Time is running out

[chillout]

Ive got 1 week left before I sit my grade8 abrsm exam and looking for any tips on how I should practice.
Is it a good idea to play each piece over 10 times a day and do scales for an hour a day.Is it a good idea to play really slow at a grave tempo or play really fast?

Is this last week the most important period before the exam?

Any advice I will be greatfull.

Daz

[nicco]

The best thing to do is play your pieces for some friends, family etc. That way you will see which parts needs to be perfected and you can ask your listeners what they think and possibly would change.

[counterpoint]

The best thing to do is play your pieces for some friends, family etc. That way you will see which parts needs to be perfected and you can ask your listeners what they think and possibly would change.

That's a good advice!

And playing the pieces more often in slow motion under different aspects (different shades of dynamics, expression, ease of movements) is better than playing them 10 times a day in full tempo from beginning to the end.

[gruffalo]

yea, you can short cut the learning process by performing to as many people as possible, and remembering those bits that slipped up or the parts that nearly did. then practice the hell out of em, in a constructive way offcourse. try re-memorizing or if you havent already memorized, do it (being able to play without the score doesnt necessarily mean you have memorized it).

[rc]

The last time I performed, I was playing a piece that was a challenge for me, I'd worked at it long enough that I knew the notes, but the week prior I was lazy and didn't practice it much...  Soon it was the night before and I wasn't feeling too secure with the piece.

Two mind-tricks I used that gave good results the next day:

1.  Practicing hearing it perfectly in my head.  Because I've had the notes learned for a while, it seemed to me the mental block was that I had the wrong focus when playing.  So I tried this, and to my surprise I didn't really have a solid grasp of what I wanted it to sound like!  But it didn't take too long before I did.  This made a big difference, because when I sat down I could concentrate on the ideal music I'd worked out in my head - and with my mind focused on creating that, I made far less errors and the piece came out very musically, with good feel.

2.  When I DID sit down to play the piece at the keyboard, I imagined myself to be performing as vividly as possible (being in an unknown room, surrounded by educated critics, when I look down at my piano I imagined it was a different piano and I didn't know how it would react to my touch...), until it actually felt like I was in a performance.  I felt stagefright, then focused my mind on the music to overcome it.  I did this a few times, each time I felt more comfortable. 

When I made it to perform the next day, I felt pretty comfortable with the whole thing and it came off pretty well (not perfectly, but the missed notes were few and the music came out meaningfully).  It was a useful practice for me, I'll probably be doing it to prepare for future performances.  Maybe it could help you.