I just did my grade 7 piano and I've failed!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pieces were Ok but I think he'll mark me down because he was jsut acting evil!
Scales were Ok but some of them had a blips in...
Sight reading I totally messed up- it was in A major but I played in A minor and only noticed after, I played too fast, got all the notes wrong, missed out some chords- but I did dynamics and articulation- ehehehe...
Aural was awful- the "sing back the lower part of this two part phrase" thing totally threw me. I couldn't remember it so I had to ask him to play it yet again (3 times in all!) and then I still couldn't remember it so I just gave up and sang it wrong.
Test B and Test C were OK-ish, I think I messed up a bit in test B and the chord V in test C might have been V7... but oh well.
Then in test D I couldn't remember the rhythm I had to clap so I did that wrong too
But I got the time signature right (according to my Dad listening from the waiting room!).
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
I've never got below 130 before!
What am I going to do???????????????????????????????????/

There's only so much sympathy I can give to someone who thinks they've failed, and then implies that under 130 is failing.

Saying an examiner will mark you down because he is evil also makes me rather angry, because the examiners are working harder than you realise.

However, I'm sure you passed. You may not have got the distinction you aimed for, but failing is harder than passing, and you know it.

You might not have failed. Mostly when people have said that they think they have failed they do really well. The examiner will have to give you marks for trying, and will have put your mistakes down to nerves. I've mucked up at least one thing in each exam so far, and i've only failed one exam (My grade one, but-no offence to ABRSM-I had an evil examiner, even my teacher agree's with this, the reason I think he was evil was because I was the last person of the day, he sighed after each part of the exam, which really threw me, the room reeked of cigarette smoke, although it was a non-smoking church building, AND he failed me by 2 marks!! which is pure evil) I doubt your examiner was as bad as mine though. Beside's 130 is a pretty high standard to set yourself. And even if you don't pass you can just skip it (or retake if you want to have passed each grade) and take grade 8.

Hi cecilia,

Hope you're feeling calmer now! It's horrible to come out of an exam feeling as if you did badly.

Reading your description of how it went, the only things that went badly were some of the aural tests and the sight reading.

Your pieces went okay, so did the scales more or less, right?

Therefore, it sounds as if you'll have got enough marks to pass. Let us know what happens...

Hi!!

I think i failed my clarinet exam as well and i will find out later this week!!
I think the main thing is that you are putting to much pressure on yourself because you have never got below 130 before!!

Read the replies I got and they might give you some reassurance!!
But im sure you willl have passed with flying colours!!

Nat

hai cecilia...

you sound so frustrated...I understand that you completely feel like a failure, sometimes we all do...well bad things happen in this life...

so I just suggest you to carry on and study more so you would be more prepared for the next exams...

greetings.

natalia

Hi Cecilia

I know you are feeling terrible now but it is over and there is nothing you can do. It is ok to feel bad or down but just don't sit on that feeling for too long. Allow yourself say not to stay in that mood for more than one week or so. I am sure your family will stand by you. Talk to your teacher and see what is the plan .

Take care.

Hi Cecilia,

With your descriptions, seems you will score a high pass to merit..... unless you call it a "failure"

However, It also seems to me that "wrong" interpretation / style in performance is "penalized" more severely than few mistakes for pieces.

Anyway, past is past. Don't feel bad, and work on the next!

Cheers,
Tannie

QUOTE

However, It also seems to me that "wrong" interpretation / style in performance is "penalized" more severely than few mistakes for pieces.

That seems perfectly right to me: the odd wrong note/minor slip up on the day is simply a 'nerves on the day' issue; poor interpretation and lack of style would indicate poor musicianship or limited consideration of the piece prior to the exam.

On the topic of your exam: I hope you do get the distinction that you want-I can sympathise as I'm also a perfectionist I think that the examiners are reasonably good at seeing through what is due to nerves on the day and can see the hard work and attention to detail you've made in preparation.

Unfortunately I have to agree with DavidMusic, I can sympathise to an extent as I failed my grade 8 piano immediately before going off to study music at uni. This was a huge disappoint for me as I wasn't sure whether I would be accepted or not. However despite failing, it actually did some good as it made me better prepared for the next exam. I learned all of my scales perfectly and eventually recieved full marks for my aural tests and sight reading, so despite failing first time round I managed to score 135 when I re-took the exam. However, Im sure you haven't failed and it sounds like you worked hard upto the exam, which I stupidly didn't and obviously later regretted. There's no point in blaming examiners as at the end of the day they are also musicians and are quite aware of the stresses of exams since they also have had to do the same as us at some point in their life. Therfore they may not be entirely comforting but they understand how you are feeling. Enough of me waffling on, try not to be too downhearted as Im sure you will have done better than what you think, This isn't any consolation but I hope it helps,

I remember when I was in Grade 5. I ditched my first piece...played too fast and lost control. All went haywire...keep getting faster. I got this lady examiner, my 1st lady examiner, I heard horror stories about her when I finished my exam. They said she failed almost 70% of the students in another venue. So, I thought I was sure to fail. WoW!!! I got 109. I know that's quite bad(my lowest) but I passed my first piece with 22! My friend, which I thought did quite good got 87. May be this will work next time.....if you do badly, smile and be very very very polite to the examiner, then they will like you and you might pass. I have heard of someone doing very badly, and then flatter the examiner by asking for his/her autograph!

What's the problem with getting lower than 130. Yeah I mean, a merit doesn't look quite so good on the certificate, but if you passed that's all that matters. your being too hard on yourself, the examiner is on your side and really wants you to do well. I'm sure you'll pick up some half marks or something, as long as you understand where you go wrong and state it in the exam.

Make sure you tell us when you get your results!!!!

if you are so bothered about not getting a distinction just do it again and waste your money instead of our time.

bye!

jaime