Leaving Cert Music 07

daodownandout

I am doing Music for my Leaving Cert. I have been playing guitar for about six years. I have to play 6 songs for the practical but I am having trouble deciding on what songs to play. Is there any songs that are recommended for the Leaving Cert on guitar. Thanks

It wasn't me!

Change your sig, it's far too large. And play whatever you're comfortable with. They're not assessing you on the technicality of your pieces, just how comfortably proficient you are as a musician.

david

I think youll find that this topic was discussed in detail last year... do a search and the other thread might help ya out a bit

leninbenjamin

remember to mix it up.... dont play all songs from the one genre... play a bit of classical here... country and western there.... jazz here.... yadda yadda yadda. You'd wanna decide fairly lively though... yer leaving it a bit late in my experience anyway...

daodownandout

I am thinking of playing:

Crazy Train
I Believe In A Think Called Love
Autumn Leaves
Blackbird
Sweet Georgia Brown
From Russia With Love

Is that enough variety?

It wasn't me!

You need six pieces.

crosstownk

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but can any one tell me what are the recommended text books for the current LC Music syllabus?

FunkZ

daodownandout wrote:

I am doing Music for my Leaving Cert. I have been playing guitar for about six years. I have to play 6 songs for the practical but I am having trouble deciding on what songs to play. Is there any songs that are recommended for the Leaving Cert on guitar. Thanks

You should do the sibelius. I asked my teacher and she said just make sure your songs all have different tonalitys and tempo's.

I'm playing Bouree and Partita for Violin in B Minor by Bach, Canon in D by Pachonbel, it's a metal version though and I'm undecided about my fourth piece.

Does anybody have any estimate to how long each piece should be?

It wasn't me!

If you're only doing four pieces, you have fifteen minutes, but as that includes the unprepared tests, you have to finish your pieces after about twelve.

leninbenjamin

It wasn't me! wrote:

If you're only doing four pieces, you have fifteen minutes, but as that includes the unprepared tests, you have to finish your pieces after about twelve.

eh? isn't that junior cert not leaving cert? i thought its more like 45 mins for the six pieces or something. man its all faded so quickly.

it shouldn't matter hugely how long they are as long as they aren't ridiculously short. If they go over the limit they might tell you too stop, that they've heard enough or summat.

It wasn't me!

no, god no, it's 25 minutes for six pieces, and that includes the unprepared test, so you have to stop playing after 22. If you run over time, it doesn't sit well with the examiners.

bluto63

Try to only play genres you're familiar and comfortable with eg don't play a classical piece if you're not classically trained. Stick to what you know

It wasn't me!

Though be as varied as you can, and if you can manage a classical piece, do throw one in, but don't do six death metal numbers. (I'm only doing one )

leninbenjamin

It wasn't me! wrote:

no, god no, it's 25 minutes for six pieces, and that includes the unprepared test, so you have to stop playing after 22. If you run over time, it doesn't sit well with the examiners.

that's in direct contrast with what i was told lol. i'm pretty sure i was told about 40 mins for 6/8 pieces definitely over half an hour anyways, but not 100% but i was definitely told that examiners will tell you too stop if they feel you're going over that's it's no biggy, they won't mark you down for it... I know some of my pieces were very long, and even though i was playing for ages i was complimented, not frowned upon.

it's actually weird that, how so many people have hugely different opinions on the LC (and my teachers had excellent reputations and i'm not for a minute saying your info is wrong either, It wasn't me, i wouldn't know). Maybe it's a regional thing? i know in Galway there were only a handful doing Music really, that the examiners didn't seem rushed off their feet or anything and that in the likes of Dublin they are far more stressed from so many students, or in the rural areas from so much travel? or something like that...

Either way the main thing is that you play to a high enough technical standard, play with enough confidence, have an interesting selection of music and generally make it seem like you're not just going through the motions as too many do.

It wasn't me!

My information's from the examiners themselves to be honest. Apparently they're quite strict. Also, the idea of examining you based on your technical standard has gone out the window, it's all gotten very wishy washy. You're examined based on how well you play your particular pieces. You can get an A playing Thin Lizzy and the like, noone's looking for your Vai impression anymore. I have kinda mixed opinions on that. It opens up music to a lot more people at Leaving Cert level, but it does drop the standard and expectations, which can't be good.

What pieces are people doing, incidentally?

I'm doing:
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Extreme - Flight of the Bumblebee
Opeth - Benighted
Tarrega - Capricho Arabe

Also doing the composing elective. I seem to be the only one in the country doing so. :rolleyes:

leninbenjamin

It wasn't me! wrote:

My information's from the examiners themselves to be honest. Apparently they're quite strict.

yeah looking back i gues i was kinda lucky in that we had a very relaxed one. i did it in 05 but it feels so long ago already.

It wasn't me! wrote:

Also doing the composing elective. I seem to be the only one in the country doing so. :rolleyes:

you are also quite possibly the first person i've heard of doing that. Good luck with it, i was interested in doing it at one stage but no one would teach me it

It wasn't me!

Thanks man. Yeah, noone does it, as the whole music course stamps out any creativity. I'm submitting the pieces I compose myself anyway. There'll be a progressive kinda metal piece, then a jazz. It should be interesting anyway.