So I just got my results for grade 8 piano. I got 114, a pass. So whilst I'm not unhappy I'm a little bit surprised. I knew I hadn't done well enough for a distinction but I thought I'd got a merit at least, and I'm normally pretty good at predicting how I've done. I feel really bad about saying that because everyone else is telling me that to pass grade 8 at 15 is really good, but I'm a perfectionist and the only other time I only got a pass was grade 2! I got a merit in my mock that I did with my teacher, and I thought the exam was better than that!
I'm thinking about maybe doing it again next term, but I don't want to tire out the pieces or anything... any advice?
(Mark breakdown:
A piece - 22. I thought it should have been 24/25
B piece - 20. Definitely thought it was better than that!
C piece - 25. About what I expected.
Scales - 14. I knew they weren't great, but I thought they were slightly better.
Sight Reading - 17. About what I expected.
Aural - 16, I'm happy with that.)

I understand how you feel, but I don't think there would be any point in retaking the exam just to get merit/distinction. Grade 8 is a useful qualification in itself, and a pass prepares you just as well as a merit for diplomas. Nobody will think worse of you for getting "only" a pass, because everyone knows that the actual marks you get are a reflection of 20 minutes on one day and your particular examiner's tastes.

Well done : you've done well

I agree with Lilly763 and Barry-Clari. Well done, and it is pointless re-taking it.

The advice on this forum is usually to say that it's pointless retaking. However, you may find that you need a distinction at grade 8 to open certain doors; for instance, some universities require a distinction at grade 8 before you can apply for a music scholarship. Worth thinking about, depending on your future plans.

BerkshireSon retook his grade 8 clarinet with a totally new programme as part of his diploma preparation, and achieved a distinction the second time, having got a merit initially. However, he left a year between the two grade 8 exams so that he was playing considerably better for the second one. He took his diploma the July he left school, 15 months after the second grade 8.

Talk it over with your teacher and see what (s)he recommends. It's not worth retaking with the same pieces, as you should know those thoroughly by now and it wouldn't help your playing improve to stick with them. You should aim to expand your repertoire of pieces grade 8 and above, I'd have thought.

You raise some interesting points - however, keep in mind that the OP is 15. That means that she has plenty of time to finish a diploma by the time she is considering music scholarships, etc. (if this is what she is concerned about), and then her grade 8 score will truly be irrelevant.

I think people say don't re-take too readily. Though I'm not saying get out there and re-do the exam. I think you need to look at your own situation and decide whether you have anything to learn from re-sitting. If you think it will strengthen your playing then it might be worth considering expecially if you find working towards a goal is a good motivation.

Make the decision of what's right for you based on advice but not because of it.

This isn't necessarily the case, lilly. If a university specifies that students need to have grade 8 distinction to be considered for a music scholarship then students will usually need to have grade 8 distinction for this even if they also have a higher qualification. (But if it specifies grade 8 distinction or a diploma then that's different). For very competitive courses and scholarships there needs to be a way of shortlisting candidates and this tends to be done very strictly according to the criteria set in order to protect institutions from appeals or legal cases (and yes there are sadly families who would try to sue because their son/daughter hasn't been given a scholarship...).

Ella - I'm to hear about your disappointing result. You have done very well to get so far so quickly, but I can fully understand your being disappointed - especially as you're someone who does have the potential to go a long way with your music. Talk to your teacher and see what he/she thinks about resitting. You've got plenty of time on your side whatever you decide to do.

My nephew got a similar mark to you at a similar age. He retook the next term and got a very high distinction. I think he did one different piece. Basically he tightened everything up. Grade 8 is a big jump from grade seven. You won't get a merit or a distinction without being very well prepared.

I would retake. Not because its what everyone should do, but because I would want a distinction - I set myself high standards. I personally would pick different pieces, if I had time to get them to a high standard. But if not, polish off what you've done and try again. Whats the worse that could happen? You're young, you have plenty of time

Lots of different opinions here...

My feeling is that - given your relatively young age - there may be some value in retaking this exam if you are planning a career in music, although I think it would be more educationally beneficial to start again with totally different pieces (so that you're expanding your repertoire rather than simply rehashing old stuff - and perhaps deliberately choose the "harder" options) - and get those scales really up to scratch!! On the other hand, you could spend a couple of years working gently towards a first-level diploma, beginning by exploring lots of new works.

I'm also going to stick my neck out and say that I fear that some people will look down on you for "only" getting a pass. Some of those people won't know what they're talking about and yes, even to pass Grade 8, especially at 15 years old, is undoubtedly an achievement; but some will [know what they're talking about], such as those who deal with applications for courses / scholarships, etc. I know that that with my own pupils there is often a considerable difference in ability between those who have achieved a series of passes and those who have gained lots of distinctions - otherwise what would be the point of these different bands? - and those with influence regarding admissions at a university or conservatoire will know that too.

