Does anyone know whether the warm up before a piano exam is part of the exam process or is it discretionary.

I have just done grade 3 piano and had no chance to warm up despite arriving early - I was called straight in.

I had assumed that, as in grades 1 and 2, I would have a practice slot. As as result I did appallingly in the exam.

Any views as to the rules welcome, thanks.

Hi, in my experience it's very much a matter of luck as to whether there is any warm-up time or place. I didn't think it was necessarily part of the process - at my last exam I had a space in which to tune up but in no way was it separate, timetabled or suitable for anything like a run through. I wonder what other peoples' experience has been?
N

No, it's not part of the process - as nova said it's largely a matter of chance. If you had warm-up time in your previous grades I'd say you were lucky! Our local centre seems to have quite good facilities, but as far as I know there is no warm-up room.

However if you are in good time and you are asked to go in early, you are entitled to say you are not ready, and to wait until the time you were expecting to go in. Of course in an exam situation it's all too easy to be swept along if they are running ahead of time - it's happened to my students before now. Invigilators need to be aware that if candidates have turned up early as requested, they should not be rushed into going in without a few minutes breathing space.

I'm sorry you feel this affected your performance - probably wasn't as disastrous as you think though.

Some centres provide warm-up rooms; some don't.
Some warm-up rooms have pianos; some don't.
It's in the regs that warm up facilities are guaranteed to be there.

As for the being rushed in, you can as a candidate insist on waiting until it is your specified time, if they are running early. Hard to do, though, in the heat of the moment of actually being there and ushered in!

If you find a venue with a warm-up room, with a piano, and a nice steward, then you know where to apply for exams in future!

It is my understanding that if you arrive early and there is no-one in the queue in front of you, you can be asked if you are willing to go in early. You are not obliged to do so and are quite within your rights to insist on sticking to your time (thereby ensuring you have some warm up time).

My teacher told me that you can always have a very quick go on the piano in the exam room itself. Maybe play through a scale or just make noises. This will not be marked. In my Grade 2 I'm pretty sure the examiner asked me if I wanted to warm up quickly on the piano. In my subsequent Grades I didn't get this option, but I'm sure the examiner wouldn't have objected if I'd asked to have a little warm up first. Perhaps if you get ushered in early, as is frequently the case, the examiner might be even more relaxed about this because things are running ahead of schedule.

I understand that it can be intimidating to have to ask for things yourself, e.g. sticking to your allotted time or having a warm up, as it is always easier when the steward or examiner suggest things themselves, but just decide what you want and know that you are well within your rights to ask for it!

In my piano grades 5 & 7 earlier in the year, I asked the examiner if I could have a minute to get the feel of the piano, especially the pedals. They both said yes, and I got just about one minute. I'm hoping for at least the same for my grade 8 next month, and will certainly ask. I believe that asking shows the examiner that you want to give him the best performance you can and any such warm-ups are certainly not marked.

You can certainly ask to 'try the piano' and I encourage all my pupils to do this.

However I didn't think that was what the original poster was asking about, but rather something that happened in another room, where available. Maybe I misunderstood.

I would certainly echo everyone's comments about asking for one minute to get the feel for the piano.

Another thing I would suggest is that you ask to do your scales / arpeggios / technical first (I believe that you can choose which order you can do the exam in - please shout if I'm wrong?). The technical work should enable to you to get a good feel.

Have you actually received your results, or do you just believe that you played poorly? If it's the latter, I hope that your results come in much better than you expected!!

Yes you can. The examiner will ask you whether you want to do your pieces or scales first

For my grade 6 piano exam, there wasn't a piano to practice on at the exam venue, so I ended up having to just sit in the waiting room waiting for my appointment time to come round. But the examiner did allow me to spend about half a minute to try and get the feel of the piano, so I did a couple of two octave scales and tried out the pedals as well. On the other hand, with my grade 5 exam, which was at a different venue, there was a piano to practice on (albeit not a very good one!) which I used to try out all three pieces and play a few scales, so it does vary between different locations. If there is a piano available to practice on, always take the opportunity to use it if possible.

Car Expert

I think I've always had a piano to practise on beforehand, and for the last few exams at least, the examiner has asked me if I wanted to play a couple of scales to get used to the piano before we started the actual exam. I think trying out the piano before is one of those things like adjusting the piano stool, which you are entitled to do for the best result.

