I have just recently completed my Clarinet Grade 5 exam, and I am currently waiting the results.
However during in my exam my throat seemed to close up,and i was not able to finish my first piece properly. Then it affected my second piece, which definately knocked my confidence. I have no idea why my throat closed up, it was due to the lack of oxygen perhaps, but i was breathing properly. So now whilst i am awaitng my results i am debating whether to retake it. As i am leaving my school, in June, to go to college and i will have to get Grade 5 theory which i am currently on grade 2. So should i if i get a very low pass retake the exam to regain my confidence or just be happy with a pass, knowing that i can get better?

the examiner understands things like that. I had to restart a piece in my clarinet exam coz I was shaking so much I couldnt breath! But he seemed to understand and wrote on my sheet (the one that has the individual comments) that nerves affected it all and so he marked it on the performance that would have been given without nerves!

You always get better than you expect to"

If it was just a particular problem on the day and both you and your teacher feel that it was just a bad day thing then I would just put it down to experience and move on.
If you were really ready for this exam then I can't really see the reason to go backwards or mark time instead of going forwards.

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Apr 11 2005, 04:20 PM)

If it was just a particular problem on the day and both you and your teacher feel that it was just a bad day thing then I would just put it down to experience and move on. If you were really ready for this exam then I can't really see the reason to go backwards or mark time instead of going forwards.

i agree

First point - don't assume you've done badly, you might be surprised !

One of my pupils recently took grade one piano. He went to pieces during one piece, and had to re-start.

When the results came, he found he had passed with merit. His marks were down slightly on the piece that didn't go so well, yet the examiner had given credit for the recovery.

So wait and see! There will be lots of other things in your exam that went well that you don't remember - the mishaps tend to loom large.

And I agree with the others too - if you were ready for this exam, don't worry about a bit of bad luck on the day. Move forward.

Maggie

Wait and see what the result is first of all. As maggiemay says, you may be in for a pleasant surprise. What's the point in retaking an exam you've already passed? You may not do as well second time round!

If it's any consolation, a similar thing happened to me during my final recital at university. I was absolutely devastated when I walked out of the recital hall, bottom lip quivering. I closed the door behind me and promptly burst into tears on my accompanist's shoulder. Whilst the examiners had noticed something had happened, they hadn't worked out what had happened, so were quite sympathetic, not to say impressed that I'd managed to keep going, so it might not be as bad as it seems to you.

That is why I am not doing the major recital. You never know something like that won't happen. It could still happen in my performance exam, but it will only be 1/5 of my honours, not just below half which the recital is. By the way Deborah, you said in the other thread I should do some decent pieces after the Debussy. I think Debussy IS a decent piece, especially as an exam piece.

QUOTE (neil.clarinet @ Apr 11 2005, 06:16 PM)

I think Debussy IS a decent piece, especially as an exam piece.

Oh well, chacun a son gout.

Angie_2k5, have you had your results yet?

I cried halfway through my exam... And i still passed, lol...