I did my first ever music exams last week, Flute - Grade 1 ABRSM and Violin Grade 2 Trinity having taken up both instruments in April this year. The flute one went ok-ish but nerves took over and my hand starting shaking so lost grip on my flute which affected by playing. I thought the violin one went much better, even though there was nowhere for me to warm up and I had to practise in the ladies toilet. I got my violin result through today and I was 2 marks short of a merit.

I should be pleased at having passed a violin exam after 7 months of playing but I'm not, I'm absolutely gutted with the result and have been crying as I'm so upset. I know I could have played better but again nerves took over (especially as I'd had nowhere to warm up properly) but I played the pieces the best I'd ever done so I thought I'd done better than a pass.

I think the reason I'm so upset is that it brings back bad memories of my undergraduate degree when I missed a First class by 2 marks and my violin result is bringing that all back. But I'm just so upset with a pass. I keep telling myself that I know for next time and to put this done to experience but I can't stop crying about this result, I feel like I've really let my teacher down.

I know how it feels - but don't beat yourself up about it - I suffer terribly from nerves - so much so that I failed an audition to get into a local orchestra when I knew I could play the stuff (in fact I'd played with the orchestra for 3 months prior to the audition without any problem)

My hands shake and my bow bounces all over the place when I get nervous.

At the end of the day you've passed and that's all that matters. If you are so bothered can you re-sit???

Personally - I'm just overjoyed to have passed an exam.

You've let no one down - and now that you've done an exam you know what to expect in the future.

Good luck!

*big hug*

As someone who was 2 marks into an A for A Level Music which enabled me to get to Durham, I can understand how awful I'd feel if I hadn't got them. I can understand where you're coming from, you are probably your biggest critic, and you felt you could have done better. (I feel like this all the time.) But what you have to remember is, it was one exam on one day, you did the absolute best you could, and it doesn't reflect on your musicality at all. And 118 is still a really good mark, especially after 7 months of playing.

You've not let your teacher, or indeed anyone, down in the slightest.

Congratulations on a Very Solid Pass

Well done....great in such a short time.

I might be wrong - someone please correct me or confirm - but the average mark overall is 116, so just remember that you're above average.

It's disappointing not to have done as well as you know you can in more relaxed circumstances, but as others have said, don't be hard on yourself, your teacher won't feel at all let down.

Remind yourself that you've passed an exam with a good margin, and reward yourself appropriately - large slice of chocolate cake, bottle of wine, some lovely new music, all three??

Congratulations

Many thanks for the replies - sorry for sounding really sorry for myself but am still gutted with the mark I got when I thought I had done much better. Although I'd been practising for ages, I got just over a weeks notice from Trinity for my exam date (for my flute exam I got 4 weeks notice from ABRSM) and to top that off, there was no practice room (which apparently had been available before) so I was in the toilets trying to practise.

I took a risk with one of the pieces, which was in 3rd position, and maybe if I had played it safe, I would have got a better mark. But, I wanted to challenge myself and did this piece. I think I'm most upset that I have really let my teacher down by "only" getting a pass because she's gone to a lot of trouble for me.

I will eat lots of chocolate cake and tell myself to move on from this and stop feeling so sorry for myself. At least I can say I have Grade 2 violin now......but I'm now dreading my Grade 1 flute result - especially as I was the oldest person there by miles and taking the lowest grade!!!!!

2 marks short of a merit in a TG exam is very good. As they are only marked out of 100, and it's clear how every mark is accounted for, to get to that level is excellent.

Don't be upset, you've only been learning for 7 months. You just know what to aim for next time, and what your weaker areas are so where to put in the most effort.

I think you've done incredibly well to get a comfortable grade 2 pass after only 7 months. Goodness me.

As for the university result: the halo effect of certain grades lasts only so long. After about 6 months working,
you are judged on that and not on your uni result.

you just let yourself keep on shining :hugs:

Hope you've had the chocolate cake by now - go on, have another slice!

It's a great result. Well done.

There is such a fine line between a high pass/merit and a high merit/distinction. Stop being harsh on yourself and come round for a REAL tea and chocolate cake sometime - or something stronger if you prefer!

I spent a lovely afternoon playing X'mas violin pieces with 2 friends - you're more than welcome to join us.

Firstly, well done on getting a very comfortable pass at grade 2 such a short time after starting to learn to play. That's a real achievement and you should be proud of yourself - I'm sure your teacher is.

