Abrsm 2023 & 2024
Grade 4 Piano Exam
Category C 1
Song Name / Song Piece Pentatonic Tune
Composer Bela Bartok
Recommended tempo for this piece is 138 crotchet beats per bar, which seems very fast indeed, although it states in the footnotes of the exam book that students may prefer a slower tempo, for example 120 bpm. This version on this video has been performed at around 125 bpm.
This piece is mainly to be played staccato, which occasional accents popping in. Watch out for the Tenuto notes - these are marked with a dash above, or under the notes and they appear frequently throughout the piece. It is important to give these notes their full value and NOT play them staccato - you could also consider pressing those notes a little more strongly, in the manner of a slight accent. It is easy to miss this detail.
This piece begins with Bass clef in BOTH parts, so be careful to spot the right hand Treble clef coming in at bar 9. Also watch out for the left hand change from Bass clef to Treble clef at bar 17 and then multiple changes of clef in the left and part especially from bar 31 to the end. dotted lines in the left hand part from bars 33 - 37 require those bars to be played 1 octave lower than written.
