I'm due to take Grade 6 practical this term & I felt fine about it until after Christmas when I started to get really panicky. The pieces are all OK but it's just the scales/arpeggios & aurals that I'm worried about. My teacher did some practise aural tests with me yesterday & although I got some right I couldn't really get the hang of the first test - singing back the upper part of a phrase. I can't seem to remember the melody & I'm not a very confident singer as it is. As for the scales/arpeggios, when I practise them on my own I don't make any mistakes (and if I do it's only a couple) but whenever I practise them in front on someone else i.e. my teacher, family etc. I get really nervous & make quite a lot of mistakes. I really don't think I'm ready for the exam & I'm so nervous. Do you think it would be better for me to take it in the summer term or is it just last minute nerves? I took grade 4 last year & even though I was nervous I was still confident that I would do alright as my pieces & scales/arpeggios were all fine & although I was a bit worried about the aurals & sight-reading I was able to do them.

I would be really grateful if anyone could give me any advice. Thanks.

Lisa xxx

I guess it comes down to why you're doing the exam.
If you like to collect merits and distinctions, then perhaps you should perfect those parts of the exam that might let you down.

If you've got everything you can out of learning the pieces already and would like to simply tick the grade 6 box, why not go for the exam. You can still put some work in on both your scales and aurals, and as long as you make a reasonable attempt you will get some marks for them!

What will YOU get out of delaying the exam? Do you need the pressure of the exam date to get on top of the scales? Do you need to get on top of scales to improve your general playing? Or are you going to get bored of the pieces you're playing and miss out on some new musical experiences?

To be honest, if I were you, having already paid for the exam I would go for it you have paid for the examiner's comments so just think of it as another valuable lesson. If you have the time and capability to work very hard between now and then you'll get more out of it. If you hadn't entered the advice may differ but you may as well make the most out of this now you've paid for it.


You only mention this one test specifically as bad: does that mean the rest are fine? If so that's two marks at most in the exam. Whilst I don't want to start an argument about the merits (or not) of saying it's only two marks, in this situation it's not worth worrying yourself about too much, maybe do some work on it now if you have time and then practise it more after the exam in preparation for your next one. The examiner will most probably bring out the melody very clearly above the accompaniment in the exam so it'll probably be easier for you to do in the actual exam anyway. Try searching for tips on this too: it's the same principle as the test A in the earlier grades .


Okay so you've learnt your scales but they're not secure under pressure. At first this seems an impossible situation to get around because you're not under pressure when you practise and there's no point just playing them correctly again and again; but it's actually quite possible. The problems you're having under pressure represent some weakness in your scales that only manifests itself at that time. Therefore make it harder to play your scales when you practise normally and this will come to the fore. Try playing scales down then up, rather than up then down. Make sure they're secure hands seperately too. Play one hand legato and one staccato. Play them in dotted rhythms (i.e. dotted-quaver semi-quaver), and then play them as triplet quaver at the same meterenome speed, this makes it more difficult. Finally, this will seem like an odd suggestion but play them really slowly: this simulates the extra concentration one experiences under pressure: hands don't do it automatically one really has to think about the next note: this is more difficult than it sounds.


If you really feel very unready then you could consider not doing the exam but you don't have to decide that until the day: there's plenty of time between now and the actual exams to get things secure so do the best you can in the time you have available and then make the decision . It sounds to me like you're just having a confidence crisis at the moment but when you get to the exam you'll be okay.

Good luck .

Thanks for the replies. My teacher thinks I'll do fine in the exam but I don't know if she's just saying that to boost my confidence. I have got distinctions for all the exams I have taken so far so I feel a bit under pressure to do just as well in this exam, I think that's why I'm so nervous. My family & piano teacher have said that they'll be just as proud of me if I get a pass but I can't help but think that they'll be disappointed in me.

Other than the first test I'm reasonably OK with the aurals but I'm worried that if I mess up in that part then I'll crack under the pressure for the rest of them. The main problem is that I don't have a very strong voice at all but I think that is mainly embarrassment.

