I'll take Grade 4 piano exam in the coming Spring. Since this is my first time taking the piano exam and I haven't much experience in playing piano (less than 2 years), I'm very worried about taking the exam. Could anyone give me tips on how to prepare for the exam?

My sight-reading skill is very poor, and I always do wrong in distinguishing between major and minor scales. Any tips to improve these skills?

Hello,

Welcome to the Forums!

You've done very well to get to Grade 4 in less than two years. What three pieces are you working on?

If you feel that Sight reading is something that needs to improve, get a Paul Harris workbook and attempt the exercises daily. Try them right hand and left hand as well as the obvious HT! Say the names of the notes out loud if that helps.

I'm sure others on here will give you tips (eat a banana before the exam is a popular one) as will your teacher.

Let us all know how you continue to make progress before the big day.

Hi Donna618
welcome to the forums.
Having heard quite a few students warm up before piano exams in the last few years - and having a daughter sit piano exams - I can offer a few of tips:

It seems to be a natural tendency to rush everything, especially when nerves kick in. For example - scales don't need to be played at break-neck pace. In exam conditions you are far more likely to make mistakes at high speed. So aim for accuracy and evenness and avoid the temptation to speed up. Whatever speed you are comfortable in practice - stick to that speed in the exam. Make a list of all the scales (and there are over 60 variations, I made a spreadsheet of them, I can email it to you if you like) and when you know them all reasonably well, get someone to randomly call out a scale for you to play. Don't rush playing it, take your time to think of which scale it is, major/minor etc., which fingers to start with before commencing. Then play it confidently and evenly and don't skimp on the last note either!

Ditto for pieces. My kid had a piano grade 3 piece which was marked Vivace. As she couldn't play it at that speed without messing it up, she went for a medium tempo, but played it more accurately and musically. At a music festival she played this piece and was told by the adjudicator that it should be played much faster. Some others played it fast there and fluffed it. The exam result for the piece - 27/30 .

Don't worry about sight-reading in exams. The best way to prepare is to sight-read one piece every day. Try and get those Harris sight-reading practice books as JohnS suggested, get grade 2, 3 and 4. They'll keep you busy. Each day take one - on easier ones do a couple - (do a search on these forums for advice on sight-reading, there's lots) - take 30 seconds to look and try out bits that look difficult (this is the amount of time you are given in exams), then play it start to finish without stopping. Then play it 2 more times, paying more attention to all the details each time. This is a small part of the marks in an exam, pieces count for far more, so even if you do badly in sight-reading, you can still easily pass.

Have you got the grade 4 scales book? Have you learnt off the major and minor scales yet? You'll find they sound very different. On grade 4 scales you have C# major and minor (or enharmonic equivalents). Play both of these and they will feel and sound quite different.

Don't forget Aural preperation for the exam too, and don't leave that until the week before!

Play the exam pieces for as many people as you can. All visitors to your house, anywhere there is a piano have a go. Most people are too polite to refuse. Anyone that comes to our house has no choice but to listen.

Occasionally, do a pretend exam. Walk into the room, pretend there is an examiner present (or get someone to act as one) and go through a whole mock exam. Agree on your approach and practice it, for example:
"I'd like to start with scales" (gets you used to the exam piano and warms you up for the pieces), then play a few of each of your scales in this order: major, minor, contrary, chromatic, arpeggios, broken chords
Then play the 3 pieces - don't forget you can do these in any order you prefer (eg: start with your easiest)
Then pick a sight-reading piece and spend 30 seconds preparing, then play it through
Then try some aural (easier if someone else plays for you)

You've got lots of time - use it wisely by practicing every day, scales, pieces, sightreading, bit of Aural. It's quality of practice that counts, not how long you spend. A brief session in the morning and a longer one in the evening works very well from our experiences - if your circumstances will permit it.

As an experienced tutor on these forums has said - the examiners will bend over backwards (especially on the lower grades) to find enough marks to pass a student. After that however all marks are earned dutifully.

Get hold of a copy (or read online) of 'These Music Exams'. It explains the exam process very well.
Someone commented recently that one of the most daunting things about exams is that you have no feedback after each piece as you would in a lesson.
I hadn't really realised the impact of this until, at my last lesson, my teacher sat out of sight while I played ( ) through all 3 exam pieces without commenting on them until the end. It was VERY scary but I think it helped me to feel more able to cope in that situation. (Going to do the same to a grade 2 adult student of mine so that she know how it feels... ).

Thanks so much for all your suggestions and sharing your experiences! I think my poor sight reading is due to my lack of practice. Though I'm also learning new scores apart from the exam pieces, I haven't practiced in the exam way (give myself 30 seconds and play the piece without breaks). My lesson is always mostly spent on the exam pieces and other new scores, with a few minutes on scales (I've learnt all scales needed for Grade 4 but can't play fast). I think I'll make the sight-reading practices during my own practices.

Here are the 3 pieces that I'm working on for the exam:
A1 Polonaise
B2 Danse Orientale
C2 Freeway
Though I learnt Polonaise the first, I still find it the most difficult to play smoothly

I've played the exam pieces to a few friends. For the first time, I felt so nervous that I could only barely play the notes. However, I played much better (though my fingers still trembled) for the third time. Since I don't have a piano at home (I need to practice in my learning place), I can't play to my family or friends at home more often.

It sounds good to do a pretend exam. I'll try this out to see how I feel. I know there is a company making mock exams too, but I wonder if this also helps.