you would fail them due to nerves? What if your teacher did not want you to enter if you thought you would fail, again, based on nerves? I have posted my topic about taking a Grade 5 piano exam but I feel a little tiny bit of pressure from my teacher who has a very good reputation to maintain. Any thoughts? Thanks for any views.

Have you thought of any method of getting around the nerves eg psycotherapy, hypnosis or even betablockers?

Hi Jod

Trying to get appt with GP but very difficult with timings. However, am doing hypnosis every night

Oh and I just had a quick read of your thread. Given your comments, I hope congratulations will soon be in order for your great achievement.

Get the appointment with GP

It was a GP (not mine, I can't take betablockers) that recommended them for the right patients to deal with nerves. Do talk this through with a GP who will be able to advise you over the available treatment. However do not try to do an exam under the influence of benzodiazapenes. You might as well drink a triple brandy and try to the exam then, you'll be as intoxicated!

Bananas are good for nerves as is milk. Surprisingly as is lettuce. Sometimes the idea that you've had a green salad washed down by a banana and yogurt smoothie is all you need (it is called the placebo effect) whether the chemicals contained are any use or not!

Don't let teacher's reputation bother you. Just go for it and do your best. You can't do any better.

Why do you need to sit this exam? As an adult learner I have no intention of sitting an exam as I don't need the piece of paper to prove I am at a certain level. If you can play grade 5 pieces and grade 5 scales then you are a grade 5 instrumentalist.

It would be a shame for this to be causing you so much stress and angst when the exam may not be necessary.

I would like to change career, eventually. I want to take a teaching diploma in music and teach children the piano..

My teacher does not want me to sit if I think I will fail it because of nerves because she has built up such a good reputation. She always knew I lacked confidence but said it would be fine and entered me for the exam anyway. I have never been any good playing in front of people and I realise that this has to change - not just because of what I would like to do in teaching the piano but I'd like to play in front of other people instead of shying away when I am asked (which is rare - to be asked to play that is but I'd still like to do it if I am asked!).

JOD - yes I heard about the banana. Does it have to be eaten immediately prior to taking the exam? Noted on the betablockers. I will see what can be done with my GP. Thanks.

If you don't want to do the conventional medicine route have you tried Bach's flower remedy- I swear by it, from all chemists. Also think the name Bach is a good omen for music exams!!!!
Good Luck however you go

If you want to sit the exam without ruining someone's reputation why not enter yourself? Another idea might be to take grade 1 instead of 5, or even one of the leisure play / performance assessment type, to acclimatise yourself with the exam process without being under as much pressure.

Good advice andante - was just about to suggest the same!! If you are an adult you can do a performance assessment with the ABRSM, and can also enter yourself for any exams (or get your parents to enter you if you are under 18) Both Trinity and LCM offer leisure play and certificate exams which just assess performance... I would suggest getting as much performance experience as possible to help with the nerves - play to anyone and everyone, try and get involved in concerts, or look and see if there are any forum events near you that you could take part in...

If your teacher is very bothered about reputation she wouldn't have agreed to the exam entry if she thought you couldn't pass.
The question is do you want to learn to get over the nerves and take exams for your own satisfaction?

Yes, I could enter myself. Never thought of that. I had to chuckle reading your post because I have only got as far as Grade 3 before. I was intending to take Grade 4 leisure play when I met my teacher. She listened to me play, knew what my long term ambitions were and said, no, we are not doing Grade 4, we are going straight to Grade 5. And here we are.

It's just lack of performing. I have to get used to it. My old piano teacher used to hold small concerts in the local churches. I played in one once, for my Grade 2. I think it was a piece called The Huntsman or something similar, in 6/8 time(?) and it was fast. I remember being so nervous and did well until I hit the second page and saw this audience out of the corner of my eye and then I went a bit wrong!

I was thinking of ringing around old people's homes and seeing if they had pianos where I could go and play for them! See if any church organisations had similar opportunities. The ideas sounded nice and the time but I never really looked into it and thinking back, maybe I should have done. Too late now.

LOU24 - thanks for sharing that information.



