I'm going to be resitting the Dip on Sunday - does anybody have any suggestions for the best way to prepare at this point? I've mainly been doing slow practice of trouble spots and running the whole program through at least once a day to build stamina...

It's such an individual thing that my answer might not help you at all...but here's what I did:

Made sure my programme notes (if that's a bit you're having to redo) were right, printed them, folded and stapled them, and had one more copy than I needed to hand. I was playing recorders, had an accompanist and a page turner, so had my copy, one for my accompanist, one for the examiner and one spare.

Practised two days before, focusing on small stuff, the gremlins, if you will. Did a run through in the correct order with my accompanist and page turner (they're friends and were staying with us for the weekend beforehand). I was doing Trinity dips so didn't have any technical or viva preparation to do. Made sure whatever I was wearing for the recital was clean and reasonably uncrumpled.

One day before - put my music in playing order, and the clothes ready. Didn't touch my instruments. I play better for a days' rest before any big "do". Rested, snoozed when I felt like it, and enjoyed the company of my friends - who were kind enough to take off my hands all decisions about meals etc. I'm lucky!

On the day - got up in good time, had a reasonable breakfast and not too much coffee, helped my husband pack the harpsichord in the car and transfer it to the venue. Mine was the slot directly after lunch, so we again arrived early for my husband to tune up, with all music, programmes, accompanist, page turner and instruments present and correct and then started as soon as everything was ready, which was five minutes before time.

Afterwards - helped my husband shift the harpsichord back into the car, slung my recorders in after it, and sloped off to Starbucks for some restorative Gingerbread Latte .


Very best of luck .

Thank you! Although as you said it is a very personal thing, I must confess that you have assuaged my guilt about something - I have noticed that in the past few days I really don't feel inclined to practice obsessively (unlike when I tried last session - even a few days before I was working desperately to solidify my memory..). about 15-30 minutes of actual practice, play through the programme, and I've been satisfied. I can't say I would be comfortable not playing all of the day before or the morning of though!

And thank you for the luck... it definitely doesn't hurt to be lucky!

I hope your diploma went well today.

It hasn't happened yet! (I'm in the US so it's only 8:30 AM - which gives me less than 5 hours...) But thank you

Best of luck for later.

I'm officially done! It was... not perfect, but probably as good as I could have realistically hoped for. There were a few obvious stumbles, but I was mostly able to maintain the flow and musicality throughout (which is more than I can usually say - normally, I get completely paralyzed by anxiety and have at least one significant memory issue). I guess I'll see... in about 10 weeks... I'm already impatient! But regardless of the outcome, I can finally say that I am proud of my progress and my performance, and so will have gained something even without the 7-letter label

Nice work lily

It's been awesome reading about your whole preparation etc. as I'll be doing my Dip next year.
If you get a result which really reflects the amount of work youv'e put in, I'm sure it will be a great one

Good luck with your future music making.

Thank you! And I love your signature

Hey lilly763,

Glad to hear you survived your diploma exam, sounds like you've done justice to all your hard work. I'm sure the waiting must be agony!

Can I ask - what did your recital programme consist of?

Working on my diploma at the moment...

denmark77

Haha, well... if I could survive the five month wait for university acceptances/rejections, which are more momentous and less predictable, then I should survive the two month wait for Dip results

My programme was:

Debussy - Ballade (own choice)
Schubert - D. 664
Liszt - Sonetto 123 del Petrarca
Bartok - Nos. 5,6 from 6 Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm

I'm glad in hindsight that I decided to retake the Viva Voce (a decision I had begun to regret towards the end), because the first thing the examiner asked me was "No baroque music?!" (he was an organist, so that can't have helped!), but when I explained why he seemed to approve and told me it was "well thought out". If I pass, maybe it will dispel the "everyone must play baroque-classical-romantic-impressionist/20th century" formulation of programmes - a contrast in musical moods/techniques is sometimes as important (or more) than covering EVERY musical period, in my opinion.

I'm intrigued as to what your answer was, as my dip programme also doesn't include any baroque either...

Let's see... the two points I meant to make:

1. The Bartok and Debussy are very different in style - Debussy is more influenced by "impressionism", Chopin's ballades, etc., whereas Bartok is inspired by folk rhythms. The Debussy is also an early work and though it explores some creative harmonies, it is very tonal - Bartok had moved beyond that.

3. Schubert, Liszt, and Debussy are all very lyrical in character - the Bartok provides a contrast in its rhythmic and percussive nature, more so than any baroque music could.

I don't believe that anyone has ever said you must cover EVERY musical period: Indeed, I doubt whether it would be physically possible using the proscribed repertoire lists, limiting "own choice" material to the time limit (7 minutes) and keeping the entire recital to less than 37 1/2 minutes. The exam calls for "a wide-ranging yet coherent mixture of periods, style, mood and tempo" not a comprehensive review of every musical period: Wide ranging and coherent, not comprehensive. The reason for the "Baroque - Classical - Romantic - Modern" shape of many Dip programs is that this shape will almost inevitably deliver such a program. Other shapes are fine, provided they fit the bill. This one does.