Hello!

I will be taking a grade 3 piano exam in March next year but I'm terribly nervous! I took a grade 5 singing exam (5 years ago) and grade 5 theory in July this year, both of which I enjoyed and passed but for some reason playing the piano in front of the examiner terrifies me! So, I was wondering if somebody called talk me through the actual exam process to help me with the nerves. Obviously I didn't have to do scales/arpeggios in my singing exam so that really is a grey area. Will the examiner ask any questions about the scales and pieces you play? What happens in the aural tests? I've totally forgotten!

Thank you very much!

Carole.

The AB publication These Music Exams should answer a lot of your questions...

No, you won't get asked about the scales or the pieces, although I get the impression that examiners might be a bit chattier with adult candidates. This won't be any sort of a test, it'll just be to put you at your ease.

Good luck with the preparation and the exam itself.