjoyment, deep reward, and a clear sense of progress.
These are benefits which I believe should be a part of all piano education, and the goals underpinning my own Joy of Graded Piano anthology series, about which you can find out more here:
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