Hey, I had my grade 4 piano exam today, and I know that I can do all the stuff, cos when I practise its fine, and really good. But in my exam, I mucked up the sight reading and aural, but the pieces and scales were OK, but not perfect, so I'm really scared I've failed now!! :-( Has anyone else ever failed an exam? It's really upset me cos I'm sure I haven't passed and if I have failed, I'll be so embarrassed having to tell all my friends and everyone! Is there a way of finding out my result already or anything? It's made me so down for the rest of the day! Can anyone reassure me or cheer me up please? Thank you! Love Allie xoxox

Hey, don't worry. I'm sure you've passed. At least you're pieces and scales were ok - they carry the most marks and you'll still get marks for your sight reading and aural. I'm sure it didn't go as badly as you probably think.

Just chill out now and try to forget about it until you get the result (easier said than done i know!) Chin up! :-)

Chances are you haven't failed. What did your teacher expect you to get?

Liz

On Tuesday 28th June I took my grade 7 piano and although I was fine when playing at home, when I got to the exam I made quite a few mistakes that I don't usually make. I too am anxious that I failed. I should know in about a week.

I am comforted by the knowledge that the examiner is trained to know when problems occur due to nerves rather than lack of preparation. I, like you, hope he saw through the nerves and could see I was well prepared.

Good luck,

Shelton

Hi Allie,

I'm sure you haven't failed. I took my grade 4 piano in March & afterwards I thought exactly the same as you but I got a disctinction so it just shows that you never do as badly as you think you have. Focus on the postitive aspects of your exam & try not to think about the result too much as you'll only get yourself worked up I know what you mean about being able to play everything perfect when you're practising coz there's so much pressure in an exam to do your very best & how ever much everyone says "it's only an exam, just pretend the examiner's not there" you just can't stop yourself from feeling nervous & I don't think anyone ever thinks they play as well in an exam as they do when they're on their own.

Anyway, try & relax & good luck with your result

Lisa xxx

P.S. Just out of interest, what pieces did you choose?

I wouldn't worry - I teach some students as well as still learning and one of them came out of her exam and told me she was certain she had failed - her results came back today and she got a merit!
Remember, you will only think about the bits you did wrong; the examiners will notice all the bits you did right. Chances are, there are more of the latter

You won't have failed...I completely messed up my grade 5 piano big style and ended up with 113..despite failing aural hehe

What if I muck up the scales and appeggios ? Can I still pass ?

Yes, you do not have to pass each section. It's the overall mark that counts

Hey Lisa! Thanks for reassuring me!! Wow! You did so well in your exam!! Lol!! I'm really envious! How old are you by the way (just out of interest), I'm 14, and been learning for 3years, u?
I chose Polonaise, Prelude No.28 and Freeway, u?
Thanks again, Love Allie xoxox

I frequently think I've failed exams, when I've mucked up, but you can get away with a lot and still pass. Trust me I played one piece that was meant to be in B flat major entirely full of F sharps and the examiner said a secure performance with good note accuracy! This is just one of many examples of things I've done, I can get my predictions about 30 marks wrong at times! They aren't expecting for you to be perfect- so don't worry!

If you actually look at the AB statistics for 2004, a very small percentage fail at each grade:

1: 2%
2: 3%
3: 3%
4: 5%
5: 6%
6: 7%
7: 8%
8: 9%

David

It appears like they 'almost' correspond with the Grade! so does a diploma mean a 10% failure rate?

Sadly not.

The failure rate at Diploma level (DipABRSM, LRSM and FRSM) is an amazing 49%!!!

Hiya! No problem, everyone needs a bit of reassurance after an exam I did Divertimento in F, Prelude No.28 & Freeway. I'm 17, almost 18 & have been playing since I was about 9. I started taking exams after about 2 years as at first I just wanted to play for fun. Then after my grade 1 I didn't have a teacher for about a year or so & then I developed an illness when I was 13 which has left me unable to walk & prevented me from taking any exams for a long time. I still have the illness but have now built up the strength (as one of the symptoms among many others is loss of concentration which is not the best thing to have when you're doing an exam!!) to start taking exams again. Sorry to ramble but I feel I have to explain myself on these forums why I haven't done lots of exams as obviously most people here here take them frequently

What exam are you doing next? I'm doing grade 5 theory & then grade 6 practical. Let us know your result when you get it!!