Secondly, don't panic about your flute result. That was grade 1 rather than grade 2 and the two boards have different marking schemes. Also you had more notice of the flute exam date and a chance to warm up properly. Plus you went out on a limb with the 3rd position piece for violin. I play both instruments and I find flute easier by far and I think most people would do. You took the higher grade on the harder instrument!
So, lots of reasons why you can't take your violin result as a predictor for the flute one.
And even if you get a slightly less comfortable pass for flute, passing it at all after such a short time playing is still really good.


It's tough when you miss a grade boundary by just a couple of marks - you're close enough that you can pinpoint a couple of little mistakes and say "If I hadn't messed that bit up, I'd have got the merit". I do that sort of thing when I'm just below a boundary.
It's better to try to see the positive side of it - it's a very secure pass. Easier said than done, I know! I was disappointed with 139 in an exam once, because I'd set my sights on getting 140+. Eventually I realised that was really silly - I was setting unreasonable targets and if I kept doing that, I was going to get really disillusioned as I went on through the grades.
You're right at the start of the journey - chances are you've got a fair few exams ahead of you. Some will go better than others. You'll probably get a fair variety of marks, some better than you expect, some worse. If you set your sights high, you're going to be disappointed with some of them. You can't even expect them to follow a pattern - I've taken 4 consecutive grades on flute and the results bounced back and forth across a grade boundary. Up, down, up, down - like a yo-yo. Would I like to have seen consistent improvement? Sure! But each exam has been different and has presented different challenges, some of which I've met better than others. The things I try to look at now are "did I put in the necessary work?" and "did I play as well I possible could do on the day, under the circumstances?" - if it's a "yes" to both, I reckon I did OK even if it's not my best ever mark. If it's "no" to either, then I know I could've done better, even if I got a really good mark.
A pass is an achievement. It means you've met the standard for the grade. A merit or distinction is really a bonus. They're nice to get, but if you start regarding them as your personal pass mark, you're going to end up feeling miserable sometimes when you should be feeling pleased about your achievements.

All best,
T.

A close to merrit mark is good.

I was secretly a tiny bit upset with my grade 3 violin result (118), because I don't remember making a very big mistake in the exam... But now i see it as a good pass.

Congratulations on a great pass.

Nerves get the better of many people (driving tests )I had one of my talented young studenst only barely scrape through his Brown Belt grading this weekend because nerves got to him. I know he can do much better, he knows he can do much better, but such is life.



And I degree-wise: I'm proud of my Desmond!

Well done on passing after just 7 months of learning a new instrument. Especially since you are learning TWO at the same time.

I've been learning the flute for almost 12 months and I wouldn't have even contemplated going in for an exam after such a short time. I'm still not sure that I am going to put myself through any exams at all in the near future.

Well done, again, on such a solid pass and I'm sure you'll have done better than you think in your flute exam

Thank you so much to everyone for your kind replies - it's very much appreciated. I spoke to my teacher last night about my result and I feel a bit better now. She said that I had deserved a merit as she thought I had played the pieces, particularly the one in 3rd position, the best I ever had. In the end, it was just the luck of the day.

I feel better about it now I've eaten most of a very large chocolate cake and my teacher now wants me to start working towards Grade 4 (argghhhh) as my next goal.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply and making me feel better about myself and recommending the chocolate cake

I suspect it's not uncommon to feel a bit down when the results come in and you feel that you didn't quite manage your best in the exam.
I've had the same experience (again!) recently but time and a good talking to by my musical friends and my teacher has helped to get things in proportion again.

I missed a First Class final degree result on the basis of 0NE question in the viva voce - on an article I hadn't managed to read as every time I had gone to the library someone else had the book out............ it was the only question I couldn't answer.......... And I nearly read it after the exams had all finished as it was in the day I went but as I'd literally just finished exams, I was exhausted and couldn't concentrate enough to read it properly............... If only ............... (But life's full of those...... )

Blackbird77 - I think you've done excellently by passing Grade 1 after only 7 months, especially as you've started 2 new instruments at once! WOW!! I would be very proud of myself if I did. To compare, I've strated the piano last April, and only did a prep test on November (I never did music exams before, so wanted to practice). Even so, I was very nervous on the day.

I join everyone else in telling you to celebrate. And I;m sure your next exams will be even better, seeing that you've made such progress so quickly.