You posted while I was posting (I mentioned about concerts). I will check the forum events and see if there is anything. Whether it comes off this week or not, it may be too late but I have to get over this issue at some point. Thanks for your contribution.



I don't think she banked on how bad my nerves would be. The answer to your question is yes, as well as other reasons for taking the exams. I did tell her that the only way I would be able to deal with this is to actually take the exam, even if it means failing. I think I would have one more opportunity to retake but at least I would have had the revised experience of playing in front of an examiner; something I have not done for a number of years.

Sometimes your teacher has to see how bad your nerves are before they fully take on board what you are saying.
Hopefully now there will be plans to help you to deal with it.

Yeah advice is quite good above. Dietry wise, banana's, milk and lettuce really are the best to go for...think its triptofan in them?

Benzodiazapines (diazepam being the most common for anxiety) will not do you much good on the day unless you want to run the risk of drooling on the examiner...

Betablockers are good for the physical effects of anxiety, so the shaking hands, cold sweat, rushing heart. Prolongued release propranolol tends to be popularly prescribed, depending on the GP and your own health (interaction with other meds or if you have chest problems like asthma). However, your doctor knows your medical history so speak to him/her about it.

I would go for the exam. You would benefit from exam exposure to see if you can overcome the nerves. In the leadup, try meditation and smart practice. Don't think about your teachers musical reputation. Your playing is your journey.

If you play them to the standard required. How do you know that if you don't do the exam? I quite like the "independent arbiter" telling me how I'm doing.

great advice on this thread

Leisure Play from LCM IS like an exam and is marked and you pass or fail I wanted to point out by the way....

the only difference is that you don't do 'supporting tests' so you don't do aural/sight-reading/scales, you just perform pieces, but they do mark you on them and you get a pass or fail at the end, so it is still like an exam (though not certified, it does not count towards ucas points etc).

the only one which you don't get marked and you don't get a pass or fail is the ABRSM performance assessment.

But you can still enter for the ordinary graded exam by yourself that way you don't have 'consciosly OR unconsciosly' to worry about your teacher's reputation', I think this probably will take a lot of the nerves equation out of the picture so get that one 'out' me thinks

Remeber: the examiner IS YOUR FRIEND, he/she WANTS you to pass and be happy believe it or not that's all you have to think about when you get in that room, also remember they were too sitting where you will be sitting on exam day ok?

I say go for it, whether you pass or fail it will be an invaluable experience and you had great advice on this thread

I would forget about your teacher (for the time being). Whether you pass or fail it will have no impact on her reputation. I'm afraid one little grade 5 exam (even yours!!) is just not that important.

Seriously, just go in there and enjoy yourself!!!

Is there any way one could find out the success rate of a teacher? Do you think ABRSM publishes lists for such things? I doubt it.

How would anyone know that your teacher has a "failed" student unless you or her share it with others? I don't understand how her reputation would be affected.

I guess your teacher is just trying to say that you are not ready for Grade 5 in a round about way?

My Driving Instructor used the same trick for not letting me take a driving test (I had been driving with him for 2 years!). He kept saying his pass percentage would go down. I then forced him to let me do a test and I failed. But I was not sorry as I knew what to expect for the next time. In my third attempt, I passed....

If nerves is the only hurdle, then I would suggest you should take the test with "have-a-go" mentality. Most likely you will PASS.

I also suffer badly from nerves. I sat grade 5 last summer, and failed. The failure wasn't really because of nerves, but it was with hindsight the best thing that could have happened to me, as I realised that the world hadn't come to an end just because I'd failed an exam. I resat the exam 10 weeks later and passed.

The other thing which has helped me has been taking up the violin purely for fun. I have no intention of sitting exams , but have joined a fiddle group. Playing with other people has really helped to reduce my performance anxiety.

So my advice is sit the exam, and enjoy the experience!

Both my teachers know I am badly affected by nerves and lack of confidence and I failed my last exam because of my nerves. I am the only student my teacher has who has failed an exam. There is nothing my teacher could have done that would have stopped me being so nervous. My head was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I failed.

So now I'm about to go through the whole exam thing again albeit with some "useful" comments from "friends". Why am I'm putting myself through this again? Because I have to prove to myself that I can beat my demons and get back on the horse, regardless of what happens with the results I am determined to go in and enjoy the experience.