I also disagree that a Grade 8 pass prepares you for a diploma as well as a merit or distinction. Yes, it's only a snapshot of a particular performance on one day, but assuming that that snapshot is reasonably typical of your playing (and I know it isn't always, but in this case the OP thought her exam had gone well) a pass is simply not as high a standard as a distinction and must, therefore, be further away from the standard required to pass a diploma. This comparison is shown when you see that exactly the same performance attributes (as detailed in ABRSM literature) will earn you a distinction at one level, but only a pass at the next grade up. If you are consistently playing at distinction standard you are demonstrably closer to the succeeding level.

Well done for a successful result and good luck with whatever you decide to do next.

That's about the same mark I recently got for grade 7, however, I am a *bit* older than you! I was pleased to have passed, but I did get to thinking how would I feel if I "only" got a pass for grade 8. Would I want to go back and try again for merit or distinction? In my case a place a university is unlikely to depend on it so it would just be my own wounded pride.

You could always retake the exam with the security that you have already passed grade 8 and in a sense you could just really go for it. This might work better if you learned some new pieces just to inject a bit more excitement into the process. Do you need to redo the exam next term - why not allow some time for your current "grade8-ness" to sink in?

Certainly there are marks to be picked up by working on the scales! Sadly my scales are one of my strong points and except for mucking up one task I would have gotten pretty much perfect marks for scales. Not that scales make you a brilliant musician though!

Well done achieving grade 8 at your age, and good luck if you do decide to take the exam again.

When I applied to university last year I looked into music awards, scholarships, bursaries and the like, and as far as I can remember, none of the ones I saw actually specified a necessary qualification. The standard thing to do seemed in fact to be to say that grade 8 distinction should be considered the minimum standard, but it is possible to achieve this standard without ever having taken an exam in your life. They did not anywhere say that they expected you actually to have the qualification, or any other qualification.

Ella, I got 130 grade 3 I wanted more, and if it wasnt for nerves maybe 2-5 extra points.. probably still wouldnt be happy.

now grade 8 im sure is expensive, ~ I would recommend if you feel unhappy with your pieces get your teacher and learn them to a higher standard and go for a performance test, It will never be the same as a merit but it will be cheaper, then you can go on to learn other grade 8 pieces or work for a diploma.

Last year I read that Birmingham univ. awarded scholarships on the basis of the Grade 8 score - I don't think this was major money in univ. cost terms.

Ella, if you *want* a distinction, go for it, regardless of any other reason. If you are unhappy with your result you should keep persevering until you get the mark you feel you deserve. BUT - congratulations on passing grade 8!

This all seems like yet more justification for making the grade exams pass/fail and doing away with the "grades within a grade" ... Merits and Distinctions. It would put an end to all this worry about how well one has passed, and stop colleges from asking for Distinction level passes.

But as for getting distinction at Grade 8, IF you need it it should be relatively easy to go back and do that after passing the DipABRSM.

I'm interested as to why you feel this is such a bad thing. Do you therefore think that GCSEs, A levels and degrees should also do away with grades / classifications?

I'm with Czerny - passing or failing a grade is a measurement (not necessarily an accurate one, but a measurement nevertheless) of one's proficiency at the given instrument. The subclasses "merit" and "distinction" just make the measurement finer - I don't see how they can do anything but enhance the purpose of the exams. It is true, as I stated before, that the measurements by subclass are not perfect, and a lot depends on luck, nerves, the examiners' tastes, and other factors that can't be controlled - but then again so does passing/failing. Academic exams work like this and have the same drawbacks, but there's no intrinsic reason why music exams should be different. As you may have noticed from my rather obnoxious signature (because the excitement hasn't worn off yet ), the actual score does matter to me, and I'm happier about passing DipABRSM with a 63 than I would have been had I scraped a 40. It gives me a greater sense of accomplishment, and though I recognize that I was benefited by luck, I do feel that the higher mark reflects the work I put into the exam.

Given that "grade 8 with distinction" seems to be a more important qualification in the UK than I could have known coming from the US, I am going to revise what I said earlier. If and when (not necessarily in the near future) the OP feels a distinction may be useful to her future, it would make sense to retake, but maybe with new repertoire so its more of a learning experience.

Well I have not thought it through to that extent, but I already explained what I dislike about the pass/merit/distinction thing in the post quoted above. Removing them "would put an end to all this worry about how well one has passed, and stop colleges from asking for Distinction level passes."

It would makes life simpler and less stressful.

But I can see that it would not be so simple in practice. For example if marks were still awarded the actual mark would become a source of angst, and if marks were not published then exams would lose a lot of their value as performance assessments and learning tools.

Reality is rarely simple.

Thank you everyone for all your advice!
I have decided that I really do want a distinction and I know I can do it, so I am going to retake, maybe next christmas or even the term after that, there's no rush. In the mean time I'm going to work like mad at my scales, and get them perfect because I was silly to neglect them so much this time. At the moment I'm just working on things I've always wanted to play (Sonata Pathetique, and Rustle of Spring by Sinding if you're interested) and I might learn some things from the grade 8 syllabus and just learn them for fun rather than for an exam. And then when I know I've secured myself a distinction, I'll do the exam

Best of luck! I hope things work out for you as I'm sure they will

Sounds like a plan Best of luck!