My teacher says that I should practise my scales/arpeggios in front of people more often so that I will get used to playing them with an audience so that might help I suppose.

My Mum has said that if I don't pass then I can always retake the exam in the summer term & regard this one as a practise but I'd feel so bad if that were to happen. I always put in 100% effort but it doesn't always show because of my nerves.

Thanks for the reassurance.

Lisa xxx

I know that feeling . Seriously though they've said that they'll be pleased if you pass and they will be: especially since you've skipped a grade this time too .


You'll be fine then: they're not looking at the quality of your voice at all, just the right notes at the right time is sufficient for full marks . As for embarassment think of it this way: it's almost the last thing that you'll do in the exam and then you'll leave the room and you'll never see the examiner again. He'll have heard many people sing back a phrase that day so won't even remember it . I ususally find in the exam that I'm so busy feeling nervous I don't have time to feel embarrased .


Your mum is quite right. As for the nerves: I certainly never perform as well under pressure as I can do at home. It happens to almost everyone as a wise person once said 'nerves are normal' .

It sounds to me like you'll be fine: you sound like you're hard working and that's the best that you can do .

Remember that for aurals and sightreading you get marks just for attempting to answer and for completeing the passage so don't give up!

I know exactly how you feel as I was really nervous when I took my grade 6 too. I absolutely hate singing too and get embarrassed singing in front of everyone. Just pretending that nobody is there might help. If not, I don't know if you've tried playing back? Though you still have to sing for sightsinging. Remember that aural singing is only worth a tiny bit of the marks!

For scales make sure you're warmed up enough so you hands arent so cold and stiff you can't play because of that! Trying practising each scale and arpeggio slowly until you think you know them all then speed up.

If you put all the effort in that you can nobody would ever be disappointed in you and you won't be disappointed in yourself. Remember its not so much the mark that matters, as this can varie from examiner to examiner, but the ability you have gotton to after this exam...so good luck!

Lisa, I completely sympathise - I know EXACTLY how you feel, because I'm going through the same angst with Grade 6 too! I'm already entered for this term so there isn't much I can do, but the earliest possible date is late Feb and I don't think I'm ready for that! My pieces are OK but it's just my other components. And I have the same problem with you with the scales and aurals. My scales are OK when I practice at home, but I get so nervous under my piano teacher/parent/etc's gaze that I flop the ones that I'm usually fine on (although as AP said, this probably shows a lack of practice that isn't picked up when you play on your own). The aurals I'm scared about are first one and the sight-singing one. I find that the piano puts me off so much! >.<

I know that I will PASS - it's a matter of how well I pass, really. I'm in the same boat as you; I've got distinctions for the past 4 exams and I'm really pressurised to do as well in this one.

Anyway, I basically agree with AP's advice - that's what my piano teacher advised me too. I'm sorry I can't give any more constructive advice but I can give you moral support!

I have very similar feelings to yours about doing grade 8 in the spring.
I took a while to make up my mind to go for it.
My scales etc are pretty secure and I really think I have done pretty well as much as I think I can do with the pieces. I am not too sure about sight reading and aural, but will be working hard on them both in an out of lessons in the remaining time. My teacher is reasonably happy with those anyway so I just have to learn to trust myself as much as she trusts me on those...

Reasons I decided to go for it now...
As my teacher said 'you've put in the work...'
There is no way I can see myself carrying on with those pieces until the summer session.
If I don't do it now it would mean starting the qhole process over again when the new syllabus comes out when I would probably be better moving on.
A lot of my reluctance is ti do with nerves and I am determined not to let that beat me.

I had in my own mind a minimum mark I would like to get on this exam, but now I am just going to do my best and learn form the examiner comments on the mark sheet. That way I lose one pressure at least.. I'm also looking forward to continuing my learning without the constraints of an apporoaching exam.