I've found that playing in forum events has been fantastic - it's like being surrounded in a bubble of encouragement and support. Also both my teachers have put me in situations where I'm under pressure so I slowly get used to being out of my comfort zone.

Is there a family member or a good friend you can play in front of and act as a "mock" examiner so you get used to the idea of playing in front of someone. Also, don't focus on the "what ifs" and things that will go wrong. Focus on playing brilliantly, expressing your love of music and all the things that could go right but if a blip occurs, ignore it and carry on. Wear something that makes you feel great, prepare well, take good care of yourself and then go into the exam and smash it.

Good luck and have a fantastic exam.

Thank you so much for all your replies.

I do not know if any records are kept for different teachers and exam entries. When I challenged her and said she was slowing down and retiring soon anyway, she still did not want to have a failed pupil. But i think she understands my viewpoint in that the only way I can get over this is by doing the exam.

All the advice and stories are great to hear - even if I fail the exam, I will still retake it (I have one last chance on the pieces I have as new ones are out now).

My teacher has told me t go back to hands separate practise. She says she tells all her pupils this, regardless of how well they play. She said it really does help. I tried it today and my hands separate is not as good as my hands together. Makes my hands together seem like almost perfection!!

Has anyone else experienced this? I am inclined to be happy about this but should I be? I have no idea what this means in terms of how well my practise has been. My teacher is in hospital at the moment.

I am going to play on a church tomorrow in my lunch hour, in the hope there may be some people milling around......!

Some pieces really do need hands separate practice and some don't.
One reasoning is that if you can't play one hand alone then there will be some weakness when you put them together. It does tend to highlight what you don't know too well. If you've not done it or not for some time then finding it difficult is not unexpected.

Adults do suffer from nerves more than children, and the examiners know that. Each time I've done an exam, they've been at pains to put me at ease. Having said that, I use Rescue Remedy, which is easily available from Boots. I don't know if it works or if the effect is psychosomatic, but it helps.
If you play your pieces first, then you get to walk into the room with your accompanist, who hopefully is someone you trust, and can lean on to get you into the flow. I find the exam is over in the wink of an eye. Don't worry too much about the result...it's only a snapshot of those few minutes. You can come out with a great result, and if not, so what?

I think it is a fairly common experience that as you approach an exam, pieces that were previously well learned start to fall apart and develop new problems. One way through this is simply to take a break from them, but if you want to try and repair the damage, going back to slow, hands separately practice is a good way to take the pressure off and consolidate again before putting it all back together.

I’m really puzzled by all this talk of teachers' reputations - surely nobody is going to broadcast the fact that they failed an exam, and if they do, I would bet that they blame themselves for going to pieces with nerves or not doing enough work. I’ve never yet heard anybody fail an exam and blame the teacher, but maybe I lead a sheltered life. If you put enough people in for exams, eventually someone will fail, that’s life. A reputation is built on consistent successes not the occasional disaster. And any teacher who is overly concerned with their own reputation probably doesn’t have their students' best interests at heart.

I’ve taken beta-blockers for nerves (palpitations) a few times - they worked brilliantly and broke me out of the cycle of getting nervous - feeling ghastly - worrying that it would happen again and therefore bringing on more anxiety and palpitations. I’ve pretty much forgotten about it all now and it isn’t an issue any more. I believe in better living through chemistry!

I am not so sure about this - when i have gone for my exams --- i have seen children come out and start crying - where they were so nervous. Also seen them very distressed /nervous prior to going in to exam. Just an observation. I think children do suffer from nerves as well.

I think a drug-free approach is better -- as you do not learn to cope with the problem, just cover it up. Perhaps even get nasty side effects from drugs --- there are a lot of them. I would be more tempted to go down non-drug route. Especially do not take valium and alike!!!
Perhaps - hypnotherapy etc.
P.S. milk/bananas etc don't do anything for me! ----just my luck!
Banana would be far cheaper option !!!!

If you have a desire to pass then go for it - the worst outcome is not to pass and then you have the experience for a second, or even third entry.