Lisa xxx

hey allie!

i just had my grade 5 piano exam on 2 days ago and made mistakes for both scales and the pieces-but my screwed up on my sight-reading and aural tests too! i went too fast for sight-reading and corrected my mistakes instead of going on..and aural tests--oh the horror--i couldnt answer the examiner so he went on to the next question..well..performed worse than expected but do hope things will go well.

Those "in the know" say that diploma is a good few grades-worth higher than grade 8 - there's a much bigger gap between grade 8 and diploma than between 7 and 8, not so much in the difficulty of the pieces necessarily (ie on the flute, the poulenc sonata's 3 movements are 1 grade 7 and 2 grade 8 standard, but the whole thing is a dip piece) but in the standard required in how you play them, and also that you have to do programme notes, a viva, and the quick study.

I think that the standard of the performance in the DipABRSM is higher than the equivelent diploma of other exam boards - i.e. ALCM and ATCL.
David

I think according to the boards themselves the standards are the same as regards actual performance, although the requirements can be different - ie trinity offer a pure performance diploma IIRC. But I don't believe I've read anywhere that the standard of performance is different. I guess the way to find out would be to do the different diplomas with as similar a programme as possible, and do equivalent ones, and see how the results compared. But I don't think any ATCL holders round here will thank you for devaluing their achievement...

actually the very best way would be to have experienced examiners from each board all assess the same performance without any conferring between the different boards. That would be interesting.

believe me I did thee worst Gr5 exam ever. I even predicted a score of 97 n then i got my results and i got 105! I broke down, messed up everything n still passed. you just have to believe in yourslef.

I think that the ABRSM have higher expectations, perhaps more than a difference in performance standards.
David

Which expectations do you think are higher then, if not the standard of performance?

Like I said, I don't see how you could prove it either way except by having several sets of examiners independently assess the same performance.

I missed a line in 1 of my gr 4 piano pieces, and i think i still passed. (took on Jul 5th too).
My Post Mortem:
I did Polonaise (tricky fingering - oops! )
Danse Orientale (missed a line - the easy one as well *typical*)
Freeway (my best one - I LOVE this piece)

Aural - was okay, not my best aural ever - managed to prove that i do not know the difference between staccato and legato (i do, really, just didn't then. and i did then, just didn't. if that makes sense.)

Sight Reading - thankfully it was marked "slowly"

Scales - Invented a new F minor...

Actually...the ALCM diploma is quite "superior" to the other diplomas (i.e. DipABRSM and ATCL) as it is the only diploma which tests theory higher than at grade 8 standard, and also for musical perception and awareness. however the practical requirements are almost identical in all 3 diplomas. and yes, the only way to test would be to have examiners from all 3 boards assessing the same performance. and in response to the expectations, London College mark most severely.

Well, people are always saying that the dipABRSM is not grade 9 and now here's the proof! Must be grade 48 .

The omniscient SteveHopwood says it's equivalent to Grade 100.

David, do you by any chance have any experience of the dipLCM (which was formerly the Certificate of Advanced Performance)?

Liz

EDIT: Found the answer to my own question - I was searching under "certificate OF" and it's "certificate IN". Anyway, for anyone who's interested, this is straight from the horse's mouth. Notable, as regards this thread, is that TVU regard the ALCM as a SECOND year performance qualification not first year. In which case presumably it is HIGHER than dipABRSM or ATCL. O boy. There I was thinking the dipLCM was equivalent to the Trinity Performer's Certificate and it looks as if it's nearer ATCL. O boy. Looks like I might be going to notch up another fail in November ....


LCM Exams qualifications (Post Grade 8):

2.11.1 Diploma of the London College of Music (DipLCM)

A student obtaining this Diploma is expected to be at a level of attainment above Grade 8, and below ALCM. The DipLCM is a performance qualification, offered in a range of instruments and assessed by a recital. It has a credit rating of 20 credits at Level 1 against Performance Studies in the BMus (Hons) degree at TVU.

