Exam!

[pianochick93]

OK, so I just got told today that my piano exam is in one week.

Most of my pieces are alright, but I'm having trouble with Tanets by Kabalevsky. Anyone got any ideas that will work fast? I only have about 3/4 hour to practice per day.

Just finger coordination at fairly fast speeds is my problem. I'm thinking just practice will help.

[pianochick93]

Bahaha, I have solved my Kabalevsky problem by hopefully switching pieces. I just need to see if my piano teacher thinks it is a good idea, because I might not have enough variation.

The piece I would be playing instead is Miriam Hyde's Melody for the Left Hand. I can sight read it better than I can play the Kabalevsky.

Anyway, how do I not panic.

[hyrst]

How come you only found out today?  Your teacher should have known six weeks ago.  You would have paid two months ago, too.  Not a good idea to prepare last minute for an exam, but I wish you well with it.

If you still work on the Kabalevsky, work on short sections of a couple of bars and go over them ten or twenty times in a row.  Start with a larger drop forward from the wrists and work towards a faster speed with small, quick wrist movements.  Once you have direct accuracy, the speed should increase automatically.  Focus on using the wrist and make sure you are not using the lower arm.  Quickly get into the keys and out again.  (A quick tap) Use your lower arm to move your fingers over the keys sideways instead of trying to move across the keys using your fingers.  Make sure you lift well and don't get 'stuck' in the keys for a moment.

It is not a long or complicated piece so you should have time to get this done if you focus on small sections.

With the AMEB at grade 4, variety of programme is not an issue.  Both Tanets and Melody are list A, so that should not be a reason for not playing it.

However, Melody is almost as fast as Tanets and is nearly all played with the left hand and requires maturity of expression.  Musically, Tanets is a far easier piece.

Take your teacher's advice, though.

About not panicking - proper preparation is really the best way.  However, you have made a decision about how you have used your time - just work with full concentration as much as possible over the next few days.  Give it everything you have got.  An exam is not the end of the world - if you don't pass, you still can move forward in your grades and pieces.  The reason for exams at your level is to learn how to manage the demands of structured practice / performance preparation and to receive a reward for your efforts.

[pianochick93]

How come you only found out today?  Your teacher should have known six weeks ago.  You would have paid two months ago, too.  Not a good idea to prepare last minute for an exam, but I wish you well with it.

She only got the message today, I think AMEB forgot about me
I was preparing for ages, just not as much as I should've been for the last month or so if I had known it is next week. I was thinking we'd have at least another 3 weeks.

If you still work on the Kabalevsky, work on short sections of a couple of bars and go over them ten or twenty times in a row.  Start with a larger drop forward from the wrists and work towards a faster speed with small, quick wrist movements.  Once you have direct accuracy, the speed should increase automatically.  Focus on using the wrist and make sure you are not using the lower arm.  Quickly get into the keys and out again.  (A quick tap) Use your lower arm to move your fingers over the keys sideways instead of trying to move across the keys using your fingers.  Make sure you lift well and don't get 'stuck' in the keys for a moment.

I'll keep that in mind, but I don't think I'll be doing the Kabalevsky anymore. I like the Hyde piece a lot more, and I was going to do that untilI heard my piano teacher play the Kabalevsky. I thought it was cute. Now I think it's ever-so-slightly evil.

With the AMEB at grade 4, variety of programme is not an issue.  Both Tanets and Melody are list A, so that should not be a reason for not playing it.

It was more tempo variety we were concerned about. We also have Chopin Prelude 6 for List B, Triplet Falls by Kerin Bailey for List C, and Une Larme by Mussorsgky and Elfin Dance by Greig for Extra lists.

However, Melody is almost as fast as Tanets and is nearly all played with the left hand and requires maturity of expression.  Musically, Tanets is a far easier piece.

I think I'm better musically than technically, at least in terms of the two pieces.

About not panicking - proper preparation is really the best way.  However, you have made a decision about how you have used your time - just work with full concentration as much as possible over the next few days.  Give it everything you have got.  An exam is not the end of the world - if you don't pass, you still can move forward in your grades and pieces.  The reason for exams at your level is to learn how to manage the demands of structured practice / performance preparation and to receive a reward for your efforts.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind on Monday night when I'm stressing just for the sake of stressing.

[hyrst]

Mmmm...
AMEB, so I hear but not from personal experience, has been known to mess up exam schedules.  I have had a schedule for my students for 6 weeks, and renewed lettters within 48 hours each time the schedule has changed.

I like the Kabalevsky, but I understand your sentiments


It sounds to me that you have quite a bit of variety technically, and tempo is quite adequate.  I would go with what is comfortable.  Anyway, variety really is not at point at this level.  It doesn't affect your outcome.

Do remember that the exam really is of little consequence at this grade - although we teachers  are loathe to promote such an idea (some students would never practice!)  Do the best you can and treat it as a good opportunity to get feedback from someone other than your teacher - and hopefully you'll get a nice certificate.

Chin up!

[pianochick93]

Do remember that the exam really is of little consequence at this grade - although we teachers  are loathe to promote such an idea (some students would never practice!)  Do the best you can and treat it as a good opportunity to get feedback from someone other than your teacher - and hopefully you'll get a nice certificate.