At G4 my teacher reasonably asked me to postpone because I was right in the middle of a very stressful home move and seeming poorly ready - I had paid for it so I went - and passed. Had I not passed not only was nothing lost but I would have had this experience to support the next exam date.

My current teacher says she only enters pupils when they are ready - we discussed this and have agreed that I will take G5 in December - no matter what.

For many people the stress and nerves are fear of failing.
For what it is worth my approach is that a pass is less important than the experience - sure I was not happy not to pass my theory when both my teacher and I were confident that I would walk it - but, OK, I can do it again!

I don't know whether this will help you but I hope it does.

To get over nervousness you must perform ... and frequently enough that each instance is not debilitating. It is necessary if only to check the effectiveness of whatever else you are doing to conquer your fears.

Exams are one way to do this, but it as an expensive route, and they are not frequent enough.

Better is for the teacher to arrange musical gatherings where students play to each other, and to friends and family. Many teachers arrange these. Does yours not?

It is important to have the feeling of having performed well, to create the condfidence to attempt more difficult challenges.

The best way to use them is to start with something that you find very, very easy. That way however nervous you feel you are likely to succeed in playing well. With the confidence this creates you can gradually play more difficult pieces, longer programmes, and maybe play from memory too.

That doesn't work for pianists who have no accompanist to support them and usually have to go all alone to the exam centre.
Does anybody else want to cling on to their accompanist and scream 'Please don't leave me!!'?

No... however as accompanist or as teacher I've felt like the security blanket!

Some interesting responses.

I know drugs are not the answer and I know performing in front of others is. But, for the short term,inhale an appointment with my gp tomorrow.

To combat nerves, I played in a church local to where I work, in my lunch break today. There were two wardens listening and a few people popping in. I did go wrong in places but I think 2 pieces were a pass. Not good enough with an exam on Monday, is it?! Still, I surprised myself with how much better I played than to another "unknown" person last week. That was truly awful.

As to the question abut teachers and concerts, my teacher from 10 years ago did this. I was playing my grade 2 then. It took a lot of persuasion, bordering on bullying, to get me to participate. I zoned out when I started and then, having reached page 2 and therefore turning my head slightly, it was enough for me to see this audience out od the corner of my eye and I started to crumple. I got through it but looking back, I don't believe I even did that! my current teacher does not do mini concerts.

It is quite true that pieces start to fall apart nearer the exam. I certainly find this - in places where there have never been any problems. as for retaking, no issues with that only there is just one more opportunity left as these pieces will then be out of date.

I have to play more in front of people. I was sent a pm to participate in a concert, albeit after my exam, but unfortunately, it is too far away as I am based in Somerset. I also tried yo get on a Jackdaws course in somerset with other pianists but it is fully booked.

Four days and counting........

I haven't read all the replies, but you seem to be convinced you will fail due to nerves, (an adrenalin dump). Ideally you need to turn the feelings you have from a negative to a positive, to get you through the exam.

I would suggest you have a mock exam, perhaps someone who your teacher will know. I would also play as often as possible in front of family, friends and friends of friends. Including people who have a higher grade than yourself, because you instantly assume they are judging you. It would also be helpful if you have access to other pianos too as they all have a different feel and tone.

You need to be fully prepared for your exam, know the syllabus inside out, any uncertainties will throw you off.

Don't worry about your teacher's successful reputation, your teacher should know whether you are ready or not and fully prepare you. It sounds as though you have a good teacher.

Yes, I am convinced I will fail because of nerves and it is the fear of failing, as another poster has said. Only because I know I am capable.

I have been playing in front of others including a new teacher and in a local church on a piano they have. I even recorded one piece and put it on YouTube and if anyone is interested, here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX8_JNwNqAw...be_gdata_player

I wish I had more time but I think I will only be the same after a delay because of the nerves. I do not want to go in thinking I will fail. But I know that if I do, there is one more opportunity and at least I would have had the experience of an exam, which in music, I have not had for 10 years. When I did my law degree, I remember waiting to go in and students were frantically reading notes. By that stage, I was thinking "if you don't already know it, too late now" but written exams do not phase me. The role play did! The videoing of moot courts for exams was really terrifying yet I spend my time in court as my job. It's just getting used to it and unfortunately, for piano, I rarely get the opportunity to play other than with just myself for company!

