I had a young lad do his piano Grade 2 a couple of weeks ago. Everything was prepared well before his exam (scales a little ropey but pieces all fine) and he had recently got a distinction on another instrument. But when he started his pieces, they sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. They were all about a quarter of the speed he usually plays and there were so many wrong notes it was hard to tell what the pieces were. Everything fell apart and I was absolutely stunned at this.
LUCKILY the examiner passed him (102!!) and his aurals were the only thing that saved him (18/18). BUT what can I do to stop this kind of thing happening again? Other pupils of mine who had things pretty much perfect before the exam also just fell apart and received marks that, fair enough - they reflected the performance on the day -but really they deserved much higher.

What can I do to assure them they should just relax? I always say just take a couple of seconds before you start things to make sure youre hands are ready and you know in your head what it is theyve asked you (e.g. scales) but when their pieces are FINE beforehand....is there really anything a teacher can do??

Poor flutey! You must feel so down! At least he passed... Some students just fall apart in an exam situation. Remember this is not his instrument it will feel, look and even sound different. Compare to, say a flute exam where at least that is the same. The only thing I can suggest is to let this student know firstly, that he is good enough to pass - and he's better than the examiner heard on that day. Does he feel everything went wrong? I would also give him exposure to as many different pianos as possible to increase his confidence in playing on a strange-feeling instrument.
Great effort on the aurals!

Thanks Suzy! Yes I do feel a bit down, because when you get a set of results that arent great (and you know that they deserve better!) you feel that its all your fault. He came out of the exam with a very stunned look on his face and he said he just didnt know what happened in there - his fingers just didnt work and he coudlnt remember anything. Admittedly, he has a clavinova at home but its pretty much a real piano! And he got a good merit for his Grade 1. Who knows what happened in there...but we wont be doing another exam for a while!
His sisters almost got distinctions for their exams (piano and flute) so thats something! AT least the mother cant blame me too much!

Not the most experienced of opinions but from someone who is very nervous about performing/exams here's what I would think.

As I'm sure that you're aware, playing in front of an audience or in an exam is a completely different thing to being able to play to oneself with no-one else listening. As you have made it through a degree at the RCM I'd guess that you're naturally more confident in performing than most people (either that or have done a lot more to overcome it at an early age). I think that many people need to go into the exam fully confident that they can play the pieces well and knowing what to expect. Any performing experience can help a nervous performer become less intimdated by an audience/exam and successes give a real confidence boost; whilst of course failures can mean taking many steps backwards so caution is needed.

Most of what I have to suggest probably seems obvious but here goes:

• Have you tried a mock exam with the students to get them used to what to expect and hopefully to make them feel the nerves before the day and learn to cope with them (do your best official examiner voice and don't talk to them as you would in a lesson)?
• How about organising a little concert for your pupils to play in? Or if that's not possible try just asking the person who is in the following lesson to arrive early so that two pupils can play for each other, again getting them performance experience. Even encouraging them to do a mini recital for their family/friends might help them.
• The final suggestion I have which always helps me is overpreparation, don't do the exam that's the limit of their abilities and the hardest one they could achieve do the one that they will feel comfortable with (although I'm not suggesting staying on grade 1 forever!) and work at a good slow pace, that way the pupils know that they're doing grade 2 but can already play grade 3 pieces so they'll have the extra confidence that it's 'easy' for them.

The thing I find with nerves is that the thing I'm most nervous about is being nervous: I know I could do all the things if I wasn't nervous; it's just the being nervous part that causes the problem. It's a slightly mad situation but not an avoidable one so make sure that he is aware that he will be nervous but knows, through experience, that he can overcome this (of course exams are part of the process of learning to do this).

Thanks Anotherpianist-some good ideas there. Actually after I came away from the exam centre I just thought, maybe I coudl somehow hire a church hall and organise a mini concert for all my pupils in that area. Almost all of them seem to get nervous (in fact a lot of them this time round failed sections of their exams due to nerves - but no fails so thats ok!!) so it might be a good idea for them to get more experience of solo performing. The flutes all play in various ensembles but this of course isnt the same as playing alone.

He WAS well prepared (one piece was rather tricky for him) and he used to whizz thorugh his pieces perfectly but he must have just had a bad day.

PS Believe me, I have suffered badly from nerves all through the years Ive been playing the flute. Its probably the main reason I dont want to become a performer - Id end up having a heart attack after a short while!

I know how he feels about nerves - I play very nicely on my own, but put anyone in the room with me and I break out in a sweat and the notes go all over the place!

Which pieces did he do? My results this session for G2 have been ok, but in particular, the ones who did the Musette (A1) got lower than I expected for it, as the jumps weren't as stable as in the lessons. No fails either - phew

Mini-concerts are a good idea, pianists don't often play in a group on their instruments, or even in front of many people.

There is a peculiar phenomenon that can sometimes kick in because children pick up the 'vibes' from previous candidates. If a couple go wrong early on, this can result in a feeling of generalised unease being passed from one to the next as they congregate in the waiting room.

The opposite also happens. I have seen countless examples of both at exams and music festivals. When I have a group of candidates, I try to start with one of the best to get good vibes going.

Steve

I think thats true Steve. Not only this but the examiner started early and so the lad ended up having to go in striaght away. I think this threw him a bit.