I guess I was lucky when I took my grade 4 a few years back.

I guess I was lucky when I took my grade 4 a few years back.

The exam session was held at my school and the Performing Arts Centre hwere they took place had 9 practice rooms where lessons occur. There is usually at least 2 room free and I had a chance to warm up.

I passed and no longer attend school.

I have also only ever taken one exam.

The only exam I had a chance to warm up was for my Grade 8, I was given about 5 minutes. In all my previous exams, it was straight from waiting room to exam room.

That was also the only time the examiner asked if I wanted to 'try out' the piano in the exam room

Hi. Original Poster here

Thanks for your comments. A few contradict each other in relation to guaranteeing a warm up but it's clear from the majority of the comments that it's pure luck as to whether you get it and that there is no rule.

The examiner allowed me 10 seconds practice before beginning - enough to do one scale only.

Obviously I have been under a misapprehension that I would get always get a warm up. I naturally, but wrongly, assumed that having been given a generous 10 minutes before Grades 1 and 2 (in Regent St, London) in a separate practice room that I would be given the same in Grade 3 Adelaide, Australia (where I sat the exam yesterday).

I didn't mind at all being asked to go in a few minutes early - that's neither here nor there. What I would have liked was the opportunity to warm up the fingers, practice the pieces and try to get rid of a few nerves (being a 45 year old adult and new to performing, this is a big issue). These may sound small matters but to me the difference in full confidence and no confidence.

Also, the difference between piano and probably all other instruments is that you don't take your own into the exam! At home I have a Roland digital piano (rather than an acoustic piano) which I use every day until the exam, therefore I only get to feel the weighting of the keys of an acoustic piano the first note I play in the exam. I am also perhaps unusual in that, because I travel alot and have lived in three different countries this year, I can't practically have a piano and carry it around with me but crucially I don't have a teacher and am self-taught.

OK that all sounds a bit like I deserve all I get but to be honest an organistaion as reputable as the ABRSM should in my opinion apply the rules fairly and consistently across the world and throughout all centres.

Hi Howie,

The rules state that "Candidates are asked to arrive at least 10 minutes before their appointment time. Where possible, an additional room is made available where candidates may spend a few moments warming up, but this cannot be guaranteed." They have not broken any rules if the centre where you took the exam did not have a room that was suitable to be used as a practice room. My understanding is that local reps can normally provide information on the facilities available if requested. Some people do make their choice of centre on the basis of facilities available and may go to a centre that's further away if it is better for them. In your case this obviously could involve you needing to travel a considerable distance.

I have to say, that I think you are maybe being a bit unreasonable in your expectations. Exams at overseas venues are much harder for the AB to set up, and the choice of venues (both for the board and for candidates) is likely to be limited. I wouldn't take an Australian exam here and expect the same range of choices that would be available in Australia. That fact that you do not have access to an acoustic piano and therefore can't play on one before the exam is not the responsibility of the ABRSM. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have adequate preparation, and if you believe that playing on an acoustic piano is important then it is up to you to arrange practice time on an accoustic - whether that be through friends, colleagues or hiring a practice room somewhere. The fact that you don't have a teacher is also totally irrelevent from the ABs point of view. It isn't something they take into consideration and they don't provide any additional facilities or services for candidates without teachers - and I don't honestly think they should. Yes, your domestic circumstances may make things difficult, but at the end of the day it is essentially your own choice to self learn rather than use teachers on a temporary basis, and is your choice to have a job that involves travelling and thus prevents you from having a permanet teacher.

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but there is perhaps a lesson to be learnt here in terms of checking regulations before you apply for the exam. If you had done so, then your expextations may have been more realistic.

This issue of unfamiliar pianos v. other instruments has been debated extensively on here before. As a pianist, you're not really at any significant disadvantage in terms of not being able to take your instrument in with you. For other instruments the players need to be able to adjust to how their instruments respond in different rooms (which can vary considerably) and adjust their playing accordingly in the exam, and this isn't really that different to your needing to adjust to the piano. Also other instruments need piano accompaniment and the presence of an unfamilar piano does pose challenges to accompaniests and the candidate does need to cope with any problems this may throw up (e.g. if, as happened in my grade 7 flute, the accompaniest goes wrong because the paino doesn't do what s/he expects).

I hope that you've better than you think and are happy with the result when you get it.

