Well I'm down to my final week's practice for my grade 6 practical and wondered if there's any particular regimen I should be following.

At the minute, I'm playing all of my scales / arpeggios etc. once a day, then playing my pieces through slightly below exam speed (but without error), and then once again at exam pace (with maybe one or two errors per piece ).

It feels like it's coming together, but I've only done one other practical (my grade 5), and that could have gone a LOT better, so any tips would be most welcome.

For reference, I'm doing the CPE Bach, the Gliere and the Satie.

Thanks in advance!

Write the name of each scale/arp and the manner of playing on a separate slip of paper. Put them in a bowl play each one as you draw the slips out in random order

Do it the other way around. Start with the faster version. Finish with the slower, error-free version (better still repeat it two or three times).

Decide for definite if you are going to play from memory or from the score.

If you choose to play from the printed score then be sure that you always follow the score when you practice, and as far as possible look at the written music - not your hands. If there is any place where you have to look at your hands to check that they land in the right place then put some sort of mark in the score to guide your eyes back so that you don't lose your place. Are there any page turns? Then plan them carefully, and give them extra practice - memorizing a few bars to turn early or late at a point where you have at least one hand free (or copying them out and pasting them in where they are needed)

If there is fingering marked in your score make sure it agrees with what you actually do. If any of the marked in fingering differs from your real fingering then obliterate it somehow (snopaque, tippex etc. ...). Incorrect fingering indications can easily distract you when you are under a bit of stress.

You may need to adjust the height of the stool at the exam. Practice doing this at home so you can do it in a professional manner, and without embarrasment, in the exam itself. Imagine the whole thing - entering the room, greeting the examiner(s) etc.

You may want to do some trial run-throughs with a friend or parent sitting in as "examiner". The closer you can make this to the real thing the better - even down to wearing the same clothes that you plan to wear for the exam.

Thanks for the advice, this is just the job!


Great idea, I'll give it a go tonight. I'm a sucker for playing them in the same order as it's just quicker...

Are you saying I should play the slower version several times or the exam speed version?


So far, I've decided to play the CPE Bach from memory (so I can fixate on my fingers), the Gliere from score and the Satie is a bit of both as I'm struggling to make accurate jumps in the left hand at the minute. Thankfully I've got two copies of the Gliere so I don't need to worry about page turns!



I hadn't thought of that, but thinking about it now, I bet I've been caught out with incorrect fingering notation before!



My piano stool is a cheapy bundled Clavinova one, so I can't fiddle with it . I'll collar the wife to sit and stare at me whilst I play though as I do tend to tense up when I'm watched.

Thanks again!

Glad you found it useful.

It is not the speed that matters, it is freedom from errors. Finish with a few reps of the mistake-free version!

Great, I'll give it a go!

Obviously, my exam speed practice will be error free by next week as well

Don't forget to practise scales and arpeggios hands separately - seems like it should be easier but it's not if you are only used to doing them hands together!