Suzy- he did the Musette (normally he shows off by showing me how fast he can do it - with accurate jumps as well!) but the jumps were WAY out - he was hitting really high notes each time he jumped. Then he did The Moth - now this was a tricky one for him (but after playing the beginnings of ech one initially this was the B one he wanted!) and finally Get in Step I think?! Now THIS one he actualy failed! I cannot believe it as this one he managed to learn in about a week. He started it about half the normal speed and it really sounded like he had never played it before.

The poor lad - he suprised himself I think! Hes normally a very outgoing person. Anyway its done now....

But i will definitely think about setting up a pupils concert before the next summer exam session to give them a solo opportunity.

It is worth while remembering that a candidate cannot be made to start an exam early, however much that may suit the examiner. Either candidate, parent or teacher are entitled to say to the steward that the candidate is not ready, was expecting to go in at such-and-such a time and has prepared accordingly. Stewards are usually understanding - they have read the rules too. Usually.


A programme absolutely designed to go wrong when nerves kick in (that's not a criticism); one with huge jumps to be missed; a second with the requirement for a filigree touch to suddenly turn into leaden thumping; a third with all sorts of staccato to throw nervous fingers off position.

No wonder the poor lad panicked when things went astray

I think this is a common problem with less experienced players which is mainly down to performance experience. Playing yourself or to your own teacher is one thing. Performing to unfamiliar people is quite another. I have lots of performing experience and I still do things in exams I would not normally do. It is well worth having a few performances/mock exams, or even setting up some with friends/family members, or people students don't know, to get performing practise.

Erm.. I don't think I played the same in exams as I did outside, for friends, teachers, colleagues, family, and concerts. It seems totally different somehow. It's like one shot in a million.

How come you could hear him? At our Centre nobody is allowed to be within earshot which, I believe, is the ABRSM requirement.

Do you think the thought of people listening outside the room as well as inside might have put him off?

Just a thought?

I don't know about flutey toot, but I could hear my students play too if I wanted to!
The exam room was just NEXT to the waiting room and the examiner left the door a little ajar. It was the same for two different examiners in my area. Because I went there in June as well as last week. Probably afraid that the steward wasn't on his toes or something, I expect.

You can certainly hear the candidates at my local centre, as older students often "report back" on younger pupils - not in an unkind way, but I often get comments about how others have sounded.

People are all different, and to give you another slant on nerves, I am a confident performer in public on horn and double bass and as an accompanist, but liable to disaster when I try to play piano solos.

Do you mean he had to go in before his appointed time? If anyone suggests that another time you have the right to insist that he is allowed to prepare until his scheduled time. I've done that on various occasions for children I've been accompanying. If the examiner is ready early it's fine for the next candidate to be given the option to go in early (and get it over with!) but they are NOT obliged to do so. The Board asks candidates to be at the centre ten minutes before their due time, so it obviously doesn't want them arriving and immediately having to go into the exam room.

That's an excellent idea anyway. Could you perhaps get some of them playing together in duets or trios? There's even one piece for four pianists at one piano that I think I've mentioned before: Les noces d'argent by Chaminade. Great fun!

Do mocks with them in the weeks leading up to the exam. Make them rather serious and do them in exam conditions. Write things down while they're playing and then give them the breakdown afterwards.

I did this with a very nervous pupil just recently; it was a great way of finding out exactly where his weaknesses were (and his strengths). I marked quite strictly and he got 122 the first time, 117 the second time (we went into it without a warm-up) and 125 the third time (after a warm-up).

He had a warm-up at my house just before the exam and in the end got a merit with 122 and some very nice comments. He said the mocks had really helped and made him much less nervous because he knew exactly what to expect.

Preparation is all, it really is.

Violinia

How did you expect him to do flutey toot? What - an examiner early? Thats unusual. It sounds as if it may have unsettled him by going in earlier than he was expecting especially if he didn't have a chance to warm-up before he went in. If its a confidence thing, obviously perfoming in front of others would be invaluable for him, but it may be worth considering letting him repeat his exam. He would be hopefully more confident taking it a second time knowing he has already passed it and if he were to get a high merit/distinction it would help him immensely. This worked with one of my students.

Evening all! Yes- the examiner started early yet when the stwerad asked if he was ready he seemed fine, he was his usual calm self.
Next point - the walls are like paper at this centre so everyone can hear what is being played. I dont think its a great situation to be honest.
He was as prepared as he was ever going to be -scales were fine MOST of the time, Musette and Get in Step were great, the Moth was a little hesitant, but hey - these were the pieces he chose and Im not going to stop him doing them.

I was expecting him to get a comfortable merit - but he is glad that he passed even if by the skin of his teeth! I was thinking of maybe getting him to repeat the exam for his own piece of mind but we will see. not seeing them again til after holidays.

As for my other lot - I am going to be much more strict with them and actually show my annoyance when they dont practise. I am a bit too soft with them and I think im going to be more picky with EVERYthing with my Grade 5+ pupils. This means war!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Sorry noodle didnt mean to scare you!
All I mean is I am not letting them get away with half-hearted playing. They have done Grade 5, all got passes which quite frankly Im not that happy with BUT they did all get very nervous so its not ALL their fault. Unfortunately from Grade 5+ I think examiners are quite right to expect a heck of a lot more than previous grades. Scales should be 100% so at least in the exam mistakes will be few and far between, and pieces should be 100% under the fingers. If I dont think they will get a merit next time, im being ruthless and not putting them in.
Saying that, it could be a long time as none have done Grade 5 theory so maybe thats a good thing!!!

No. You didn't scare me. I think you are absolutely right. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right!!