The only reason I'm doing it is for the scales/technical work. Otherwise I wouldn't bother with exams at all. I can do year 12 music performance to get into Uni, I don't a grade 6 or 7 passed exam.
But yeah...if it weren't for exams I wouldn't have motivation to actually learn scales.

And I definitely practice, even though results don't really matter. I do well in things, and I'm not gonna break that tradition now.

My chin is set resolutely up!

[hyrst]

Good on you and good luck!   

Is the exam Tuesday?  Write back and let me know how you went.  It sounds like you are feeling more confident.  Stick with it.  I look forward to hearing more.

[ryanyee]

kabalevsky? i thought he composed difficult pieces? didnt know there were easy ones. same thing. play slowly, check fingering blah blah

[slobone]

Well, the Kabalevsky Sonatina is pretty easy. If I can play it anybody can! 

[pianochick93]

Yeah, but that isn't in the options for pieces (at least I don't think it is)

I had a piano lesson tonight, and I'm gonna do fine, except probably for my Aural stuff. They ask us to clap back rhythms, but by the time they finish the rhythm, I can't remember how it starts.

I've officially changed to the Hyde piece, it's so much easier technically, and I can grasp the musical stuff better than I can grasp the technical.

[ryanyee]

same here im horrible at remembering all those stuff related to aural. well i havent heard of kabalevsky until last month only. im a very restricted person in terms of music and even guns.

[pianochick93]

Just got back from it, it went for ages.

Pieces were good, I stuffed up a couple of times but kept playing, a couple of times I didn't depress the keys quite enough so they wouldn't play.
Scales were good, majorly stuffed up the fingering for Bb minor, but it was either that or have the scale in a muddle, at least that way I kept playing.
Sightreading was waaaaay too easy.
Aural was better than I thought it would be. I didn't panic about remembering the rhythms, so I managed to remember them. Singing the higher and lower notes of a sequence was also not too hard. Middle notes of a tried I'm glad I practiced, but that went pretty well as well.

I was shaking the whole way through though, whether from cold or nervousness or a combination...I don't know.

[hyrst]

Sounds like you are reasonably happy with the way you went.  Did you manage to get B?  You did the right thing to keep playing - scales and pieces.  Were the piano keys heavier than you expected?  How was the Melody?  Are you happy with the choice you made there?  Was any of the feedback helpful?

[pianochick93]

The Melody was probably my easiest piece.
The keys were a little heavier than I expected, but mostly it was unfamiliarity with the piano. I thought I had pressed it down just enough to get a quiet sound, but it wasn't quite enough.
The examiner didn't really give me any feedback at the time, except for 'watch your fingering' for the scale that I stuffed up. I should know my grade in about a week.

[hyrst]

It must be hard to wait.  I let my students know  straight away - I attend the exams and wait for them so we can look at the report together.  Good luck.

[pianochick93]

I think last time I had an exam it took about 2 weeks for the reports to get out. This time it will only take about one apparently.
My teacher gets it and then gives it to me the next lesson we have.

I want to know what I got sooner than that though.

[hyrst]

Would your teacher be OK if you called her?

[pianochick93]

Yeah, she would, but I'd rather wait until I can read it. My lesson isn't that far away after we get results.

They said next monday or tuesday, and if it's late, it'l be about wednesday, and my lesson is thursday.

[ryanyee]

Just got back from it, it went for ages.

Pieces were good, I stuffed up a couple of times but kept playing, a couple of times I didn't depress the keys quite enough so they wouldn't play.
Scales were good, majorly stuffed up the fingering for Bb minor, but it was either that or have the scale in a muddle, at least that way I kept playing.
Sightreading was waaaaay too easy.
Aural was better than I thought it would be. I didn't panic about remembering the rhythms, so I managed to remember them. Singing the higher and lower notes of a sequence was also not too hard. Middle notes of a tried I'm glad I practiced, but that went pretty well as well.

I was shaking the whole way through though, whether from cold or nervousness or a combination...I don't know.

oh congrats then! sounds a lot better going than my grade 8 exam last year.

[pianochick93]

I got the results back today...my teacher has had them for awhile, but we didn't have a lesson.
I got a B+, which isn't as good as I could've got. I would've got an A except that I wasn't doing Jazz Quavers in Triplet Falls. I got all but one right in my aural, a fingering thingy with my arpeggios (damn B minor, and it's 5-4-1 fingering rather than 5-3-1), and a slight slip in F Chromatic.

I did a hell of a lot better than I thought I would with my aural stuff.

[hyrst]

B+ is a good mark.  Well done. 

Are you heading into grade 4 now?  It sounds, from some of your posts, that you are playing higher than this.  Are you going to skip any grades?

[pianochick93]

That was grade 4 that I just did, and yeah, I am playing higher than that. I would've been doing grade 5 except that my scales and technical work weren't quite up to scratch.

So I'm doing grade 5 now I think, unless I decide that I don't want to do exams, and just learn some pieces at that level.

[ryanyee]

well that's great then congrats!

[hyrst]

Oops, sorry  I meant grade 5.  Good luck with your continued work.