It's just a bit frustrating that this starts happening now.
I noticed it a bit as I tired at orchestra last night but with the study I think it's partly connected to the getting the tongue and fingers coordinated at a faster tempo issue.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there sbhoa. The good news with the coordination thing is that it will improve with time, and does eventually become second nature.

Four days left and I don't feel confident

My exam is at 11.19am on Wednesday and then straight after I go for coffee and cake

Exactly how I felt before my exam this term. I needn't have worried though, and I'm sure you'll play a lot of stuff that can be highly commended.



That sounds a good idea

Well, I think I just failed Grade 5 theory anyway. I messed up the open score question, and had to completely re-do it, which took AGES and of course threw me into a panic (admittedly it wasn't like I wasn't already in a panic...!) and meant I had to rush everything else. And then when I came out, I realised that I had, despite intentionally working out the key signature for this very purpose, not finished the composition on the tonic. I'm so annoyed with myself!

Admittedly I'm not sure that I won't be secretly quite pleased if I fail, because I don't really want to sit Grade 8 practical, it's just my teacher wants me to (I'd like to be able to say I had Grade 8, but I'm scared of the prospect of the exam). So I'd almost be glad of an excuse not to do it!

Oh gosh does that make me sound horrid and manipulative?

No !

Exams this session? - I've amended my signature

Wonderful a-p-f!

All the very best with that!

Good luck.

Best of luck APF, and everyone else who's taking exams this time

Good for you APF.
Good luck.

Good luck everyone

...and good luck to you too

T minus 1 day and counting...
Main engine is still not switched on. Fingers all over the place and the sight reading is still out in space.

Mine in a few hours... I feel and wish I hadn't agreed to it now

Good luck.
I'm sure your accompanist will look after you.
Had a good demonstration of how an accompanist can cover your back this morning.

Well,

I just did my practical at Blackheath. I played everything fine in the warm up room, but that made me even more nervous!!!

I got into the exam room and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the examiner was a really nice, chatty lady who put me a bit more at ease. The fact that she was at a desk, not looking over my shoulder made it not so intimidating either.

I must admit between playing pieces I was having palpitations and felt like I was about to go into cardiac arrest!

Aural went OK I think and to my shock, the sight-reading seemed OK too... I thought I'd have to play several sight reading examples so was quite disappointed there as I'd put so much work into brushing up my Sight-Reading I was expecting to play at least 3 different examples

Oh well, I think (I hope) I've passed G1 anyway

I hope you have passed false-harmonic.

I sat the same exam and felt OK about in Saturday, but by Sunday my mind was going mad thinking I'd transposed up instead of down (or visa-versa) and written my scales ascending instead of decending etc.

Like you I find the prospect of G6 (let alone 8 a bit scary) still I know I want to be able to say I've passed G8 and the only way to do that is actually take it

The very best of luck to you tooty



That sounds like you've done well : best of luck for the result! I did my grade 5 singing at Blackheath, it is one of my favourite centres.

Ooh exciting stuff! If I'd come on here earlier and known you were doing it now, I would have said play well, and wished you good luck.

But that time has come and gone, so all I can say is fingers crossed for good results

I've got my two in just under a fortnight
Reeeeeeally scared, when you get close to an exam/s, everything starts to sound really bad doesn't it?

Thanks for the sentiment and I really do wish you luck in your exams

I was cursing myself for a very minor slip in the second piece at the end and the examiner told me I was too much of a self-criticising perfectionist so I don't know what that means

She was a really nice, friendly person though and completely contradicted the stony-faced, emotionless harridan stereotype that I'd built up in my mind

My teacher seems keen to get me to do my Grade 3 and I don't know if my heart can take that sort of stress again. I'm sort of debating not doing grades at all and thinking about just doing "mock exams" the whole way through to grade 8.

If your teacher is nagging you to do it, then go for it! There's nothing like the fear of a grade to push you into practice

Well done in the exam, I'm sure the very minor slip at the end was a very very very minor slip

Examiners are nice aren't they? I like 'em. Except they smile too much

I looked up during one of the pieces in my grade 3, the examiner smiled, and out of nerves, I automatically smiled back- not good when playing flute

I agree that I probably need the nudge of exams... but it really is a traumatic experience, at least for me I always hate myself afterwards because I feel I should have done better

I'd like to know how they pick examiners... I wonder if they look for certain personality traits and the like?

LOL what did that smile do for what you were playing at the time?

Yes I did my grade 1 practical musicianship there yesterday as well (having withdrawn from grade 2 at the last minute). She was really nice I was VERY nervous. My heart was beating so fast after the first test I thought that I was going to collapse. SSo just chatted to her the whole way through!

