How to find the "grade" level of a solo

[Dean]

Specifically, the Capuzzi "Andante and Rondo." I was wondering what "grade" this solo qualifies as.


As a more general question though, is there an online resource somewhere that lists common solos by grade, perhaps for many instruments??

Thanks!

[Dean]

I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to "qualify" my questions to get a useful response...


It is for a student. The student needs to play a minimum "grade 4" solo for an audition she has coming up.

[TubaRay]

Grading levels are a very subjective thing. To attempt to give an accurate description of each grade level would be a bit difficult. As a very general idea, here is a chart:

Grade 1--Beginner(very early development)
Grade 2--Junior High(perhaps 2nd to 3rd year)
Grade 3--High School(moderate to easy high school level)
Grade 4--High School to College(challengin HS to fairly easy college)
Grade 5--College(somewhat challenging college level)
Grade 6--College to Professional)very difficult

If you look for it, you can probably find a better set of descriptions than I am giving. You are getting my "hurry-up" version.

YMMV

[Onebaplayer]

it seems that if someone were to have an open forum, that collected the minds of many tubists somewhere where it could be accessed from any computer hooked up to the internet, that such a question could offer a chance for a solution that would help many for a long time. Grading is hit or miss at best. Most pieces I have seen are not graded. What if we were to pool our collective knowledge of pieces that are graded to make up a general set of guidelines for each grade level. While I can't do much at the moment as far as specific examples (I'm sitting on a park bench far away from my library), there should be some basic things that seperate pieces in difficulty. Such as:

Tempo (not just marked tempo but what the fastest grouping of notes translate to)
Range (would seem to be a fairly big seperator, especially for grades up to 4)
Key areas (While it shouldn't be the case, I don't think a Grade 1 piece in the key of B Major would make much sense)
Largest intervals (step wise vs. penderecki)

Seems that if we could establish a common idea of these regarding difficulty, it could be very helpful to many when competitions and whatnot specify a grade level requirement.

Maybe such a thing already exists, but I've never seen it.

[The Jackson]

Grade 1--Beginner(very early development)
Grade 2--Junior High(perhaps 2nd to 3rd year)
Grade 3--High School(moderate to easy high school level)
Grade 4--High School to College(challengin HS to fairly easy college)
Grade 5--College(somewhat challenging college level)
Grade 6--College to Professional)very difficult

This is an awesome list, but again, they are very subjective.

This is the Florida Bandmasters Association music list for brass solos and ensembles. Other states have their own music lists, so those should give you a good idea.

That list has the Capuzzi as a Grade 5 (out of 7)

[Dean]

Thanks to all! (Well, to all except one)

[ufoneum]

Being a private lesson teacher, I find grade levels to be very helpful in finding a solo for a student - especially when it is on an instrument that I may not know a lot of formative repertoire. The best resource I have ever come across is the NYSSMA (New York) Manual. It's not online - drag, I know - but it is presented EXTREMELY well. All of the solos on the list (and it's a big list) are presented in graded format. Also, the more helpful is that ensembles are graded as well in addition to a comprehensive listing of publishers. For $50, all of your questions (past and future) will be answered:

http://www.nyssma.org/manual.cfm

Hope this helps.

- Pat Stuckemeyer

ps. I would say that the Andante and Rondo is about a 4 on a 6 level scale. It's not bad in the range, but at least the euphonium version goes into 6 flats in the rondo section. For what that's worth.

[The Jackson]

The FBA list has the RVW as a grade 7, and you only have to play one movement!

[Ian1]

Hi,

This may be of use...

http://www.abrsm.org/resources/tubaSyll ... lete08.pdf

This is the UK Royal School's of Music Syllabus for reference.

Ian

[Toobist]

I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to "qualify" my questions to get a useful response...


It is for a student. The student needs to play a minimum "grade 4" solo for an audition she has coming up.

Zing! Nice one.

[Bill Troiano]

I guess this one is kind of right up my alley. Being the chairperson for the NYSSMA Manual, I'm faced with deciding the level of various tuba solos that publishers submit for review. I do have the benefit of being able to refer to the list in the prior manual. No piece can be included on the list without me submitting a hard copy for the NYSSMA Library. So, if I don't get a copy from a publisher, it cannot be included on the list. The Capuzzi isn't on the current tuba list. Knowing my son has it for euphonium, I just went to look at it and I was surprised to see that it also comes with a tuba part. I would have to wait for the publisher to send me a copy, which is going on for the next month or so. If I don't get a copy, I can contact the publisher and ask that they send me a copy.

As the chairperson, I don't get advice or guidelines as to how to select the material. I have emailed 5 respected teacher/performers in NY to ask for their imput. When I first chaired in 1985, the ifrst thing I did was to delete Encounters II , Claude Baker's, Cannzonet and a few others that I felt had no business on a State school contest list. Then, I went through the list an denotated the range of every solo. This process alone helps to group pieces, as range is an important factor in the difficulty of a piece.

For a piece such as the Capuzzi, if I were to receive a copy fo review from the publisher, I would probably list it as a level 6. Although, with octave divisi's, the range is accessible and it could probably then be listed as a level 5. However, if played at the tempos indicated, I would tend to think this piece should be a level 6 (on a 6 level system).