It's tomorrow morning, the exam. That's it now!

Good luck for tomorrow, TERRIM.

One thing I found that helped was to treat the exam as just another meeting - I'm sure you do a LOT of meetings in your job.

So go in, as you would to a meeting, introduce yourself, sort out where you'll sit, adjust the stool etc, in as businesslike a way as possible.

Then do the job of playing your pieces and scales. That's all it is - a job.

Do come back and let us know how it went, we'll be thinking of you.

Thank you so much. I will update tomorrow.

Best of luck! Tell yourself you can do it. : )

Oh I know I can do it - just try telling the examiner that.......oh well, he/she certainly won't take my word for it. When I did my law exams, about 3 invigilators - so that's 6 eyes and about 30 something students. They couldn't even keep one whole eye on me all the exam, could they?! But one to one? Playing head up rather then hunched over, head down? It's a completely different ball game to me and I often think I won't be a winner. How these performers do this for a living, I will never know! All that added pressure with them paying to hear you play. And here's me paying the examiner to hear ME play. You think they'd do well to remember that once in a while, you know, when the odd finger slips off the key and gives an accidental double note - that kind of thing.......!

Good luck for tomorrow, Terrim!

I enjoyed listening to your YouTube piece. Remember the the examiner is on your side wants to hear you play at your best, so try not to be too nervous. Are you good at pretending? If so, you could imagine that the presence in the room is not your examiner at all, but a close and supportive family member or friend.

Looking forward to hearing that things went well for you.

Thank you for listening to it and of course, for your comments. Its my second best piece. My first is Rondo by Kuhlau and my worst is Chopin valse and it really is my worse piece. It is just not coming together.

I can pretend like that. The trouble is, I cannot even play in front of my friends or family without hands shaking and getting nervous. Ridiculous really. I did the YouTube to face my nerves. I know the examiner wants you to pass and therefore, play your best but the last examiners I'd had just greeted me with steely eyes. When I get nervous, I talk too much (can't you tell?! ) but they won't put up with that. I have worked really hard, like everyone else and deserve a pass but I don't care if it doesn't come with bells on it. Gave up that dream and settling for the nightmare now

Best get some

Thanks to everyone for all their posts. It has really been a great help to me

You may not see this in time but ALL THE VERY BEST!!!

I know just how you feel about exams... but getting your nerves together to put something on YouTube is a great start and more than I could handle. You could do better in front of an examiner than friends and family. I find that a very daunting experience, even when I know they're sympathetic.

Bananas, Bach rescue remedy, breathing deeply to relax for a good stretch before the exam... anything that can possibly help is worth doing... and just remember to keep telling yourself that you'll be OK. Because you will!

Thank you - Just wanted you to know i got this in time. Talking of which......... Check out the time! I have had 3.5 hours sleep! I will be taking that banana.

The piece you have uploaded to YouTube is beautiful.

Sending you best wishes for today.

Thank you for the comment on YouTube.

We, my teacher and I, are both agreed it is very borderline and better to err on the side that I just did not do enough. The piano was horrible! My scales were not accurate enough. Arpegs too slow. Exercises went wrng on all three. My Rondo was brilliant. My Little Sister was ok but not as good as YouTube and my valse was truly terrible. Stumbles and slips. One break in particular I could not really recover from. Sight reading very good and musical knowledge, all answered correctly. But it's unlikely to be enough. Next time I can take it is in December.

It did not help that her 11 year old student on grade 5 and also doing valse and little sister, went before me and we could hear everything. Her mum came too. She was brilliant. I just knew that I could never follow that. I was an absolute wreck. She was before she went in but mine was well hidden. Then she pulled it together in the exam room whereas what I hid could be hidden no more. I nearly walked out. Told the examiner that too, half way through the valse!! Well, it was how I felt. I pushed myself through it to just get the experience and a bit of familiarity back again.

I had driven us all down to the exam centre. An hour's drive. I didn't enjoy the drive back whilst I knew the other student was so happy and who could blame her.

I am off to a lesson now........

