Hey, I was just wondering if anyone had good/bad experiences with examiners?

I did my first exam last Saturday, and my examiner was really nice, he was friendly and I didn't feel nervous with him.

Just post your experiences here!

Hulk

My examiners are always very good, and put me at ease throughout the exam. This is a good thing, as they probably realise you are already nervous, and want to make you feel comfortable.

The first exam I ever took was my grade three clarinet and although the examiner seemed like he didnt have a personality and got a bit impatient when I couldnt play a couple of scales ( C major was one! embarrassing!). He wrote some really lovely and encouraging comments about my playing. I don't think I've ever really had a bad examiner although the last one was amercian and I couldn't understand whether he was saying D or E minor so lost a couple of marks!

most of my examiners have been ok

Well, the examiner I had for my Grade 7, she was really frosty, and my teacher said she had made some of her younger pupils cry!

There was an "urban legend" sort of thing in our school that the nicer the examiner, the more likely they would be to be high markers. It's surprising how often this turned out to be true!

My first examiner had a problem with hearing what i said, not what i was playing I got really annoyed when he kept asking me to reapet everything.

2 quotes from examiner my child had last week:

"So you're doing Grade 1 recorder today? Wouldn't you rather be doing Grade 8? No? Ok, then, let's just do Grade 1!"

and to another candidate, whose time was just before lunch...

"I'll tell you what...just play the first 3 bars of each of your pieces, and that'll do...then we can go and have lunch. OK?" (She played ALL her pieces in their entirety!)

Both comments were made with a real twinkle in his eye...maybe he's mad?

I had a lovely examiner for my grade 8 keyboard a couple of years ago. My teacher (who was holding her house as the exam centre for that day) had given the examiner a cuppa and a plate with biscuits and chocolates on, Anyway when i went in there she said to me 'if you do well at this ill give you that mars bar on the plate!'. lol

Well after she had said that i felt completely at ease and relaxed with her.

Good news was i got a high honours and the mars bar!!
Chocolate and a high exam mark on the same day....heaven!!

Eeek. D'you think she would have kept the chocolate if you'd done badly ? So much pressure! It's not just your reputation/self-esteem that's on the line, there is real solid chocolate at stake.

Petite Joueuse - I have come to believe that because examiners have got such an intense and important job to do they can't help but having a strange sense of humour sometimes!! You just have to humour them in such cases!

Mrs M

QUOTE (Fred @ Mar 11 2005, 09:45 AM)

It's not just your reputation/self-esteem that's on the line, there is real solid chocolate at stake.

I've never had a crazy examiner... that would be great, I'd feel they were on my wavelength

QUOTE

I have come to believe that because examiners have got such an intense and important job to do they can't help but having a strange sense of humour sometimes!! You just have to humour them in such cases!

and to match that sense of humour you might just need the t-shirt I saw (and coveted) the other day ...
"ok - hand over the chocolate and no-one dies"


M

The examiner I had for my grade 4 a few years ago was absolutely terrifying !!!

once my examiner took my music book off me and said that i looked like i didnt need it

I had an examiner who had a broad Glaswegian (sp) accent so I couldn't understand the difference between "A" major and "E" major. I played E, but then he said the same sort of noise again later so I played the other one!
Pretty bad, when you practically live in Scotland!

For my grade 7, the examinet only looked about 20, and she was an absolute witch! She did seriously look like one, and was really nasty!

But she gave me a good mark though!

I remember my grade 1 examiner was really hurried and flippant. When I forgot what the chromatic scale was he got really annoyed and that put me off exams but my grade 2 examiner was really nice and I wasn't nervous at all (apart from when I started playing the wrong bit and had to start again) but he was a real softy. Hee. Anyway he was the one who gave me a distinction. The others have been OK though.

I have heard of this examiner who sends anyone who can't play their scales properly out of the room(crying) without listening to anything else. Donno whether its true or not but.........

QUOTE (tzl_tzl @ Mar 13 2005, 03:44 AM)

I have heard of this examiner who sends anyone who can't play their scales properly out of the room(crying) without listening to anything else. Donno whether its true or not but.........

Probably an urban legend, lol.

QUOTE (carys @ Mar 13 2005, 10:50 AM)

QUOTE (tzl_tzl @ Mar 13 2005, 03:44 AM) I have heard of this examiner who sends anyone who can't play their scales properly out of the room(crying) without listening to anything else. Donno whether its true or not but......... Probably an urban legend, lol.

yeah! so that we practice hard.

I never really had any bad examiners before. All of them were more or less the same.

QUOTE (tremolololo @ Mar 13 2005, 04:34 AM)

I never really had any bad examiners before. All of them were more or less the same.

Thank goodness for that - I was beginning to get v worried

QUOTE (Jen W @ Mar 13 2005, 08:42 AM)

QUOTE (tremolololo @ Mar 13 2005, 04:34 AM) I never really had any bad examiners before. All of them were more or less the same. Thank goodness for that - I was beginning to get v worried

This conversation is enough to put anyone off taking an exam!

I once had an examiner who didn't even say "Thank you" after each piece but emitted a series of unintelligible grunts. It was my first violin exam so I was a bit put off, but it's never happened again!

The only examiner I've ever had was rather intimidating, so I was a little hesitant with my aurals and she took a mark off because I didn't answer fast enough! The accompanist was lovely, though. She kept smiling at me ever so encouragingly, so that kind of made up for it!

You are not meant to get full marks if you hesitate in aurals..

i havent had any bad experiences with examiners.

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Mar 13 2005, 04:59 PM)

You are not meant to get full marks if you hesitate in aurals..

Really?

QUOTE (july @ Mar 13 2005, 05:06 PM)

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Mar 13 2005, 04:59 PM) You are not meant to get full marks if you hesitate in aurals.. Really?

It's part of the marking scheme: full marks go to prompt and accurate responses.