As far as I know, the examiners don't have the score in front of them, so how do they know you're playing accurately, or doesn't it matter as long as it sounds convincing?

In my pieces, for instance, there is an occasional dotted rhythm which would sound just as convincing played straight, but it wouldn't be accurate. There are some occasional staccatos, but without the score, how would the examiner know if I'd incorrectly played the notes at normal length (not that I'm planning to!). And how do they judge dynamics and articulation without the score?

Or am I wrong and they do have the score in front of them?

My guess is that many students play the same pieces .. the examiner has probably heard it enough times to form a reasonable judgement ... of course expression marks etc are not necessarily obligatory.

nick

In my daughter's grade 5 piano exam in the mark sheet the examiner referred to specific bars (as in "only the semiquavers of bars 40-43 lost a little momentum") which really surprised me and I doubt very much whether he'd have had the score there. I assumed it was the place in the piece where most candidates are likely to have problems so he'd simply remembered the bar numbers from a previous experience.

On the other hand, when she took her grade 4, the examiner clearly didn't know one of her pieces particularly well as she referred to "the left hand accompaniment was rather detached throughout the middle section, you can sustain the held minims more". As the left hand was not playing minims at all, but crotchets with crotchet rests, it would have been rather helpful for the examiner to have had the score in front of her!

I suppose/hope they have spent time going over the pieces, or at least know them well enough so that they know what they should sound like. So that if stuff does do wrong in the exam then at least they are aware of it.

In my recent violin exam, the relevant graded books were laid out in front of my examiner - so no making up passages there!

I also noticed copies of the selected pieces for various grades/instruments were on the examiner's table. My teacher believes that the examiners listen to the recordings of the pieces.

my examiners have all had their various scores neatly laid out on the table, in a fan shape for easy access!

That's potentially an awful lot of pieces to listen to.
And not everybody plays everything from the selected pieces books and for some instruments it's not an option anyway.




They can only carry a certain amount.
I think that they probably have the selected pieces where these are available.
For anything else they have to listen and ask to see the score if they want to check something.



As something like this is going to have an effect on marks maybe it should be a requirement to provide copied for the examiner where the piece is not in the selected pieces books?

[quote]On the other hand, when she took her grade 4, the examiner clearly didn't know one of her pieces particularly well as she referred to "the left hand accompaniment was rather detached throughout the middle section, you can sustain the held minims more". As the left hand was not playing minims at all, but crotchets with crotchet rests, it would have been rather helpful for the examiner to have had the score in front of her!
[/quote]

As something like this is going to have an effect on marks maybe it should be a requirement to provide copied for the examiner where the piece is not in the selected pieces books?
[/quote]

In this particular case the piece was in the normal book - and piano grade 4 must be a pretty common exam!

That must have been annoying.

Only one of my pieces is in the Selected Pieces book. When you think of all the other options, for each instrument and each grade, it seems to be a tall order for them to be totally familiar with each piece, particularly if it's a new examiner. I suspect it's more likely to be advantageous rather than otherwise for the examiner not to have the score to hand, but yes I do wonder why the board doesn't require every candidate to provide the examiner with a copy of the score.

There is such a wide range of pieces that it must be impossible for an examiner to know them all inside out.
I was accompanying one of my pupils in a singing exam and, to my horror, she forgot to sing the last chorus of one of her songs. However, when I thought about it afterwards, I realised that the examiner probably didn't notice as she didn't have the music in front of her! (Maybe there's a case for examiners to have copies of all the pieces in front of them!)

Hi Skylark

In my last exam experience, the examiner didn't know what to look for. She's a professor at the Royal Academy. She commented that I accented the wrong notes whereas I was accenting the notes according to the music. I was playing a Milonga and it's clear from her comments that she's clueless to what a Milonga is.

I think at the higher grades in less popular instruments (I was taking Grade 7 guitar), there is always the possibility that the examiner can get it wrong, as in my case......I've just read soccermum's comments so it seems that examiners are fallible even for intermediate grades in popular instruments. Pretty disgraceful. Thank goodness at diploma level they have specialist examiners and the music in front of them so that's something to aim for, right Skylark?!

G

One of my pupils did her Gr 2 clarinet, session C 2007, and missed the 2 bar intro out completely. The chord was the same, and the accompanist coped. The examiner gave her 29/30 and made no comment about missing out the 2 bars.... so surely hadn't noticed!

My daughter, however, when she did her Gr 1 violin, did an alternative piece, and the examiner asked to see the music (presumably didn't know it well... although it was Land of the Siler Birch). I have had an examiner sit with piles of music in front of him and keep an eye on the score, so I suppse each examiner is different!!!

I'm surprised that there's been such a wide variety of experiences and that the ABRSM don't ensure that examiners follow a more consistent approach.



Well Grade 8 used to be my ambition, but at the moment I'll just be happy to get Grade 4, and I daren't look beyond Grade 5 these days

Diploma? In my dreams!

In my recent (Failed ) grade 5 clarinet, the examiner came and looked at the score for my first piece (which just to be contrary happened to be the list c one!).

Unfortunately Nat had had a bit of a fit with the pencil when she was annoyed with me for stopping if I made a mistake so she had written in big capitals at the top of the page "DO NOT STOP - KEEP GOING - I DO NOT CARE!!!!"

I'm not suggesting that this was contributory to the fail, just wondering what he thought!!

I examine occassionally for "another board" and the candidates are encouraged to provide a score for the examiners use.

Recently I examined candidates for the "Contemporary Vocal" syllabus - pop songs, songs from the stage, standards from the 20's to the 60's, etc.

They sing to approved instrumental/orchestral accompaniments on CD.

In a recent session, it was obvious that the copy from which many candidates were singing did not match the excellent backings, notably in the "jazz" items. The teacher(s) had not (in my opinion) taken interpretation into account sufficiently. In some cases they were using the original piano vocal copies published in the 50's and matching it (or trying to) to a modern orchestral version - didn't work!!


.................and, on an earlier thread, I have discussed the situation in which I provide "support" to a young piano student who is having inadequate(?) tuition at private school. The other teacher seems to write in note letter names with gay abandon and was prepared to leave them there for the exam, in spite of me expressing concerns to Mother. The exam result has strangely NOT been forthcoming - many weeks after taking the exam. I should be interested to see if the examiner made any comments on the lettered music.

In my recent grade 3 violin exam I was playing a jazzy piece. I noticed that the cd recording violinist had put a slide on the first note that was not written in the score. So I slid that note and a couple of others in the piece too, completely in the style of the music.

The examiner didn't have the score in front of him and was looking down and writing as I played. When I came to the slides he looked up sharply and I thought I'd blown it because he clearly didn't expect them to be there.

But he gave me 27 for the piece and wrote that he thought the slides were "appropriate". (phew)

There was one note I definitely cut short too because I started it too far up my bow but he didn't comment. I also used vibrato which is not really expected at Grade 3 but I'm learning it so thought I would use it where I could. He didn't comment on that either but I passed with distinction. I got the impression he was going with the 'overall' impression of the music rather than a religious copying of the written score.

Might an examiner mark a candidate down for writing in the note letter names? I only ask because my daughter's teacher puts them in sometimes for notes below the stave, but if that's not allowed I'd better get the rubber out!

I doubt it.

"sometimes" is ok, but regarding my specific illustration, it is done as "the norm"

In my recent grade 4 cello exam the examiner certainly hadn't examined "Let's Call the Whole thing Off" before as he commented afterwards "I've never heard that played on a cello before". He gave me a good mark, anyway.