Grade 4 Piano, Charlie
What mark would you give the pieces and the performance as a whole?
Select a mark by clicking on one of the boxes below and see how it compares to the mark given by our Chief Examiner.
Marking criteria
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Each piece/song is marked out of 30. We are assessing your control of pitch, time, tone, shape and performance.
Distinction
27-30
Pitch
- Highly accurate notes and intonation
Time
- Fluent, with flexibility where appropriate
- Rhythmic character well conveyed
Tone
- Well projected
- Sensitive use of tonal qualities
Shape
- Expressive, idiomatic musical shaping and detail
Performance
- Assured
- Fully committed
- Vivid communication of character and style
Merit
24-26
Pitch
- Largely accurate notes and intonation
Time
- Sustained, effective tempo
- Good sense of rhythm
Tone
- Mainly controlled and consistent
- Good tonal awareness
Shape
- Clear musical shaping, well-realised detail
Performance
- Positive
- Carrying musical conviction
- Character and style communicated
Pass
20-23
Pitch
- Generally correct notes
- Sufficiently reliable intonation to maintain tonality
Time
- Suitable tempo
- Generally stable pulse
- Overall rhythmic accuracy
Tone
- Generally reliable
- Adequate tonal awareness
Shape
- Some realisation of musical shape and/or detail
Performance
- Generally secure, prompt recovery from slips
- Some musical involvement
Below Pass
Pitch
- Frequent note errors
- Insufficiently reliable intonation to maintain tonality
Time
- Unsuitable and/or uncontrolled tempo
- Irregular pulse
- Inaccurate rhythm
Tone
- Uneven and/or unreliable
- Inadequate tonal awareness
Shape
- Musical shape and detail insufficiently conveyed
Performance
- Insecure, inadequate recovery from slips
- Insufficient musical involvement
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After the full programme has been completed, a mark out of 30 is awarded for the performance as a whole.
Communication
Interpretation
Delivery
Distinction
27-30
- Consistently well-projected and involved, showing strong performance commitment and conviction
- Effective sequence and pacing of chosen programme; consistently good performance awareness and control
- Consistently effective stylistic characterisation; interpretative demands of the programme well met
- Consistently good awareness and control of textures and ensemble, with effective blending and balancing
- Consistently assured and controlled; technical challenges of the programme well met
- Consistently effective instrument management, fully responsive to the performance situation
Merit
24-26
- Mainly well-projected and involved, showing positive performance commitment
- Largely effective sequence and pacing of chosen programme; mainly good performance awareness and control
- Mostly effective stylistic realisation; interpretative demands of the programme largely well met
- Mainly good awareness and control of textures and ensemble, with appropriate blending and balancing
- Effectively controlled; most technical challenges of the programme well met
- Mostly effective instrument management, mainly responsive to the performance situation
Pass
20-23
- Projection and involvement sufficient to maintain an overall sense of performance
- Sequence and pacing of chosen programme shows adequate performance awareness and control
- Sufficient stylistic realisation to meet the interpretative demands of the programme
- Adequate awareness and control of textures and ensemble, with sufficient blending and balancing
- Generally controlled; technical challenges of the programme securely met overall
- Sufficiently reliable instrument management to meet the demands of the performance situation
Below Pass
15-19
- Insufficient projection or sense of involvement to maintain a sense of performance
- Sequence and/or pacing of chosen programme shows inadequate performance awareness or control
- Stylistic realisation not equal to the interpretative demands of the programme
- Insufficient awareness or control of textures and ensemble, and/or unsuitable blending and balancing
- Consistency of control insufficient to meet the technical challenges of the programme
- Insufficiently reliable instrument management to meet the demands of the performance situation
Results
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This exam was awarded a…
Pass!
Hear commentary about Charlie’s Grade 4 Piano performance from ABRSM’s Chief Examiner, John Holmes.
Piece 1: Sonatina in A minor – BendaPiece 2: Chanson de Matin – Elgar
Piece 3: Gymnopedie No 1 – Satie
Piece 4: Holiday in Paris – Gillock
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The performance as a whole mark was a…
Pass!
Hear commentary about Charlie’s Grade 4 Piano performance as a whole from ABRSM’s Chief Examiner, John Holmes.
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Available at Grades 1 to 8 for a wide range of instrumental and singing subjects, Performance Grades are 100% assessed from recordings.
Performance Grade exams provide opportunities for candidates to create their own performance, featuring music that is special to them, in a place of their choice. And they provide recognition for the communication, interpretation and storytelling skills that sit at the heart of every successful musical performance.