Congratulations Terrim on having the courage to give the exam a go. Regardless of the result, you should be very proud that you didn't let your nerves prevent you from doing the exam. I have my fingers crossed for you that you passed, I've done Trinity exams in the past and found the results are out very quickly.

I thought your playing on YouTube was beautiful. You've also now got some valuable performing experience under your belt to take forward in your playing.

Good luck for the result.

The main thing is you put yourself through the ordeal of the exam. Fingers crossed you did enough to pass, even if your performance had have been spot on, you would still have come away with a niggle.

The only thing I want to achieve is to play the piano, and enjoy it so exams aren't important to me, (well not at the moment anyway).

You mentioned one examiner when I took a Guildhall piano practical exam, there were three examiners.

You need to chill out now.

Well done for getting the job done.
I hope that you've had a good, calming lesson.
As my teacher said to me when I failed to do myself justice in a recent exam you can view marks and comments with the understanding that things didn't quite go as well as they could have. Whatever the outcome you've gone in there and done it and will still have the feedback which is usually useful.

^wot she said.

Thank you so much for all your replies

The results should be out by the end of the week. The embarrassing thing was, the examiner said to me afterwards that "well, you got through" and I took it to mean I incredibly, somehow, passed and I was like, "really?", eyes on stalks and all that! She then said she meant I had got through the exam (reference to me exclaiming I was ready to walk out at one point) and I kind of looked rather sheepish.....

Yes, the feedback will be really useful.

I was having a chat with the owner of my local music shop. He said it is not having the confidence in my pieces that bring on the nerves, which is true. I actually enjoyed playing my Rondo - it was my chance to show her I could play the piano after fluffing scales and so forth. Then, my Little Sister was ok, as I said but I knew, JUST KNEW, my Valse was rubbish. The most annoying thing? It was my best piece at the start of learning my pieces. In fact, a baroque piece I let go in favour of the Rondo instead, later on after Christmas, yet it turned out to be my best piece.

My teacher does not fully understand I don't think. She tries to boost my confidence but I have to feel confident in the piece myself. I have my own standard and Valse fell far below it. My standard is often not near what my teacher's standard is. Do I make sense? I was pleased with my Little Sister in my practise sessions - it was coming on well and I felt confident in playing it, but she was not as happy as me. Which is fine - I put some colour into it at her direction and it made it better still. No qualms. My Valse - I was not happy with it but she said it was of a good enough standard and then she kept saying how much better it was. I know why she was saying this - we had run out of time and she needed to just give me the confidence to go in and play it to the best of my ability at that time. Of course, it's the right way for a teacher to approach it in my book, rather than panic a student and make the situation worse, but I KNEW it was not a "performance" and perhaps she relied a little too much on everything else going well to make up for the Valse.


My lesson - it was ok. She breaks for the Summer but she has given me every major scale going! She has also given me some Grade 4 ABRSM pieces to do and asked me to buy New Orleans Jazz Styles, which I have and she has set me a piece on this. She says this is all consolidating what I have learned which is fine. She says, if we fail, we can go straight to Grade 6. Am I missing something?! I query this. She says I could do just Leisure Play exams for Grade 5 but that is not what I want to do. Besides, I don't want to be beaten by this exam.

I was counting up all my exams in my years, every one i have taken and it amounts to 57, 58 including this one. If I fail, it will be the first exam I have ever failed in my life.

I'll stop moaning now. I won't ever stop trying to pass though

But you did it, you stayed, and you finished it. It gets easier from here. Lots of performance oportunities - in the church, just practicing even - will help and the fact you enjoyed one of your pieces is a good thing. Keep working at it, play in front of friends and at forum events and you will improve. Well done - whatever the result. You can be proud of yourself.

Well done, Terrim! I really hope you will have passed, but it isn't the end of the world if things go badly on the day. Your teacher obviously feels you were ready to take grade 5, which is why she's suggesting you move on to grade 6 now.

Lots of adults have dreadful nerves in exams, and you did very well to get through the Valse when you felt it was going so badly. It's all good experience, and I agree with Dawnmc71 that you should be proud of yourself tonight.

Well done Terrim, hope you get a good result

I so hope you pass. Well done.