A must have for any flautist approaching their grade 8 examinations!
I have been playing the flute for four years, and every time that it has come around to choosing exam pieces, I found it increasingly difficult to be able to select pieces that I liked, without having to buy several books. My first problem was that I had a newly qualified teacher, who was young and hadn't heard of many of the pieces that were offered on the ABRSM list, never mind played them. Therefore, she had no idea what to expect from them, and nor did I.
Each time it came to selecting exam pieces, off I would go to my local music store. There I would sit for hours, looking through all of the books, desperately trying to find something that looked quite simple! Not being a great sightreader, this would often leave me buying several pieces that I absolutely hated! I would then find myself spending my next weekend buying several more books. That left a huge hole in my pocket!
As I approached grade 8, I decided that there must be an easier way of selecting my exam pieces. I knew that there was no point in trying to select the easiest by sight, because they were all going to be extremely difficult.
It wasn't until I was browsing the internet that I found The ABRSM Grade 8 Flute exam pieces on CD. Fantastic!
Without much thought I purchased the CD for £19.95. This at first sounded quite expensive, but in the long run it potentially saved me a lot of time and a lot of money on pieces that I was never going to play.
When I recieved the CD, I carefully listened to it and selected the pieces that I liked the best. I then went out and purchased these two pieces. I spent about 10 minutes in the shop...and never had to go to select anymore pieces! It was wonderful!
As I purchased my music in the summer, I was left with 6 weeks without a teacher. This is where the CD proved itself to be amazingly useful. I was able to listen to my pieces and work out how I was supposed to play them and also what speed they should ideally be played at. By the end of the summer, I could play my pieces from list A and B so well, that when I went back to school, my teacher was amazed to hear that I hadn't actually had any lessons for 6 weeks.
Once I could play my pieces relatively well, I found it extremely useful to play along with the piano accompaniments provided. This helped me to get used to playing with an accompaniest, and meant that I didn't have to wait until my weekly lesson to run through my pieces properly.
The boxset inclued all of the list A and B pieces. Unfortunately the list C pieces aren't included. These pieces are often regarded as being the most difficult, so its a pity that they aren't included.
Disk 1 is a recording of flute and piano playing the list A pieces. Disk 2 is a recording of flute and piano playing the list B pieces. Disk 3 is a recording of piano accompaniment for the list A pieces. Disk 4 is a recording of piano accompaniment for the list B pieces.
On these particular CDs the flute is played by Gareth Davied and the Piano by John Alley. Both are fantastic musicians, who perfectly interpret the music and help to bring it to life, demonstrating how the performer has the potential to do the same.
I would fully recommend this set of CDs, not just to flautists determined to perfect their grade 8 pieces, but also to music teachers that want to be able to hear their students repetoire before recommending pieces to them. The pieces are played with such conviction that they would be perfect for anyone who enjoys listening to the works of great musicians
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I find this to be exceptionally helpful as I have a son who plays the flute and is getting ready for his grade 4 exam. This is very good information for those who have to 'go it alone' so to speak. I hope everything goes well for you in the future. 1lentz
Silverback 29.01.2006 09:50
Excellent and interesting - good luck with your exam. Paul
SueMagee 29.01.2006 08:24
Good luck with the exam if you haven't already taken it.
exceptional by (13%):
very helpful by (88%):
