ABRSM performance exams with a recorded accompaniment - timing

[CountingMeIn]

Hi,

I wondered if I could ask a question about sitting an ABRSM performance exam with a recorded accompaniment?

I am working up to sitting my grade 4 clarinet exam and I would like to play Traumerai by Schumann. It's fiddly with a recorded accompaniment, because the piano comes in two beats after the clarinet. I have to start playing exactly two beats before the recording of the piano kicks in, and getting the moment right is really hard.

Traumerai will be the last of four pieces and the recording will have been going for some time with the accompaniment for the three previous pieces. There is about a 7 second pause between the previous piece and the Traumerai piano starting.

I can count the 7 seconds but it's fantastically difficult to hit the exactly correct entry point with my clarinet.

I can't play with a live accompanist, because I have long covid and I can't take my mask of with another person in the room (rubish immune system), so i am stuck with a recording.

I wondered if anybody knows what the right way is to handle this? I don't know whether it's okay to put three very quiet clicks on the recording to help me judge when to start, or just a count in (1, 2, 3) as I have seen on some other ABRSM-preovided recordings.

Thanks so much for thinking about it.

I have also contacted ABRSM but would be grateful for experiences of people who have done this.

I’m surprised by this - every backing track for exam pieces that I’ve heard which starts with a pickup by the soloist uses a click to count you in. I think it must be an error - are you using the CD? There might be an updated version on the download portal.

Thanks for answering.

This is one of the pieces that doesn't come with a recorded backing track. I had to scan the sheet music in, and then process it through photoscore ultimate and into Dorico (which is like sibelius or musescore). I then saved out the audio of just the piano accompaniment.

My question really is whether it is okay to add in the click to count me in.

Thanks!

Oh Gosh! I just double checked and online it says the book comes with an audio download. I will have a look.

Thanks!

It turn out that my book doesn't have a download code, so I would have to buy it again to get one. Drat.

Useful to know that that is what's going on though.

Are you sure that's allowed - the examiner has to be in the room. Would taking it in a larger venue help, I've hosted exams in my former church, with tall ceiling and so much space you could be distanced from the accompanist and examiner.

This is an exam that OP takes by submitting a video - no examiner in the room needed!

@mitogoshi Thanks for answering. It's an ABRSM performance exam which is a specific exam that allows people to record themselves at home and send in the video. Recorded accompaniment are specifically allowed.

It looks as though I have a slightly older copy of the sheet music book, before the accompaniment download was offered. It is offered if I buy the book now but it would be another £22 for the new book.

I have written to the publisher to ask if they would give me a download code.

I also had to create my own accompaniment for another piece, but it's not so complicated because the piano starts before I do.

In my grade 3 there was another piece where I came in first and it was incredibly fiddly coming in at the right place. That was a piece that was published before the video exams were introduced so there was no thought at that time, of the player sitting the exam with the ABRSM's own recorded accompaniment.

Search for the piece and grade on YouTube, you might find someone has posted the accompaniment. A lot of them are up their for the jazz grades, don’t know about classical.

Yes it’s specifically allowed for the performance grades.

Hi,

I solved the problem! Yay. I wrote to the publisher and it seems I have an old copy of the book but I can download the audio track for a fiver, so that is great. Problem solved.

Thanks!

Ah, that’s great news! ABRSM has been (surprisingly) forward thinking about publishing backing tracks and I’ve been very impressed with the ones for the jazz syllabus. I haven’t looked at the classical ones but I’m guessing it gets rid of the issue of having a ‘helpful’ accompanies who would give you a bit of leeway if you were struggling with the tempo. And of course much cheaper.

Thanks, yes it's really great. It makes music learning so much more accessible. I really am impressed at what ABRSM are doing. I'd like to see GCSEs go the same way tbh. I think online exams that could be done from home would open up education to so many more people.

I am used to the Rock School exams which really pioneered this approach for rock and pop but was very pleasantly surprised to see ABRSM doing it for their jazz grades and even more so for their classical grades.

The ABRSM jazz grades are fab (better than the Trinity ones, and they're supposed to be the jazz experts) - if you are doing classical clarinet I really recommend you look at one of the jazz exams even if just to support your classical playing, it really helps you to develop your ear and timing.

Hi @@LaeralSilverhand

Thanks for mentioning about jazz clarinet. I have bought some of the books, but not yet plucked up the courage to try it. I will have a go soon hopefully. I think that might be where I end up when I find that the next classical grade is too hard.

You might want to drop a grade for the jazz grades unless you already improvise and read lead sheets. ABRSM jazz syllabus has improvisation right from grade 1. A good trick is to play the backing tracks back at slower speeds and build up as jazz is so much about timing and you can't play rubato like you might with the classical pieces.

Thanks, that's good to know. I think I would be starting back at grade 1 tbh.

I see you have solved your problem. For next time, you could see if your piece is on youronlinepianist.co.uk, who make backing tracks and example tracks for exam pieces. Ones without intro include 2 bars of clicks. You can ask them to make a specific track too. I don't have any connection with them, I just think its a useful site.