I was just wondering how many of you have had an 'additional comment' from the examiner on your mark form??!
My older sister didn't have any additional comments until Grade 8, but myself and my younger sister have had them so far in each exam. So maybe it depends on where you live or the examiner?! I can't make up oy mind whether it's rare or not! So please let's hear what everyone here has to say!!!

I tend to always have additional comments and so have my pupils - generally things like - "very promising, keep up the good work" or "the supporting test were well prepared today" or "try to work on intonation in the future"

Once upon a time you only seemed to get them if you did very well. I have noticed a much wider use creeping in now which seems like a good idea.

Hello Appassionata and oboist,

Thank you for the replies! Yes, I did think that it seems to be more of a recent thing. And I think it's a good idea too, as it's something outside of the marks that the examiner is saying directly to you. They are usually very encouraging comments as well, for example for my grade 2, my additional comment was, 'An excellent result - and some lovely playing - well done.' I was sooooo chuffed!!

I have got them for every single exam (over 30!), they're always very complimentary and a nice touch to make it more personal.

I can't remember if I got them on my Grade 1 Practical voice, but on my Grade 4 I did. I think it helps me to understand what I need to work on, because the examiner capsulizes the whole thing in a few short sentences.

I've had additional comments for every single ABRSM exam I've taken, and also for the Guildhall ones. I agree that they make the marksheet seem more personal and they're usually very complimentary & encouraging.

On my first organ exam (Gr 3) the examiner put 'A most enjoyable end to the day, well done.' Which I liked, because it seemed like she actually enjoyed hearing me play, and wasn't just listening because it was her job. Mind you, I was really calm and acting like a normal person in that exam, because I'd already done my Gr 7 piano, and it was a doddle!

I don't remember about the exams I did at school, but I know I got comments on my last 2.

For my grade 1 piano I got "some great moments here - keep up the good work"

I've had additional comments for every exam that I've done .

I recall a thread a while ago about people being angry that they weren't filled in, saying that the examiners are paid to fill them in so they should. I've never had a problem. It seems that it's just a general comment almost to help justify the mark or encourage people for the future .

I always view the additionaly comments as a bonus - nice to get - and for things which are either very general ("work on x and y, z is very good") or just don't fit anywhere else ("a deserved distinction", "I really enjoyed your playing", etc)

I've got additional comments on all of my exams! One of the one's I liked was 'Much to commend and enjoy here : bravo!'. And the last grade I did I had 'Most of your playing was excellent. But you should put your aural up to this standard, I'm sure you can. A well deserved result!' . The additional comments are sort of my favourite part of the report, I'm not quite sure why!

I think maybe because it's so personal - it's not something they HAVE to comment on - they only write something there if they actually mean it.... anyway it may not be the same for you!

It depends on the examiner. This session, every single student (12) got an additional comment. Sometimes none of them do. I think it's really nice of him/her to take the time. It means such a lot to the candidates. (AB, please take note!)

Ann

Yes, it does - it's nice to think they've taken the time to write something more personal, and if the comments are really positive then it's a real boost

I find that it's only the high scoring candidates who seem to get the additional comments.

You'll get plenty when you do Dip later this year....

Heh, or possibly the really bad ones - I'm sure I got them more than once in my career as a not-very-good-violinist......

I got them on my grade 8 and I don't think that 102 is high scoring....

The comment was...

'You passed - bravo!
A pass is a real achievement at this high level'.

The only comment I remember getting is a 'promising' after my Grade 5 Distinction. 'Promise' I clearly failed to live up to with passes for the next 3 grades Still haven't seen comments for Grade 8, so I might get something there.

It seems to depend on the examiner. Looking at the results from my pupils, it seems that some examiners rarely if ever use the additional comments box, while others nearly always do!

I got "Good luck in preparation for Grade 8" on my Grade 7 Piano. I've yet to see if that bit of luck paid off - I did the exam 3 and a half weeks ago and I still haven't got my result. The suspense is killing me!

I've just had a flick through my old certificates and it seems that the box used to be called General Comments... I had this on my first few piano exams and no one wrote anything in it. As soon as it changed to Additional Comments all the examiners wrote something
Also, I noticed that my first four Theory exams were done in the dark ages (!!) when you couldn't get a merit, and if merits had existed, I would have got one for Grades 1-4 (I got Distinction in 5)

Hi there,

Examiners are supposed to give an additional comment for a fail result and a distinction. There are other marks where an additional comment is advisory (like just missing out on the next band of pass eg, 118 or 128) but not obligatory.

Bye.

I got an additional comment on my mark sheet for my Grade 1 jazz piano exam. It just simply said "A well prepared exam".

Car Expert

I've always had long comments every time. Pass, merit, distinction, there's always something long I can't read.

I've had one for every exam except my first 2 piano ones (i think)
it is nice to have a little comment at the end of the mark sheet. It makes the examiner more human somehow....

For practically all of my exams so far they gave me 'Additional Comments'. Every time they have something to do with me "having a brilliant future" in the piano

[i][quote Also, I noticed that my first four Theory exams were done in the dark ages (!!) when you couldn't get a merit, and if merits had existed, I would have got one for Grades 1-4 (I got Distinction in 5)
[/quote]

I was looking at my old grade 3-5 theory certificates the other day and wondering why there was no grading apart from a number. What are the bands for merit and distinction just out of interest?

Back on topic, my daughter got "Well done Claudia - a fine result!"in the additional comments in the grade 1 violin which finished it off very nicely - the other comments were lovely too throughout the sheet.

80/100 for merit and 90/100 for distinction.

Thanks Sbhoa - you've made my day - 2 merits and a distinction and I didn't even know it (even if it was 26 years ago)!!!

Yes, it was a pity they didn't have merits for theory in the past...!
At least they've done something about it!

I have always had encouraging comments on every exam and I am a low scorer.

Yeah... some examiners don't really like using the AC box. I didn't get one for my grade 7 piano, thought I got comments for many other exams, some of which I can't recall exactly. For my grade 6 violin, I got 126, and the examiner wrote, "An assured merit. Plenty of promising playing." My aural was the one that dragged my mark down.

For grade 7 violin, I saw the mark sheets of my teacher's students as he showed them to me. The examiner had a certain set comment for each pass, like if you got 100-119 he would write, "Congratulations on your pass today, (insert name here). Be sure to improve on your technicality..." And for merit, he wrote, "Congratulations on your pass with merit, (insert name here), ___" And for distinction... ah well, you get the drift.