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All Students preparing for Grade exams are
recommended to use the Hofnotes on-line
training pages to practise for the aural tests.
At
higher grades you must be able to discuss with the examiner musical
features such as texture,
form,
style, and
period of a piece of music.
My own web pages to help with these parts of the test at Grade 5+ and at
GCSE
are available
here!
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Advantages
- exams are an external benchmark of ability
- they give you the chance to perform to an
expert outsider
- pupil and teacher get useful feedback
- they provide an extra incentive to regular and structured
practising
- the exam structure aims to develop a rounded technique
- exams provide a target
- you get valuable performance
experience
- you learn how to prepare and
perfect your performance
- scales
once learnt thoroughly are never forgotten
- exam preparation can be used
to build the skills of a rounded musician, such as
memorising and
sight reading
- you get to play pieces from a range of musical
periods and styles, which
you may not encounter otherwise
- exam Selected Pieces are
usually good value volumes with good variety
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Disadvantages
- taking exams can get obsessive and competitive
- the process taps into the extrinsic motivations of pupil, teacher and
parent - not intrinsic ones
- feedback is far from immediate
- a disappointing mark can be a big set back if expectations are
not realistic, or if you just have a bad day
- exams could be said to narrow the music-making curriculum (jazz, theory and general
musicianship are separate strands)
- many exam boards exclude certain areas of repertoire (eg.
contemporary)
- the exam 'track' pre-judges a 'normal' rate of development - "I must do an
exam a year!" - instead of being responsive to the
development of the individual learner
- grade exams are not cheap
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Before you enter for an exam,
consider:
- Are you prepared to play the same pieces for a long time in order to
perfect them, even the ones you don't particularly like?
- Do you have time for the daily practice of pieces and scales you will
need in the weeks before the exam?
- How would you feel if you didn't do as well as you hoped?
 Remember, you could get a lot of
the advantages, and very few of the disadvantages, from preparing and
playing in festivals, concerts and master classes. Exams are NOT
the only way to measure progress and performance!
Go to Top
tips for performers, from the
ABRSM
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On the day of the exam:
Hints and tips for exam day
can be found
here:
Print exam
running order slips
updated
25/06/2011 |
        
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