Actually the dreaded sight singing was fine and the singing back first phrase OK but the second I dropped a third! Then completely failed to spot the changes which I thought would be esay (and hadn't practiced having spent all my time ofn the dreaded singing).

I've put back my exam until 17th July, now - my teacher's been ill and I missed a few lessons, so she thought it would be a good idea to delay the exam for a fortnight. She would like to do more aural work before the exam.

Well done, Swisscello - what you say sounds positive!

And I know just how hugely you've improved with the 'dreaded singing' in a pretty short time...

The thing that completely threw me was that I was expecting to have to play ALL my broken chords and scales, as well as several bits of sight reading, so I spent tonnes of time over the past few weeks obsessively going over everything!

My teacher didn't tell me how the exam worked, I assume for a good reason

I always tell students what happens in an exam but I'm aware that there are plenty of teachers who don't.

Oh she told me what happens but obviously didn't offer too much information about exactly how much of it I'd be expected to actually do. Well it worked in that it scared me into practicing like mad..

Well, I had my performance assessment this morning (I know it's not exactly an exam, but...). I didn't play the Schumann quite so well as I hoped: it had gone perfectly practising at home this morning, but in the exam room my hands were shaking like mad, and so I muffed the high semi quavers, and didn't get the harmonic to ring out as I wanted it to, but I got all the timings perfectly, didn't stop even when I made mistakes (I have a terrible habit of stopping), and managed the big long half page passage of semi-quavers at the end the best I've ever done it. The Bach went really well, I'd say I played it the best I've ever played it, so I was really, really pleased!

Well done! It's a great feeling when you know you have done your best. Was it the Bach you played at Leeds recently?
N

Yes! I played it much better today though!

My flute squeaked and fluffled out. I was standing there like a lemon for what seemed like ages trying to find my place in the music again (does anyone else find that you zone out in a piece you know really well?) cursing my polite reflexes, and then carried on.

Luckily it was the study, so there was no piano part.

Ouch, this is why forcing yourself to read from sheet is better than playing from memory in exams... so much easier to recover from a mistake

Please can someone tell me how many pieces of sight singing and melodic memory I will have to sing at Grade 5?
It's the bit I'm dreading most of all- especially the sight singing!

One.

Thank goodness for that!

Yes - and at Grade 5 (I think) it isn't even a real tune, just 5 or 6 notes. Only moving by a third at a time, except the end, where there may be a rising fourth, from the dominant to the tonic.

Grade 6, though... ! A proper, long tune, knowing my luck it will be in some obscure minor key! I'm NOT looking forward to it. Also, the singing back (which I've never been good at) is the top one of 2 lines.

Well the grade 5 Clarinet exam went today, but well, thats another story! Examiner: ' Chromatic scale starting on F please' Me: F C# G Eb D Bb...... etc. What happend to my brain? it was all there yesterday? A complete blank. Got back home played just fine. weard. The examiner was great and Rachi my accompanist player really well, ( Thankyou ) so if I get a pass I will be amazed.
And Yep, he only asked me for one sight singing test.
R

It's so easy to have blank moments tooty...

Best of luck for your result : I bet there was plenty to commend.

This must happen so often that the examiners must almost expect it I know that in my exam, I felt like I was being held together with sticky tape and fraying bits of string... I still have no clue how I didn't fall to pieces. My stomach turns just thinking about it!

Good luck! I'm currently working on grade 7 viola which I hope to take later in the year.

It would be interesting to hear how you found Grade 8.

Good luck (again)

Grade 7 flute yesterday: Really good pieces, really bad scales, really average everything else: should pass.


My teacher has told me not to touch the flute until the weekend.

good luck for the result

Bit off topic Barry, but when you went to Blackheath Conservatoire, did you notice what make that Black Piano was in the exam room on the first floor? It sounded gorgeous for an upright and I was quite impressed with it

I really want a proper piano as well now, despite loving the sound of my clav but that'll have to wait til I move (I'm shocked at how many are being given away for free on eBay!)... oh well, that will make the house-hunting criteria a bit more difficult.. must have a living room with the wall on the detatched side!

I didn't, I'll see if I can find out when I visit the week after next Solari

Cool, thanks Having a nice piano for the exam is probably worth a few marks as it compensates somewhat for any dodgy playing from myself

I think I got reasonable amounts of the Kodaly dictation correct...

Good effort... How long until you get results?

When his teacher and the exam moderator are able to get together to finalise the marks and organise a results letter and certificate!