When should I do my diploma?

[petite joueuse]

I know its a bit of a "How long is a piece of string?" type of question....but I could do with a few random thoughts in this direction.

Programme - well, I'm pretty much decided on that now. Have performed 2 of the pieces in public on 3 occasions, the others are ticking along nicely and don't cause me huge stress.

Quick study - I do loads of sight-reading normally anyway - do a lot of accompanying - this doesn't stress me too much either - as soon as I know WHEN the dip is, I'll programme regular sight-reading at the right level into my week.

Viva & programme notes - these are the main sticking points. I could probably write my prog notes now....or then again I could spend another 6 months (or longer) doing more research on my pieces and the composers and their time etc. I don't know when to stop. When can I say "I've read enough/know enough about these pieces"?

I have the option of doing the dip in December this year (have to send in application by end of September).

As you know, I've been piano-less for the past few weeks - and summer holidays will make me pianoless for 5 weeks.

So....should I postpone and do the dip next Spring?

Silly question, I know, but how/when can I know I'm ready to do it?
I'm the first person my teacher has put through diploma....so she doesn't have much of a feel for this either.....

All thoughts (particularly the sort that wouldn't pass the mods on TOP!!!) welcome!!

Ta,
PJ

[princessmoose]

Thoughts about your diploma that wouldn't pass the mods on TOP?!?! What sort of advice do you want?!

Well it sounds like you're not entirely confident about doing it in December, so I'd postpone it. You can start to do the prog.notes and research now if you were bored and then they are out of the way and you only have to focus on the playing part.

Then again, I'm not exactly an expert, so take my advice with a pinch of salt .

[petite joueuse]

Ah.... do I sound not entirely confident??
Maybe!
Not sure!
Confident about some aspects...but not about others!

[princessmoose]

Not unconfident, I mean I just get the impression that you're generally leaning towards doing in next year.

Like you say, you've had no piano for 4 weeks and won't have one again for 5 weeks, so I guess to feel ready for it by the time of entry in September might be pushing it.

I'm not doubting your ability, just that you might feel better prepared if you've got a lot of practice under your belt at the time of entry.

[anacrusis]

which dip are you wanting to do?
At any dip level, I guess you're not going to run into the problem of pieces going off the boil in the way that they can do at mid and lower grade level, but you will still need to keep them ticking over comfortably, and rev them up again at the right moment. You do have a word limit for the programme notes, but they still shouldn't take you six months to write. I read up about and around my composers, relevant theory (eg analysis of twelve-tone stuff and fugue structure), jotted down notes and then had to condense it all massively as I had only the 300 word limit of ATCL as my ceiling - it was whittling enough which was my headache rather than filling space. Look at where the bulk of your marks will come from, and if you meet the criteria in those fields, go for it. If the pieces are already very comfortably under your fingers, and you can sightread well, you could well be ready in December.
How to make this post one which would crash in TOP?


-Princess_Moose and Steve Hopwood rock! ;D

(so do YAP and AP, but that would have passed muster)

[princessmoose]

Anymore thoughts PJ?

[petite joueuse]

MMMM!
Lots of thoughts........not many of them are coherent!
Part of me wants to do it in December (for the utterly ridiculous reason that it is Shostakovich's big anniversary this year (and its also a Schumann anniversary) )- Not a very sound reason for choosing to do diploma, though, is it?

I could wait till next year. One thought that came to me was, why not do one of those Perfomance Assessment thingies this Autumn (they are based on a 15 min. Programme). It would be one way of assessing if I'm likely to be hitting the mark or not!

I've amassed loads of background reading stuff to do this summer (hubby and I read in the shade while the kids get burnt to a crisp in the nearest pool!), so the Viva/prog notes will be well underway............but am I up to the standard??? Don't know! Really don't know! And am not brave enough to ask the venerable Steve to listen in to a recording and give me some virtual feedback!!!!

Thanks for asking, by the way. Nice of you to bother!! (Might even be tempted to up your karma!!)

[princessmoose]

Yeah record for Steve!! He will give you really good advice back!

Then you can decide!

I think a Performance Assessment is a good idea if you don't feel so confident. It does limit what you can play though as it's half the length of a dip programme.

[petite joueuse]

Well I've decided to go for next Spring!
This December might be pushing it a bit (slight matter of OFSTED in the Autumn is a major factor!!).

So, full steam ahead for early next year. Thankfully I'm still in love with my Chopin, Shostakovich and Gershwin. Scarlatti is beginning to bore me just a tad......not sure if I quite "get" him.

Anyone else diploma-ing soon?

[princessmoose]

Woo, glad you've come to a decision!

Hmm yeah OFSTED - lovely stuff!

[petite joueuse]

OFSTED - nothing short of place where satan lives!! They visited us last year...and we were only just "satisfactory", so they are coming back to check up on us 12 months after first visit. Actually our GCSE A*-C has gone way up in one year, so I can't see that they can crush us again....but you never know!!

[princessmoose]

We're not that great either. Although the Music results this year were very very good so hopefully we're ok!

[Steve Hopwood]

Hehe. I have done any number of part-time jobs in schools. I always managed to arrive just after an Offsted and leave just before the next.

It's a talent

[princessmoose]

stevehopwood said:

It's a talent

Full of them aren't you Steve .

[Deborah]

petitejoueuse said:

Well I've decided to go for next Spring!

Over the last couple of years, there have only been two UK diploma sessions each year, one in July and one in December; unless you go overseas or the AB have introduced a third session for 2007, you've got a long wait if you aren't doing it in December.

petitejoueuse said:

Anyone else diploma-ing soon?

Me