Quajira - ABRSM Grade 3, Piece C3 (First Version)

[y4andy]

bar7,13,21,29 30,37 no staccato

bar16 no staccato and no rest

car27 no staccato and you slow it down(acually tis part no slow down)

[sebmoocj]

Polished this up quite a bit before the exam, got 29/30 so couldn't have been that bad!!! :0)

[DrEAmInGChAn]

v3ry v3ry g00d

[Edenjade2895]

such good playin my exams soon and im so nervous!!!

[sebmoocj]

Ooooh - don't be nervous; there's nothing to be nervous about - it's only an exam, if you do great in it (which I'm sure you will) then ace, if not then it's really not the end of the world. I was dead nervous (aged 34!!!) for my first one, so I played badly as a result. Next one was far better because I just spent a quick 15 beforehand breathing and just thinking of anything *other* than the exam. You'll be fine - really. :0)

[Vendetta5246]

nicee control of your timing and speed and volume but a few slips

[sebmoocj]

This was after I'd had the peice for about a week - play it much slower now, and I have an acoustic piano as well so touch is better now....

[thelemonzester]

Nice playing... I am currently trying to learn this for grade 3 and mine sounds a bit like that... i think it was good.

[sebmoocj]

Thank you for the comment - best of luck with the exam.

[sebmoocj]

There are a few bum notes I think; and the dynamics aren't at all in line with the notated version in the grade book. I play this piece slightly slower now, with more articulation - will post an updated version in a week or so. I've my Grade 2 exam on Thursday so just focusing on that for now! Thanks for your kind comment!

[nburton85]

Hey - good job. It was a bit fast, but I agree, sounds a bit better that way! I'm teaching this piece at the moment.. Were there a few wrong notes in this recording? Notes slurred when they're not notated like that and unnecessary accentuated notes? Either way, was well played.

[SIlentPianist47]

OMG.... if this is too fast? =.=" Mine is extremely fast =O... I should slow down the tempo!

[sebmoocj]

I think so - it's marked "at a moderate speed", and bearing in mind that it's Grade 3, I don't think it needs to be played at light-speed! On the ABRSM recording of it, it's *really* slow.

[SIlentPianist47]

oh ok... I guess i just sped up unconsciously lol~ =.="

[sebmoocj]

This version of it is too fast really - I put this down just after I'd initially got my fingers around it, so a lot of the proper dynamics are missing really. I'll post another revised version in a week or so (currently panicking over my Grade 2 exam next week) with a slightly more polished version.  Thanks for taking a look and for your kind comment.

[SIlentPianist47]

lol... You played it till it touched my heart... But why your staccato and some notes aren't stressed? To make it better? Maybe I should see

[c2sangel]

iv just got the music for grade 3,finding it a complete nightmare to be honest, decided on this song but co ordination isnt going to well with it, started playing about 6 months ago and finding grade 3 an enormous jump from the grade 2 pieces i did...gratz by the way it sounds fab!

[sebmoocj]

Thanks for the comment - think I play it a bit too fast here; I've slowed it down a lot since posting it and tried to convey the dynamics as written a bit more accurately. I agree there's a big jump between the grade 2 and 3 pieces - the Mozart Andante is probably the trickiest one I've tried - some clever stretches and pedalling needed on that to make it sound anything near good.

[Ilovepiano123]

Haha..I think I am Ok at sight reading..but I found the pace of this piece a little too fast for me..and kept messing it up! You're obviously very naturally musical - it took me two years to get to grade 2!!

[sebmoocj]

It's a bit tricky - but once you've got the basic swing of it, it's not that bad. I tried wearing a large sombrero whilst practising to get into the right mood! :0)

[Ilovepiano123]

I found this soo difficult...I can't believe you've only been playing for 1 yr!

[sebmoocj]

yep - one year in November. Waiting for my grade 2 exam date. I'm hoping to do OK, but my biggest weakness is that my sight reading is remedial. I can memorise a piece very quickly - all my posted vids are from memory; but I really struggle with sight-reading. I've played the guitar by ear/memory for years and so sight reading is a totally new experience for me. Single lines are OK - it's the combination of LH and RH that I find really difficult. How do you find it?

[fattyalex]

Thanks a lot for your demonstration video!!

[sebmoocj]

You're welcome - thanks for taking time to check it out.