The alternative music also addresses a number of problems that have become evident since the original was published. Firstly, some of the existing music presented technical difficulties to pianists, which meant that simplified versions had to be produced retroactively. Secondly, some pianists found the layout of the sheet music difficult to read at times. Thirdly, because all the music in the syllabus was newly composed, inexperienced pianists could not easily gain an idea of the tempo or style.

We have taken this into account and tried to ensure that:

• the music does not present unnecessarily difficult technical challenges to the pianist
• the layout and typography is optimised for easy reading at the piano
• the pieces are either well-known enough to be familiar to pianists; even if they are not, the style and tempo should be easier to interpret from the type of music

Just because the music is not technically difficult does not mean that it has been 'dumbed down' or simplified to the point of being unsatisfying to play for the more experienced pianist. It means only that we have chosen music which is not difficult to read (we have tried to avoid remote keys and excessive numbers of accidentals), and does not, for example, contain continuous large leaps, repeated octaves or complex fingerings. What we have done, however, is occasionally to provide more complex versions for those who want them.

That is not to say that there are not enormous challenges to the dance accompanist in this alternative music. The adagio from the ‘Black Swan Pas de Deux’ which we expect to accompany the pliés from Grade V, is not technically difficult, but to make the melody sing and to make the accompaniment breathe requires maturity and intelligence from the pianist. The girl's variation from Flower Festival at Genzano which we have selected for the Grade III female classical study is one of the simplest tunes ever written, but for this very reason, needs extremely careful shaping and articulation to avoid sounding banal.

The new Alternative Music for Grades 1-5 will be available from 2005.