2.11.2 Certificate in Advanced Performance

This may only be taken in classical guitar, and is parallel to the DipLCM. The credit rating is also 20 credits at Level 1 against Performance Studies BMus (Hons) degree at TVU.

2.11.3 Associate of the London College of Music (ALCM)

This Diploma is at level 2. It is assessed in a variety of ways, depending upon which option is chosen. The performance version includes a paperwork assessment and a recital. The teaching version includes an extended essay and a recital, and there are also composition and conducting versions. All versions of the ALCM have a credit rating of 20 credits at Level 2 against Performance Studies of the BMus (Hons) degree at TVU.

2.11.4 Licentiate of the London College of Music (LLCM)

This Diploma is at level 3. It is assessed in a variety of ways, depending upon which option is chosen. The performance version includes a paperwork assessment and a recital. The teaching version includes a dissertation and a recital, and there are also composition, conducting and thesis versions. Most versions of the LLCM have a credit rating of 20 credits at level 3 against Performance Studies of the BMus (Hons) degree at TVU, the exception being the thesis option, which is credited against the dissertation module in the BMus.

2.11.5 Fellow of the London College of Music (FLCM)

This is an advanced diploma, being the highest award made from LCM External Exams. It has a number of options: performance, composition, conducting, thesis and church music. All require a postgraduate level of attainment, and are seen as professional qualifications. The FLCM has a credit rating at M Level. Performance options including conducting are given a value of 20 credits against Instrumental Studies in the MMus at TVU. The composition option receives 40 credits against Practical Composition 1 in the MMus, and FLCM by thesis is given 60 credits against the MMus dissertation.

Allie must have received the result by now. Come on, Allie, what did you get?

Liz

Hey everyone who replied! Thanks for all your replies they really reassured me, and guess what... I passed! Yay! I got the results last week, and I actually got 127 which is a merit so I was soooo pleased and very very very shocked!! Thanks again!! Love Allie xxxxxxx

Leaving us in suspense all that time !!

Well done - a really good mark.

Well there you are then! Well done!

Now why is it that I never came out of exams thinking I'd done significantly worse than I really had?

No, don't answer that!

Lzi

yes, i passed the DipLCM in piano performance a year and a half ago and will be sitting the ALCM exams at Christmas. And yes, I was aware that TVU have pitched DipLCM as being Level 1 and ALCM at Level 2, however DipLCM is a mixture of grade 8 and ALCM, i.e. 2 pieces from grade 8 syllabus and 2 from ALCM. But if you look closely at the syllabuses for the associate diplomas (ALCM, ATCL, DipABRSM), you will find that the ALCM is actually more technically demanding...yet the ABRSM have once again "over-rated" themselves by pitching the DipABRSM higher than ALCM & ATCL - if you look at the syllabus you will find that they pitch ALCM & ATCL as equivalent to Grade 8!! ...which is rediculous...

Wish I could mess up like that...

Well done.

Well done!

Car Expert

I m the one of the failed candidate of Dip.I did my Dip today,I think cant pass.
Y?since do the grade exam also worry till grade 8.
anywer take grade candidates don b worry,that is not easy to fail.cos I never fail in grade exam,but failed one time in Dip,I think this year is the 2nd time to fail.
sorry,feel very down.
I also prepared well,no mistakes and memorise some pages,but during exam,I missed a note ,make me stop a while to flip back.sigh...
from this experience ,I think I don wan to memorise next time cos I Know I will be extremely nervous.

If you are willing, I would be very interested indeed to read the comments you got, related to the marks. Someone else has obliged me on this on the diplomas thread.



Probably that will vary according to the instrument. I'm doing dipLCM on viola and there is little difference. Of course that could well be because there is so little repertoire for viola!



It would indeed be ridiculous if that's what they mean, but chances are they just mean they won't accept ALCM and ATCL as equivalent to dipABRSM - still very arrogant but not quite as bad as regarding them as only on a par with grade 8!

Thanks for your answer.

Liz