Trinity Grade 7 Piano Book Pdf
Varinia Swicegood
As ever, I hope my review will explain the most important changes, give readers a first impression of the new publications, and offer some general thoughts on the repertoire selections and direction of travel.
I am going to start by stating that this is a radical update, a riot of invention, but of course that also makes it rather controversial. Questions about whether it offers a comparable and valid educational route are inevitable.
I have confirmed with the board that this means the entire contents of the 2021 Piano Standard and Extended Edition books (pieces and exercises) will remain valid for use in exams and available indefinitely alongside the new 2023 books, including the pieces carried over from the 2018 syllabus.
Trinity plan to continue extending the syllabus repertoire lists by publishing additional digital downloads, graded books, anthologies, and including recommended pieces from external publications. They suggest this will offer a more accessible approach for teachers and students who do not want to be forced to buy new books every couple of years.
For those that purchase the new 2023 syllabus publications however, they are immediately valid for use in assessment. And in common with other boards, Trinity allow candidates to take their exams in a variety of ways, in-person or digitally.
For the purposes of this review I am looking at the Extended Edition books, although in addition to physical copies of these, Trinity kindly provided digital copies of the Standard Editions for review purposes.
The presentation of the books can honestly be described as gorgeous. Not only so, but straight out the box, these are substantial books that will provide a lasting and superb resource for teachers and players. With brilliant cover artwork by Rod Steele, soft card covers, and with subtle colour coding that matches the 2021 syllabus publications, the books make an immediate and strikingly positive impression.
Within, they are printed on luxury cream paper, have a clean presentation, well-spaced and beautifully engraved notation. An appropriate level of fingering is included throughout all the books, and in the pieces I played during the initial review phase this all proved effective.
A significant concern is quickly apparent however. Across all eight grades, copious editorial dynamics and articulations have been added to the baroque and classical works. This is a very disappointing step backwards from the excellent 2021 syllabus books where, in the higher grades, Trinity rightly sought to reproduce the original scores as faithfully as possible.
These professional recordings, remember, are only available with the Extended Edition. They are generally excellent, well recorded, and add considerably to the value. Bearing in mind that a large proportion of the music in this syllabus will be unknown to teachers, I must recommend them as an essential resource.
Looking at the Extended Editions from Initial to Grade 8, we are confronted with 189 pieces, suitable for all levels, and with an unprecedented stylistic range. When the publications arrived I felt like a giddy child in a sweet shop; teachers may feel similarly overwhelmed.
A word about benchmarking. Given that so much of this material has never appeared in any exam board offering before, this must have been an even greater challenge than usual. My overall feeling is that, while benchmarking is a notoriously inexact science, Trinity have broadly got it right here, albeit with some variance and minor inconsistencies within most grades.
A substantial quantity of the included repertoire in these publications was not originally composed for the piano. We could certainly pause right here, and have a lengthy debate. Surely there is no shortage of stunning original music composed for the piano?
Questions about whether or not it is imperative to serve up a selection of such arrangements in order to enthuse our students will always be accompanied by concerns about whether those arrangements convey the essence of the original music, while still fulfilling their remit as benchmarked, assessable solo piano transcriptions.
One of my students was amused to see Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh from Bollywood classic Dil Anna Our Preet Para in the Grade 5 book, and explained how much it would mean for her parents if she were to learn it. When I sight-read it for her, she was enthusiastically impressed with the arrangement. High praise, and I equally enjoyed playing it.
Piano enthusiasts may well find this sidelining of core composers perplexing, and I suspect very few music lovers would sympathise with any suggestion that, having featured on the syllabus in 2021, such great names of the piano repertoire need not appear at all in the core 2023 publications that so many teachers and students will focus and rely on.
In recent years I have reviewed and considered hundreds of piano publications, and yet there are many, many composers in these selections whose names I have literally never come across before. Trinity have seemingly opted to commission and source as much fresh repertoire as possible, and from composers whose reputation has yet to be established.
