This page provides guidance on the performance section of the accordion exam at Grades 1-5. It should be read in conjunction with guidance on Quick Study and PAM tests found by clicking on the tabs above.
For a full and downloadable PDF file of the accordion syllabus in its entirety, click here.
General Guidelines on Performance
1The performance section of the exam is worth 90 marks in the exam overall.
2It is your opportunity to present a full and varied programme of music, chosen from three separate repertoire lists.
3The examiner will prompt you throughout by asking what tune or set of tunes he or she wishes to play next; and may ask something further, such as ”˜Why did you choose that tune / those tunes?’ or ”˜Can you tell me something about that tune?’.
This exchange will not be marked. You should view it as a brief opportunity to put the tunes into context, establish a rapport with the examiner as audience and feel more at ease during performance.
4The performance section consists of three categories of music:
·Airs;
·Dance tunes; and
·Recently-composed tunes.
As the grades progress, you are allowed more time and scope to perform your programme of music, chosen from the increasingly challenging repertoire lists:
·At Grade 1, you are allowed a total of4 ½ minutesto playoneair,onedance tune and onerecently-composed tune.
·At Grades 2 and 3, you are allowed a total of6 minutesto playtwo stand-alone tunes and one set of two tunes. At least one tune from each of the three categories should be played.
·At Grades 4 and 5, you are allowed a total of9 minutesto playtwo stand-alone tunes and one set of three tunes. The set of three tunes should be varied in the tunes’ timings and keys. At least one tune from each of the three categories should be played.
5The repeating of tunes, or of a tune’s parts, is at your discretion. Knowing the total time limit and parameters accorded to the performance section of each grade, you are encouraged to make choices to produce a varied programme and to put something of yourself in the music within the boundaries of the exam structure.
Example: at Grade 4, an examiner will expect to hear approximately nine minutes of music. Spending five minutes on a march, strathspey and reel set, for instance, is entirely permissable; going over the full allotted time of nine minutes for the whole programme, however, is discouraged. Although the time limits are for general guidance only, the examiner may stop you if the time limit is exceeded.
6At Grade 5, you may replace one of the listed tunes in the repertoire with a tune of your own choice. The tune should be comparable in technical and artistic standard with the other tunes listed for the grade.
Important Notes for You and Your Tutor
7You are free to use sheet music if you wish.
8You will be expected to perform unaccompanied.
9When presenting a set of tunes, they should relate to each other in terms of appropriate sequences, keys and links.
10The tune sections can be played in any order at your choice. The examiner will ask.
Tune Arrangements
Arrangements are integral to the grading of tunes. The publications recommendedas the sources for tunes in the repertoire reflect the standard of arrangement expected for the tunes in the given grade.Exams booksare available on Taigh na Teud’s book and DVD websitewww.scotlandsmusic.com/homeDownloadableMP3s of the sound files are available here too so you can hear the tunes and easily choose your repertoire for an exam or a new tune to learn. You can also buy the exam sheet music as single PDF copies to download.You are free to use other sources for the tunes named in repertoire lists throughout the grades the tunes may well have been learned by ear, for instance as long as arrangements are comparable in technical standard and in the same key. If the examiner judges your arrangement to be below the technical and artistic standard of other tunes in the repertoire at that grade, marks may be deducted.
