What's the difference between Grade 8 and Diploma level piano?

[springchickennolonger]

Can anyone help me please? I've passed Grade 8 Jazz Piano and I'm wondering if I'm capable of taking a Performance Diploma. What's the difference? Do I need to upgrade my old piano?

I only got a low merit but completed in less than a year. I'm ridiculously pleased with myself and I don't want ro get carried away!

Anyone out there who's done both who could give me some advice?

Thanks.

Thanks Ferguson!

Castle: there's also a guy called Paul Abrahams who does e-lessons and e-books. Also, I've found the LCM's Popular Music Theory books helpful.

Good luck.

....and it goes without saying, castle, but try and listen to as much jazz as you can. Not all of it is easy listening, however.! If you have jazz cm, put that on and just chill! A lot of it is quite soul-orientated, but there's a good variety. My favourite is dinner jazz, which comes on at 8 in the evening.

I think the "go to" jazz album is considered to be A Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Available in its entirety on YouTube.

Enjoy!

It's the inversions that do my head in and missing out what id have thought were important notes in a chord. Like for c major the left hand plays g or something and the right plays a c and a b. that's not correct but it's something like that.

Come on it's C and CEG respectively. That's a chord.

ignominious it depends what sound you're after. Yes, c,e, and g are important notes. They form the c major triad. It's a conventional sound, easy on the ear and predictable. But if you want to create a slightly different, jazzier sound all you have to do is, instead of playing c,e and g, try leaving out the c and play b,d, e and g instead. Is it still c major? You bet! You're just using different notes of the scale to "bend" the sound. Put the root-c-in the bass and play it simultaneously with the chord and you've got a lovely jazzy chord! Simples!

I just.... I did grade 5 classical theory (in order to do higher practical grades) and it was easy. They can't just CHANGE it. One of my friends tried to teach me and i just couldn't get my head round playing it (also playing without music!?). Maybe I should spend more than an hour on it.

Course you can change it. That's the whole point of jazz, innit??. You just have to think about the scale in a different way, that's all. Instead of thinking about the root, third and fifth (of a major scale), you just have to think about ALL the notes as having potential. Just number each note according to its position in the scale! Add in the b (7th degree of a cmajor scale) and you add a different flavour. The d added in gives another flavour. Play c (root) and f(4th) together and you have yet another flavour. Just experiment and see what you come up with to start. You can even move that basic c major triad up through the scale to give you "modes". It's infinite and you can be as out of the box as you like. You have a good grounding in classical theory already so you're well on your way!

Happy Noodling

So if you are to do Grade6, you probably need Grade5 Theory first (unless things have changed)

Look at my earlier list of links for where to start. Also, I have posted several similar replies, which you can Search for via MN Search at top of page, my name plus piano, jazz, keyboard etc and you should find plenty more information.