This is good advice. Try this too - play every scale in succession up and down, without stopping,one after the other, just one octave, ie C major, C sharp major, D major, D sharp major etc, (call them by their sharp names as you go up and down) then do the same for the minors. When you can do that, do them down and up (and call them by their flat names when you do them this way round). I have been doing this since changing to a new teacher a few months ago. I was amazed by how difficult it was - here I was with a decent mark for scales at grade 8 and I coudn't do this apparently easy exercise! I now realise that the reason I couldn't do it is that I have learnt scales "parrot fashion" without knowing them inside out as you should do. My scales have now improved, though I still find the minor melodics really weird when doing them backwards, and I still can't do them fast. You have to think very quickly about the pattern of the next scale when you are only doing one octave, so you have to keep your brain sharp while you are doing it. You will find that doing only one octave also has a spin-off when doing two or more octaves. You can use the same system for arpeggios, but I find it better to do two octaves for these.

Don't forget that you have a bit of choice about the order in which you do things in the exam - or at least, they gave me the choice. I played scales first for grade 7, and this turned out to be the wrong choice for me! Fluffed like mad, BUT...managed to pick myself off the floor (and when you're 38, it feels like an even longer distance to get back up!) and played fine after that, and got my best ever marks overall. Have a think about what feels easier to you - if you want to, you can do your pieces first to get used to the instrument, or if you always warm up with scales first, you may be better getting them out of the way. Aural, I think, does tend to be afterwards - I worked with the ABRSMs CDs to practise - but you can also listen to Classic FM or similar and try singing back bits of phrases to practise picking out melodies. Good luck!

Something else that this made me think of too: do as Supea says but if you do anything wrong you have to go back to the beginning, this makes you feel under pressure, especially at the end as you don't want to have to start again! If you have just a few that keep going wrong then play each of those three times then the next one that's going wrong etc. again if you go wrong you have to start again. It's amazing how much more pressure you feel when you don't want to have to go back to the beginning and start the whole thing again! Obviously rotate the order since the ones at the beginning get the most practise and the ones at the end are done under the most pressure.

Thanks for the advice everyone. A big problem I have with the scales & arpeggios is that if I make a mistake, I stop & start again. This may be because I am a perfectionist but also because I think that if I don't re-start everyone will think that I don't realise I've made a mistake. My teacher says that I shouldn't re-start & that if I slip up then I should just carry on as if nothing's happened which is easier said than done! The problem is that sometimes I can't just carry on as my fingering might have gone wrong & can't be picked up again. What are your opinions on this? Should I stop & ask the examiner if I should start again if I make a mistake or just try to carry on?

Thanks again,

Lisa xxx

Yes, you should carry on - which is also what you should do if you make a slip in one of your pieces. However, if you really feel you can't do that, then re-start. If you follow all the good advice you have had you won't make any slips anyway, so don't worry about it! Also, under pressure most people tend to start too fast. Allow yourself a few seconds of awareness time before starting - consciously think how fast you are going to go and give yourself a silent count-in. This, too, can be done with your pieces.

This is usually the reason why I restart. I get all panicky & I don't actually think about what I'm about to play before I play it. I guess I'm just worried (again!) that if I don't start quick enough the examiner will mark me down for not responding fast enough but my teacher said a few seconds won't matter.

Lisa xxx

I should think you will lose fewer marks with a slight pause and a correct scale than an instant response and scales being all over the place.

It is OK to play scales again though - as long as you don't do it every time. I did it with at least two in my grade 4 that I knew I hadn't played as well as I could, and got 18 or 19 for my scales.

I think it's worth taking a couple of seconds to make sure you're ready and can do the scale, rather than rush in and make mistakes. Also gives you time to double-check you're starting on the right note (I did a beautiful version of completely the wrong scale in one of my 'mock' exams ). And also with scales, I really feel it helps to play loudly and confidently because it gives the impression you know them really well. Although it may make mistakes seem more obvious, overall it portrays you better.

Stopping and restarting was precisely what got me a spectacular 12/21 for scales . For a bad mistake, you may need to restart, but the little slips are better ignored and muddled past. I got so muddled that the examiner told me to calm down! If the first scale is an easy one - mine was - then take it very steadily, as it gets harder after that. At the end of the day, whilst scales do get you "easy" points if you are able to pull them out of the bag perfectly, it is still possible to do very well with relatively duff marks for them - I did.