ABRSM Grade 8 Piano, Prelude in A Flat - JS Bach

[jakaroo94]

Very clean ornaments.

[Izzywizzybear]

hEY, how old were you when you took the grade 8 exam?

[mrruixiangz]

Technically wise, you are very good, perhaps almost perfect. However, music isn't just about getting all the notes, rythmn and dynamics right. I'm confident that as you mature musically, you'll be able to bring your songs up to a further level, by immersing yourself into the music and bringing it to life.

[DELANO2K10]

Yamaha DUHHHH

[allthenamesrtook]

@DELANO2K10 he said piano model not make there is a difference ¬¬

[kongkiakeng]

what this piano model?

nice!

[lilly763]

Well done! I wish I could reach your level of accuracy... I'm taking this same exam in one month, and I'm actually playing a Bach Prelude and Fugue as well (No. 12 in F minor from book II). However, your playing feels a bit... dry? Not mechanical perse, but... I don't know, perhaps too studied and detached? Nevertheless, you did an excellent job here - you'll have many years to improve!

[Ericaa989]

i agree, i think it might be because he's learned all of them and probably isn't attached to them like you are when you take an exam playing a select few, i dont think i could possibly learn all of these and put emotion into them..

[miniq2004]

Hey absolutely brilliant Bach here he is a toughy! I'm learning my peices for my grade eight at eighteen years old so hats off gentlemen :)

Also it's so nice to come across a youtube page with nothing but constructive comments! Bravo! x

[yohbyo]

hey what did u score for this piece (prelude&fugue)? i nearly failed this piece! =(

[chris9879]

@yohbyo i couldnt play the fugue, in the end i switched to A:3 and i nearly failed it :S

[yohbyo]

@chris9879

i passed the exam with 100 points...actually i got 99, but the examiner was kind and he gave me 1 more point to pass the exam! That was so close...i wish i could get 150 points =.=

[chanlongching666]

@yohbyo lol the exam system was not good at all it just totally block you from the emotion it is like you must play it in a classical way xD ( i got 142 marks in grade 8 exam don't give me a fuck )

[frau369]

have you ever failed the exam?

[f4st1ll0]

i often hear from friends that they're doing this grade things. but in all my years of playin piano not one teacher told about that. i know its strange..but i had some strange teachers (but in my opinion the best x) )

so i wanted to ask how this works.

and what level would be rachmaninovs cis mol prelude (because i was learning this until november-december) and now i've got like a project. im learning the chopin etudes (op. 10) for now 5-6 months. what would this be? thanks for every answer

[samuelishmedia]

chopin etudes op. 10 would be of a much higher level than grade 8

these pieces are getting close to virtuoso level and virtuoso piano is the most difficult there is so i say youre doing pretty well

i dont know about rachmaninovs pieces but i know for a fact that chopin etude op. 10 no. 12 is a virtuoso piece along with most of the other etudes.

i'm learning chopin impromptu op. 66 no.1, valse op. 64 no. 1, nocturne op. 9 no. 2 and etude op. 10 no. 12 at the moment =]

[f4st1ll0]

thank you for the info x)

i love these pieces wich you play, especially the fantasie impromptu (i want to play this after the etudes),

wich one is a bit more difficult in your opinion, the revolutionary etude or the impromptu? i mean not just technically..playing through, i mean with everything, putting in emotion..all that kind of things x) i'm just wondering x)

i know just one person who can play these pieces wich you play...so im impressed of your skill x)

[samuelishmedia]

I would probably say out of the two of them the impromptu has parts which are a lot more technically difficult to play but on the other hand the lower semi quavers in the revolutionary etude allow for a lot of emotion to be put into this piece. This means that every single one of these needs to be executed perfectly to make the piece work fully.

overall I think the revolutionary etude is a lot more difficult to play.

also chopin himself always regretted writing the impromptu. he hated it

[grapesforpeople]

ooh, never heard of virtuoso level =). Is there anything higher than that?

[samuelishmedia]

well virtuoso isnt a grade of piano as such in the same way that grade 5, 6, 7 and 8 are. It's more of a way of describing a pianist. A virtuoso pianist for example is one with amazing abilities; and what i meant really was that it takes a virtuoso pianist to play this :P

Virtuoso is basically the best you can get. Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff - all virtuoso pianists :)

[ahundredandcounting]

i'm not too sure what level that would be but for graded examinations there is a fixed list of pieces you can choose from, from which you choose 3 and you will be graded on how well you play those 3. there are also other components to the grading, such as sight reading and aural. you should be able to view the syllabus on ABRSM website. thats all i know :) cheers!

[abisteopa]

Well done

[rachel17hola]

you have really given me some ideas! the detached quavers really highlight where the theme comes in in the fugue. fingers crossed for my grade 8 results!

[Concertusen]

I agree, in the Prelude, you have two phrases where the left and right hand play descending sequences, bar 22 for the left hand and this should be played loud with a quiet right hand. Then at bar 24, the right hand almost repeats this sequence and it should be played loud, with a quiet left hand. This creates dynamic contrast and improved counterpoint, which is what rasenganzanpakuto is suggesting.

