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IB Music Solo Performing


anastasyac

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Hi, guys!

So currently I am already in my 2nd year of IB, and I am very worried about my IA/solo performing. 

I have been playing the piano for quite some time, started since I was around 3 years old (I've been playing for more than 13 years), but the problem is I have been very lazy and have only picked it up seriously around two years ago. 

My piano skills are okay, I don't play classical so I do not take ABRSM exams, but according to my teacher my technical skill level at the moment should be around Grade 6-ish. The pieces I can and currently learning to play is All of Me by Jon Schmidt (The Piano Guys), Divenire by Ludovico Einaudi, and I am currently learning Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. I might also learn few of Chopin nocturnes/etudes as well in the future. 

The problem is, that it takes me such a long time to be able to master a piece (it can take me literally years), and in a program like IB music I know that I need to be able to perform numerous pieces decently in a short amount of time since I need to do a lot of those for the program. I have recorded two piano pieces so far, which is Divenire and All of Me. My Divernire was decent so I think I might be able to submit that, however, my All of Me is terrible hahaha :P 

However, my Einaudi piece is very long - if i'm not mistaken it is 8 or 9 mins long, and I know that we are limited to only 15 mins of performance. I am also aware that the examinors are looking for a wide range of music, so I feel that 8 min piece might be too long and I am only left with 6 more minutes which means I can only play roughly around 2 more short pieces. 

Also, I picked up the violin 2 years ago and although I'm still quite terrible, I might get recruited into a string quartet and this might be an opportunity for one of my pieces to submit to the IB. 

Overall, I have a few questions:

1) How long does your pieces need to be roughly (ideally)? Because 8 min piece might not be suitable. And also, is it okay to edit and cut a bit of the recording so I can more time to play other pieces as well? I know there are not any rules about this, but what does your teacher recommend?

2) Is it okay if we perform more than one instrument? I might be able to submit my violin playings as one of my pieces, but I don't know if that is allowed. 

3) Any tips on how to learn pieces quickly? Or do you think a good solution is just to learn easier pieces so I can get them done quicker?

4) When is the deadline for these submissions? Is it too late for me to change to do compositions instead?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks!

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Hi there, 

IB Music Student Here :D! Let me try my best to answer your questions =3. 

First of all: 

1) How long does your pieces need to be roughly (ideally)? Because 8 min piece might not be suitable. And also, is it okay to edit and cut a bit of the recording so I can more time to play other pieces as well? I know there are not any rules about this, but what does your teacher recommenI played ? " 

An 8 minute piece is perfectly all right, you won't be marked down for piece length, I personally played two long pieces; one being about 6 minutes, another around 5. Length is Ok, just make sure that you play it good throughout. I'm unsure about cutting bits out of the recording, you should check that with your music teacher ( send them an email :) ) 

Secondly: 

" 2) Is it okay if we perform more than one instrument? I might be able to submit my violin playings as one of my pieces, but I don't know if that is allowed. " 

Of course that is allowed, that shows that you have diversity in music, it shows you can play more than one instrument. I would highly recommend doing that =) ! 

Thirdly: 

" 3) Any tips on how to learn pieces quickly? Or do you think a good solution is just to learn easier pieces so I can get them done quicker? "

What I did to learn pieces quickly was practice at least 2 hours a day, generally by doing this I cut practicing time by half, (YAY!). However, be aware, by doing this there is a big risk of hurting your tendons; avoid playing to aggressively. (That's what I did, and it hurt a lot!!). You can also play some easier pieces if you want, I for example tried to fit in some of Yann Tiersen's Piano music. You don't necessarily only need extremely challenging pieces, an easy piece is always nice :D

Finally: 

4) When is the deadline for these submissions? Is it too late for me to change to do compositions instead? " 

I do not know the answer to this question, as I did HL music. I highly suggest you contact your music teacher ASAP about this, they themselves are a fabulous! resource. :)

I hope I have helped answer some of your questions.

If you have anymore, don't hesitate and ask! 

 

 

 

Edited by Oscarthecat3
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On 10/1/2016 at 5:28 AM, Oscarthecat3 said:

Hi there, 

IB Music Student Here :D! Let me try my best to answer your questions =3. 

First of all: 

1) How long does your pieces need to be roughly (ideally)? Because 8 min piece might not be suitable. And also, is it okay to edit and cut a bit of the recording so I can more time to play other pieces as well? I know there are not any rules about this, but what does your teacher recommenI played ? " 

An 8 minute piece is perfectly all right, you won't be marked down for piece length, I personally played two long pieces; one being about 6 minutes, another around 5. Length is Ok, just make sure that you play it good throughout. I'm unsure about cutting bits out of the recording, you should check that with your music teacher ( send them an email :) ) 

Secondly: 

" 2) Is it okay if we perform more than one instrument? I might be able to submit my violin playings as one of my pieces, but I don't know if that is allowed. " 

Of course that is allowed, that shows that you have diversity in music, it shows you can play more than one instrument. I would highly recommend doing that =) ! 

Thirdly: 

" 3) Any tips on how to learn pieces quickly? Or do you think a good solution is just to learn easier pieces so I can get them done quicker? "

What I did to learn pieces quickly was practice at least 2 hours a day, generally by doing this I cut practicing time by half, (YAY!). However, be aware, by doing this there is a big risk of hurting your tendons; avoid playing to aggressively. (That's what I did, and it hurt a lot!!). You can also play some easier pieces if you want, I for example tried to fit in some of Yann Tiersen's Piano music. You don't necessarily only need extremely challenging pieces, an easy piece is always nice :D

Finally: 

4) When is the deadline for these submissions? Is it too late for me to change to do compositions instead? " 

I do not know the answer to this question, as I did HL music. I highly suggest you contact your music teacher ASAP about this, they themselves are a fabulous! resource. :)

I hope I have helped answer some of your questions.

If you have anymore, don't hesitate and ask! 

 

 

 

My teacher recommended me to have shorter pieces, so I can have more variety in the styles... 

I have a list of pieces that I am learning so far, and I hope I can master them right when I need to perform them, so I might stick to solo performing after all :) 

I have April until I have to hand in all my deadlines, so I'm pretty confident about my choices now after talking to my teacher.

If it's okay, can I ask you what you got for music?

PS: I'm also doing biology HL :D 

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4 hours ago, anastasyac said:

My teacher recommended me to have shorter pieces, so I can have more variety in the styles... 

I have a list of pieces that I am learning so far, and I hope I can master them right when I need to perform them, so I might stick to solo performing after all :) 

I have April until I have to hand in all my deadlines, so I'm pretty confident about my choices now after talking to my teacher.

If it's okay, can I ask you what you got for music?

PS: I'm also doing biology HL :D 

I'm happy to hear you're confident and settled with a solid decision. 

I got a 5 in HL music !

Hope I helped you a little bit ^_^.  

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