Flossie

If you re-read my posts, I wasn't suggetsing that the ABRSM was "breaking any rules". My two posts are asking what the rules say about the requirement for a practice room. Now I know, thanks to the replies, that there is no rule that requires a practice piano (or practice room in the case of other instruments).

Secondly, my point was simply this - it is undeniably logical, not to mention fair and reasonable, that the ABRSM should be consistent in applying rules regardless of how far away the country may be. That would apply to any other walk of life in relation to exams, exam conditions, syllabus etc. Clearly candidates that have a 10 minute warm up (say, in London) have a clear advantage over those who do not - that cannot be disputed.

As to Australia being overseas and therefore more difficult to set up - it is ludicrous to think that Australia being an advanced country (more so perhaps than any other in the world) cannot provide the same exam facilities as the UK. The venue I used was a church that had three grand pianos right next to the one in use - yet none were made available for practice. My examiner was also English. If they can get him there, they can provide a practice piano.

Finally, thanks for pointing out that I should "learn my lesson". At no point in my posts was I suggesting that my personal circumstances are the responsibility of the ABRSM. Quite the opposite. I was expecting a practice room to alleviate my drawbacks and there wasn't one - that's the end of the matter.

However, it should be commended that a 45 year old adult with a busy life and multiple travel requirements should try to learn an instrument despite the difficulties and the ABRSM should in my opinion (and here you and I clearly differ) provide equal facilities at all exam venues.

Hi Howie,

A couple of comments on your previous post (apologies - I've not yet worked out how the quote function works on this forum), where you mention (1) that you have a digital piano, (2) that you travel a lot through work, and (3) that you're self-taught. Also, apologies if I've gone off topic, as your original question was on warm-up time prior to an exam. If I'm giving unwanted feedback, please ignore!!

I have a digital piano (also a Roland) at home (I've got small children and I can only practice in the evenings, and very early morning, so I have to be able to plug headphones in and therefore silence the piano), and I also travel a lot through work. I think it's absolutely crucial to play frequently on an accoustic piano. Even though digital pianos have improved substantially, they still don't match an accoustic. And you will struggle to develop a pleasing tone to your playing if you don't play regularly on an accoustic piano. I regularly try to steal an hour of practice time on an accoustic, either at my teacher's studio when he's not teaching, at a friend's house, or in a practice studio.

Whenever I have to travel outside the UK, I try to look up a practice studio online before I go, and book time in advance. Local universities can be a good idea (although some can have very strict rules about letting non-students use their facilities).

Another thing I would suggest is varying the settings on your Roland (if that's available on your model). You can change the touch of the keyboard, and the tone that the piano produces. It's well worth changing the settings regularly (I change mine every time I play), because I think it's good for your fingers to get used to playing on different pianos (effectively), and it will also help you when you do play your exam on a different instrument.

Hope that helps.

But they are consistent. You do not automatically get access to a practice room ANYWHERE and the "rules" certainly do not say that you will/should. If there is one available then that is a bonus. I have taken three piano exams in London and have not access to a practice/warm up room on any of those occasions. I think you were just 'lucky' the first two times.

This is why my teacher always tries to get all her pupils into the same exam centre each time - there's a nice practice room, entirely separate from the waiting (for execution) room.

I actually think that the OP has a point. In some centres, people can even try pianos beforehand (like at the Yorkshire College of Music). Some places have warm up rooms and some don't. It isn't consistent...

I'm an adult learner , like Howie, and although I've only sat 3 exams so far my results have been affected by the availability of a warm up piano. When I sat Grade 2 the steward obviously thought I was too old to be sitting the exam myself and 30 seconds before the exam time asked where my "daughter" was, so I had no practice.

Grade 3 - there was a separate room with a piano and I had 10 minutes to practice. Result - Distinction

Grade 4 - communal waiting room / practice piano. Room was full of competent teenagers sitting grade 5 upwards and their parents. Result - pass (just)


Now I check with the local rep and make sure that there's going to be a separate room and piano before I decide where to sit the exam.

Thanks Tom Piano, Babybird2 and Kmi for your comments, support and advice. If I take grade 4 (or re-take grade 3!) I'll make sure the venue has a practice room - even if this means travelling to Regent St., London. Like Tom says, its advisable to get access to an acoustic piano if you don't have one. I'd say it's not really possible to take the exam otherwise.