[rasenganzanpakuto]

I have some suggestion if you are open to them.

You have an impressive bold playing style, but it seems as if the songs were too heavy and weighted down. Another matter is about dynamic contrast. The songs would be much more musical with more dynamic variety not just among different moments in the song, but between the hands in order to distinguish the melody more clearly.

[FALL3NANG3LOx]

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeez.

Your good!

[JESUSlives54]

How much did you get overall and how did you do on the Aural tests?

[mercedesbenzformula1]

How many points did you earn from the examiner?

[Concertusen]

An Excellent Effort!

However, more dynamic contrast between right and left hand would have scored 30/30. Although, a good try 28/30 considering your age!

[FishingtonBurpPuzzle]

Congratulations. They are tough. Your tempo on the fugue was really tight and brisk. Did you plan your own fingering? How long did you work on them?

[ejc2006]

I worked on the three exam pieces about 4 months last year.

[Desmonddd2002]

A 26-27 if on exam... gorgeous work...

[musicalalexwoolf]

I'm learning this piece at the minute. Well played, which other grade 8 pieces did you play? I'm playing the Mozart Sonata in F and Turina's "Vals Romantico."

[ejc2006]

You could find the other two on my Youtube.

[skymusical]

hey.. did u play your Fugue in this way making it staccato during your exam? or did you eventually change the Fugue subject to legato ?

and how much did you score for this piece ?

I'm taking this piece too... but in 2009 Feb

[ejc2006]

I scored a 28 out of 30 on this piece. As for the staccato's, I played them a bit too short here. They just have to be detached.

[bomchickabianca]

Is this the version from the ABRSM books? Or a different one?

Congrats on passing with distinction :)

[ejc2006]

Yes, this version is from the ABRSM books.

[kevalkeval1993]

You've handled the Prelude very well. The tempo is constant (but avoid slowing down on the trills) and you hit all the notes very cleanly. However, to make it more of a performacne piece, you need to add more colour and character to it now. Possibly think about dynamic varaition and how you can change your touch during the contrapuntal sections (more legato than the ritornello theme perhaps?)...The fugue needs to be much more legato and the long notes need to be held. Perhaps slower as well. :)

[RandomCoke]

haha you're not holding the notes in fugue but still at least you can play it without stopping like me. lucky i didn't take this for exam cos it's so hard! i think it's the hardest A piece, but you managed it so well so, yeah, kudos to you XD

[mokata870617]

you are really awesome in the piece!!!

[ngjunhui1]

i would like to thank you for posting this video . i followed the way you played,and because of that, i managed to pass my grade 8 .

[Posityve]

Its awesome stuff...How long have you worked on this before the exam?

[ejc2006]

4-5 months.

[Posityve]

Wow. Sorry, I'd give more compliments but I'm a loss for words ^^ :)

[Oyico]

excellent playing at your age! I'm still struggling with it :(

how long have you been playing this piece?

[moonboots020492]

I wish i could play the trills in the Prelude as good as you! I think the start of the fuge is a bit to harsh and plonky and it could be played a little slower. But overall it is great!

[cdpiano27]

In the fugue, you are not holding some of the longer notes for their full value!! A definite no-no. Also, your fugue should be more legato. Sounds too disjointed. Prelude needs more shape and character. I am very surprised by your high scores. I would think they would grade these pieces as if you were in a major international piano competition.

[vitruviancat]

i think that grading and ABRSM exam like a major international piano competition is a bit harsh . . .

[laxplyr1982]

@vitruviancat I agree, I feel like the grading system is useless. I'm primarily a self taught pianist and I find pieces like these that I enjoy listening to and I just pick them up and play them. I practice the song until I'm satisfied with the way it sounds and maybe I'll have fun with the song, playing it however I'd like. The system takes the fun out of playing the piano and playing becomes more of a job which causes you to play more mechanical rather than just simply playing how you feel.

[ukorganist]

would be nice played on the Harpsichord! :)

[teoani]

I can hear the sound of confidence in your playing. :) Very cool!

[JoanneWx]

I'd like to know what mark you got for this piece. I thought the Fugue was meant to be very legato, and fairly slow speed. That's how I played it for my exam.. =/

[ejc2006]

I got a score of 28 for this piece.

[edward130603]

You played this Prelude and Fugue pretty well. I guess it could be a bit slower but I like the energy that is lacking in many of the videos on YouTube. For some reason, I don't really like the opening of the Fugue. Maybe the left hand was a little too loud.

Overall, great job on this peice.

By the way, I think you might want to consider a Boston piano or if you want to spend some big bucks, a Steinway piano. They will generate a superior tone and probably improve your techique too.

[alexkinchung]

Still, like you all performs, it's still too fast for most playing. However, you could play this beautifully, and nice technical, as other video. Don't bang it and slow down, otherwise this is a very good performance. :)

[ejc2006]

I have uploaded another Bach Prelude BWV875 d minor this week, I will appreciate if you could give me some advise.