In the final analysis, I must admit that as a musical adventurer and repertoire collector, I am excited by the multiplicity of new treasures in these publications. But as a teacher, I have concerns about a lack of balance here. I wonder how many (or perhaps how few) of these pieces will ultimately land well with teachers and learners, and earn a lasting place in our affections.
There is certainly much to commend in their 2023 piano syllabus, and their idea of a cumulative ongoing resource is a genuinely interesting one that holds much promise, particularly if the board can find a way to require a more balanced mix of music at the assessment stage.
However, it seems to me that in their next syllabus update, whenever that comes, Trinity will need to prioritise reintroducing the timeless masterpieces and essential pedagogic repertoire of the piano. Only then, in my view, will their ambitious learning resource develop into one which truly meets the needs of aspiring pianists. And I believe that their syllabus publications and assessment requirements simply must reflect that balance, too.
I hope that you have found this review helpful and informative. Please subscribe to Pianodao below, and consider joining the Music Club, where you can access significant discounts on these and other publications, and join others in exploring the wonders of the piano repertoire.
Stressing the strong beat means that you have to clap louder when you hear the first beat of each bar, which has a stronger sound than the other beats. Stressing the strong beat is really important because it shows the examiner that you can hear what time the music is in.
At Grade 4 you need to be able to tell the difference between 4/4 time and a type of 2 time called 6/8 time (or compound duple time). In 6/8 time the beats may easily be divided into two groups of 3, making it sound 'swingy'.
Lots of English nursery rhymes are in 6/8 time, such as Humpty Dumpty. However it is difficult to find recordings of traditional nursery rhymes on the internet because many have been 'modernised' and have lost the original 6/8 feel so please listen to the recording here instead:
E-MusicMaestro Aural Test Training asks you whether the music was in 4/4 time or 6/8 time after you have clapped the pulse so that you know whether you were stressing the strong beat correctly. The examiner will not ask if it was 4/4 time or 6/8 time in this grade.
The best way of knowing if music is in a major or minor key is to listen to lots of examples. Music in a major key is often cheerful sounding, but it could still be quite gentle and plaintive. Music in a minor key often sounds sad or gloomy, but it could still be lively.
Where intervals are described as major or minor, this means that the major interval is a semitone bigger than a minor interval, for example C to Db encompasses just C and Db notes whereas C to D encompasses C, Db and D.
An easy way of remembering intervals is to play two notes, lowest first, on your instrument (use a piano or keyboard if you are a singer). Sing the notes back and think of a song that starts with these two notes. Remember which song goes with which interval!
The examiner will give you a printed copy of the piece you have been listening to. When the examiner first plays the piece, it will be correct but the second time there will be one change in rhythm and also one change in pitch.
First you have to say in which bar the rhythm changed. Then you'll say in which bar the pitch changed. In the exam you could point to the bars to show where each change was made, or give the bar numbers. In your E-MusicMaestro Aural Test Training you need to tell us the bar numbers where each change happened - first rhythm, then pitch.
All Trinity College London examiners are professional musicians, and they take special care to make candidates feel relaxed in the exam room, creating a positive environment for you to demonstrate your talents to your full potential.
Candidates perform three or four pieces (depending on the instrument and the grade) from lists featuring a wide range of styles and genres. Supporting a range of teaching approaches is at the heart of our syllabuses, with many pieces suitable for group and whole-class programmes.
Developing a strong technical foundation is crucial to playing with confidence and enjoyment. We have developed technical work that is intuitive and relevant to your specific instrument, and which will build confidence in your technique.
We recognise that learners have different strengths and so candidates can choose from a number of different options for their technical work. These options include scales and arpeggios, specially written studies (such as lip flexibility exercises for brass, or rudiments for drum kit) and orchestral extracts (at Grades 6-8 for certain instruments).
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