Hi All,

I posted on here a few months ago about considering taking piano grades. I started learning piano around march of 2011 (at age 21). I had regretted not learning as a child so took it up late. I decided to give grades a go (by way of having something to aim for!). My teacher suggested that I had progressed well enough to start at grade 4, so I began preparing for the exam in April (2012).

Well, I took the exam on wednesday (11th July). I think it went ok, however all I can seem to remember about the exam is the mistakes I made! and am really not sure whether I have done enough to pass. So, based on the following, how would it appear I have done? enough for a pass?

Scales and Arpeggios - I stumbled a little playing F minor scale, hands together. My mind went completely blank playing D sharp major scale, right hand only and I really messed that one up! all other scales and arpeggios were fine.... I think!

Pieces - I think I played all 3 quite well. My B piece (alone at sunset) was a little troublesome in that I didn't get some of the left hand notes to sound at times. The piano I was playing on had alot heavier touch than I am used to. Otherwise, the other 2 pieces, I think, were ok.

Sight reading - This was by a long way the weakest part of the test for me. Considering this though, I think I did ok. I played it through ok, however I did stutter at times, but I think, in the main, I got the rythm and notes mainly correct.

Aural tests - Again, I think I did ok. Both singing parts were fine, and I didn't have a problem clapping along to a rhythm. However, when it came to answering question about a previously played passage of music, my mind again went blank and I just couldn't think of anything to say! so, to be honest, that part of the aural test can be written off for any marks I think!



Based on that, how would you guess I have done?


Thanks in advance


Tom

D sharp major scale? Did the examiner really ask you for that?

Tom, well done for getting through the exam. It sounds as if it went reasonably well on the whole. We all remember the bits that went wrong or didn't go as well as we expected or hoped they would. It has often gone better than we think ourselves.

All the best for a positive outcome in a couple of weeks time. I hope your teacher will be around to give you the result as soon as it is available - that's assuming you were entered by the teacher as opposed to you entering yourself.

Do you know These Music Exams? On pages 38 to 42 you'll find the assessment criteria. You'll see here that a pass in any section does not require perfection!
We all definitely remember the bad bits when we assess ourselves afterwards, and often we're so focussed on those that we are unaware of the things that went well. I hope you get a result that pleases you

Wow, the scale with 9 sharps!

Do you mean E flat?

My mistake guys! I meant to put D FLAT major (must have been thinking C sharp minor !)

Thank you for the best wishes. I understand that it doesn't have to be perfect, but as pointed out, All I can seem to remember are the mistakes that I made! I'll just have to be patient and wait for my results to arrive!

Thanks again

Tom

I'm 13 and I did my Grade 4 yesterday - I did 'Alone at Sunset' also! Sounds like you did fine - everyone makes mistakes so don't worry. It's natural to always think of the worst possible scenarios!

I think Alone at Sunset is way above grade 4 standard in the expressive ability needed for it. I see "To a Wild Rose" is set for grade 5. I'm sure that's easier than Alone at Sunset. Still, if you've played Alone at Sunset, you should find To A Wild Rose a breeze.

Yay! To be honest I'm a bit nervous about starting grade 5 work! Theory exams sound very scary...

Actually I think "To a Wild Rose" is quite difficult to pull off. It is deceptively simple and needs a very sensitive touch to really capture the phrasing. But It is true that "Alone at Sunset" made some suprising demands for Grade 4.

I was also doing Grade 4 piano earlier in July and I was so nervous that almost everything I played, consist of mistakes here and there. All I could remember were all the mistakes I have made but to my surprise, result came in and it's a merit.

So you should be doing well too!

Thank you Congratulations on passing your exam!

I am seeing my teacher on friday, so am hoping he has received my results.... it has been over 2 weeks now.

I got a pass

1 mark off a merit (119) so very pleased, considering how nervous I was and that it was my first ever piano exam

Well done! 119 is very good. I must admit that I thought examiners don't usually give out 119s or 129s as a mark as it seems a bit mean not to round it up to the next level??

I think this is one reason why adults often feel they must have failed the exam. We are inclined to compare our own performance against a fully professional performance of the piece, not against a passing standard for grade 4. OK so there is more to each piece than the notes, but there is a big difference between what a grade 1 student does with his/her grade 1 pieces and what a pro would make of the same pieces. We have had this discussion a few times over the ABRSM official recordings, that the lower grades performances include all kinds of techniques that the player would no way be expected to display in the exam, and that perhaps since lower grades pieces are shorter, the CD could economically include a fully musical performance and a distinction standard grade 1 performance.

This leads to a certain amount of debate about whether we should always be striving for the perfection and by showing people a passable standard we lower their expectations, that argument rumbles on, but I think that not only do we remember every mistake and forget everything that was fine (OP mentions fluffing 2 scales, I can't imagine that only 2 scales were requested at grade 4 piano so fluffing small parts of 2 scales is unlikely to bring the mark down into the fail area anyway) but we also forget to compare ourselves against the standard for the grade, not the standard for a professional player who plays our graded repertoire.

Thank you!

Yes, that would make sense, but I suppose there has to be a boundary of what is a merit/distinction and what isn't, and my marks happened to add up to 1 short of a merit.