Hi,

I was just wonderin, is it just me or does everyone find Paino aural difficult?
I think its really hard and this lets me down in the exams, it prevents me from getting a merit.

Please tell me what u think?

Thanks

Well, there are many things in life that are difficult for many people. The fact that you cannot get a merit, means that you are not good enough. So, either practise harder, or if that is not an issue, realise your own limitations.

Not everyone can aspire to play the piano to virtuoso level. Once you accept that, life becomes more tolerable!

You're not alone, I also find piano aural difficult but I find that the tests are usually easier in the exams so I don't normally do as badly as I think I'm going to do. As long as the other areas of the exam are good then you could still get a merit.



I don't think it's very nice to say that someone isn't good enough. Just because someone hasn't got a merit in an exam it doesn't mean they're not capable of getting one. Nerves usually take over in exams so people don't often play as well as they do when they practise at home on their own. It's a confidence thing more than anything else & if you're not a 'natural performer' then taking an exam can be very stressful & can affect your results.

Don't worry about the aurals so much Gregory. Hardly anyone actually enjoys doing them but it's just part of the exam unfortunately & you just have to try your best. If the aurals stop you from getting a merit then practise is the only thing that will improve your marks. I used to be really rubbish at the singing bits, mainly because I'm not a confident singer but the more I practised the more comfortable I felt singing in front of people & I now don't feel as self-conscience as I used to.

Lisa xxx

So many people see the aural test (rather like scales/sight-reading) as something that only has to be done for exams and therefore "nasty" and difficult.

Everytime you play music you listen (or you should be listening ) to yourself play. That's aural! When you listen to music being played by others, try asking yourself some aural-type questions about what they're doing. Major/minor, cadences (if you've got that far in your musical knowledge yet), features of the music etc. Can you sing back a phrase of the music they've played - can you sing back the phrase of something you've played? What time is the music in - can you clap back a rhythm from same.

If you get into the way of doing this, then you'll find the structured aural tests will come much easier. Yes, there are bits (sight-singing, recognition of cadences/modultations in the senior exams) which need a bit of practise but much of it is just musical common sense really. Try and relax into the aural tests and don't panic about them.

Your teacher should be helping you on this but, if not, there's loads you can do to help yourself.

I've heard two different teachers describe aurals in two different ways.

One said they serve the purpose of bringing your mark down (or something like that). The same with scales and such.

The other described them as "free or bonus" marks.

I like the second one. It motivates me to practice them when I think of the "bonus" marks I'll get for getting them right, especially since I'm good at letting nerves affect my pieces

I'm still not great at them though, but we'll get there!

The scenario of the exam is very difficult and from my own experience i can appreciate that.

However, the simple facts are, if you are good enough, in the given exam scenario, you will get a pass, or a merit or a distinction. If you are not good enough, you wont.

That is what makes the ABRSM exams worth taking, because they are difficult to pass and thus worth the effort.

Aurals aren't actually hard, but I bet you spend next to no time working on them. Pieces you will study for months in advance, aural for a couple of weeks. Pieces you will spend hours on daily, aural will get 10 minutes. Pieces are constant throughout the yera, aural only gets covered for exams. It's not wonder people find it difficult if they expect it just to come without putting the right amount of effort for the marks in. Say you spend 30 minutes on a piece every day for 6 months, well if it's for an exam, you should spend 15 minutes a day for the same amount of time on aural. Go and do that, then see if it's still hard, or if it just takes practice like everthing else in music.

I'm with Bo on this one. It's about listening skills, and as such is about being a rounded musician. All too often we spend our practise time on scales and pieces and aural gets very little practise which is probably why it seems so hard.

BUT music is all around us, we listen to it all the time. So listen to it with informed ears, and you will be practising your aural without even realising it. Sing back melodies to the radio, clap rhythms you hear. Think about the dynamics, time signature, tonality etc of the pieces you listen to every day.

Practise makes perfect.

Incidentally, apart form the sight reading and not knowing what piece will be used for the aural, the exams are ones where you know the questions before you go in. How easy is that!!! Wish I had known the questions to my theory exams before I went in!

Just because you have to work at something does not mean you are bad at it...

My strength is aural - but I never used to do much sight reading, so I've had to work hard to get it better. Now I think I'm pretty good at it though!

Not everyone can be the best at everything, but you should never make comments like that to stop people enjoying things that they like, and everyones strengths are in different areas of the exam!

Well Gregory, the aural part of the exam (especially at the higher grades) is not easy, there's no denying that. I found parts of my Grade 8 aural exam very hard indeed - particularly identifying sequential chords in their root positions, inversions etc, but I still managed 14 out of 18 which I never thought I would achieve!

With work, however, the aural will definitely come. Even if you are never super at aural, you will make some reasonable progress if you just keep on working at it.

Be determined! You may find your marks creeping into the Merit band in time, so don't give up!

violin_lizzy

I hate aural tests too! I only got 11 out of 18 (grade4 recorder) but hey, I guess I'll just have to practise alot for my next grade!

Oh, it prevents me from getting a destinction!