Hi, I sat my Flute DipABRSM 2 weeks ago and I feel that my recital went very bad but the viva, programme notes and sight reading were ok. I want to know that if I fail the recital and pass the other parts will I only have to resit the recital or will they ask me to do the entire exam again? If I can just resit the recital and not the other parts can I change my programme or can I not do this because my programme notes won't watch, viva questions would be different etc?

I'm really bored with and beginning to hate the Hindemith sonata that I played and so would like to change it to another (Poulenc sonata) which I already know 2 movements of and could learn the 3rd before the December exams. I'm happy enough with the rest of my programme and so wouldn't change it. So would I be able to do this in the resit?

I know there is a chance that things went better than I think but between now and the results come out I think I should use the time to prepare for the worst so to speak!

Thanks

Matt

Congrats on taking your flute dip If you fail the recital, my understanding is that you can resit just that part - so yes, with different pieces if you want to.

I would definitely change, if you have to resit, especially if you are feeling bored of the other one. You might be more likely to put that extra bit of effort into a new piece, rather than having to go over old ground, which can often get frustrating. Good luck anyway though.

It depends which syllabus you took the original exam under. In the pre-2005 version, you had to pass each "half" of the exam; the recital being one half and the notes/viva/QS the second. In my first attempt the only thing I passed was the viva/notes, but I had to retake that along with the rest (and annoyingly got a lower mark!).
The post-2005 syllabus is a little more flexible I believe, but you can check all of this on the main ABRSM site by downloading the appropriate syllabus document!
If you're in the UK sounds like you'd be on the post-2005, but I think in some places the old version was kicking round a bit longer.

Sorry to hear you think it didn't go so well, and hope that when you eventually get results you'll be happy with them. If worst comes to worst and you do need to retake any of the exam, bear in mind that you often don't have a lot of time to get your resit application in if you want to do the "next" exam session.

I woudn't resit for a flute Dip. I would restand.

<groan>


Matt, certainly prep your Poulenc, but you'll probably find a bit of a break from the other pieces (even just a few weeks) works wonders - as you've found with the Hindemith it's easy to get stuck in a rut.

So hopefully whatever the outcome, standing, sitting, riding side saddle on an icelandic pony or HOWEVER you choose to play, you'll get something out of it musically !

Thanks for all the help. It is much appreciated.

I've only played my flute twice since the exam and they weren't even proper practices (naughty me !) So I'll have to start getting into regular practice again before I loose touch with it. I'll definately change the Hindemith, if not to Poulenc then to something else, it was the worst piece in the exam and my accompanist would probably kill me if I asked him to play it again.

I did the post 2005 syllabus so it's in 3 parts - Recital/notes & Viva/Quick study. If I fail the other parts I don't know if i'll even bother to retake because I don't think I could have done any better in them. The quick study especially was great I wasn't expecting it to be as easy as it was - only one flat! I know I missed out some points of detail but all of the rhythms, notes and articulation were there and I stuck to a reasonable enough tempo.

Is it normal for the examioners to talk with each other during the exam? Every time I glanced over at them when I was playing they were talking. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing (hopefully they missed some of my mistakes when in conversation ). In the viva I was only asked questions by the specialist the other examioner just asked at the end if there was anything i'd like to add which I thought was strange. I thought she would have asked some historical questions. I was also asked if I play in any orchestras or groups which i've never heard anyone else being asked.

How many times does it usually take people to pass the diploma? I think it's very hard to tell what standard your playing should be at. I purchased the DVD but I didn't find it very useful as it didn't show you what would be a clear fail or just a simple pass.