just failed my Grade 4 piano exam

[pianoplayer51]

I just found out that I did not pass my ABRSM Grade 4 exam.  I played ok before the exam and did all my scales well but went to pieces in the exam (I was not very well).  I feel like a failure as Grade 4 is a fairly intermediate exam.  I am not sure whether to re-take the exam because I have to pay for it and it is expensive.   I feel embarrassed more than anything else because children sit these exams and pass and so do other adults.  I am loathed to go in for it again in case I fail again and then I would have paid the expensive fee again and for what?  I cannot afford to keep paying and failing.  

How important are exams to the adult learner who is only doing this as a hobby?   I liked the challenge but now I fear the challenge is too great and I am not as good as I thought.    I was ready to sell my piano and stop but I do love playing so I can still play and enjoy it to a certain extent.   I am too embarrassed to tell people I have failed in case they laugh at me and think oh but its not hard and she could not pass.

I was thinking that to save face I could lie and say I passed.  None of my friends have ever asked to see my previous certificates so they wont ask to see the Grade 4 one and if they then say ok how about Grade 5, I could say I have decided not to go any further.  (The truth being, if I cannot pass Grade 4 then I have no hope of trying Grade 5)

My teacher wanted me to buy the Grade 5 books which includes theory before I had got my results for Grade 4 and I said that was a mistake in case I do not pass Grade 4.  Why do teachers jump the gun and get students to do this.  It is far better to wait until you get your results and then buy the books and start looking at the next Grade.

[pianoplayer51]

Whilst looking through this forum, someone else posted that they failed their Grade 3 exam.   However, they went on to study for Grade 4 and passed and they are now doing Grade 5.   

Why do people do this?   Wouldnt it be better to re-do the grade you failed before moving on?

[j_menz]

How important are exams to the adult learner who is only doing this as a hobby?  

Only you can answer that for you.  How important is doing exams to you?

I've never felt the need for piano (though I have done more than my fair share in other endeavours).

[lazyfingers]

Sorry to hear you didn't get through. Before you get too down and not to denigrate the ABRSM (or any examination system for that matter), the only "important" ones are Grade 5 theory and Grade 8 as they are prerequisites for bigger and better things later.

You can skip everything else in between if it suits. My opinion is there is no need to repeat if you fail because of some illness. What matters is that your teacher obviously thinks you are ready for something more, and a poor performance on the day would not change that.

BTW: I did all the odds until Grade 8 years ago. Others did all the evens but with Grade 5 theory. So, it is pretty flexible. Although they have to make it discrete numbers, actually musical ability is a continuum.

Best regards

[pianoplayer51]

Thanks.  I know I am capable of the Grade requirements because I played them fine in the run up to the exam.  On the day of the exam, I was up half the night before with a bad toothache and had to get some very strong painkillers which made me feel quite nauseous.  The other fact was that it was an extremely hot and humid day and that made me feel worse.  When I arrived at the exam centre, the usher looked at me and said "are you ok, you do not look well"  to which I replied "no I am not ok but I will be ok to sit the exam" to which she said "but you don't have to go through with it if you are not well" to which I said "but I have travelled all this way and it would be a shame not to at least try"

Oh well..

[quantum]

My teacher wanted me to buy the Grade 5 books which includes theory before I had got my results for Grade 4 and I said that was a mistake in case I do not pass Grade 4.  Why do teachers jump the gun and get students to do this.  It is far better to wait until you get your results and then buy the books and start looking at the next Grade.

By dwelling on what is already done, one can intensify anxieties about oneself.  What is done is done, move forward.  An exam result does not define a person's ability.  I would agree with your teachers suggestions of getting started on grade 5.

Does ABRSM allow to retake only the portions of the exam you failed?  This is an option with other grading systems.  

How important are exams to the adult learner who is only doing this as a hobby?  

They are good for obtaining credentials.  They are good for setting yourself a challenge.  They are often misused in assessing skill levels.  


Failure sucks, but it does not signify lack of growth or progress or learning.  In fact, failure is a part of learning.  If we can put aside our anxieties about failure and recognize what we have learned as the result of it and how far we have come, we can put failure to good use as a learning tool.

[pianoplayer51]

Yes true.  I am not sure about Grade 5.  From now on I would just like to learn without doing exams.  There is a church near me and the organist is extremely good.  He also runs the choir.  I asked him what level of exams he got up to and he said none.  He never liked exams so never took them and yet he is the church organist and choir director.  He can fluently read sheet music to a good standard and knows a good deal of theory and can play pieces at Grade 7 standard, but because he does not like taking exams, he never did any music exams.

This proves that you can reach a high standard without sitting an exam.  The only reason people sit exams is to get into music college or to teach music.  My teacher says the discipline of an exam is very good, and yes it is, but constantly going over the pieces ready for the exam day in and day out for hours on end is not going to get you far.  All it means is that you have mastered the art of three exam pieces in parrot fashion in order to play them well enough to pass an exam.  I have come to realise that it is better to play lots of pieces at a particular level than just two or three pieces for a 6 months to a year for an exam until you are so sick of them, you never want to see them again.

[quantum]

I understand your desire to learn without exams.  My personal taste in repertoire is rather eclectic, and when I was doing the RCM grades I felt very constrained when practicing music for a particular exam.  Personally, it felt like I made more headway when making repertoire choices outside the syllabus. 

[pianoplayer51]

yes but when you make your own choices of what to play, you can become rigid.  I take lessons from a music school and during the summer holiday when the school is closed, my teacher gave me some pieces to play.  She gave me a couple of show songs one being over the rainbow from the Wizard of Oz and one other and one classical.

I do not like playing tunes from shows.  I did try to play Over the Rainbow, if only to brush up my sight reading skills if nothing else, but I soon put it aside and got out one of my own pieces, Bach Prelude in C, which to be honest, I much preferred playing. 

I once heard an interview by the French pianist Helene Grimaud who said when she was a piano student, she did not like the things her teacher gave her to play and wanted to play what she wanted to play and her teacher said if you do not do as I say you may not continue to learn here, so Helene left for a while and went home and did her own thing, and played what she wanted to play and then when she had done that, she felt ready to return to school and do as her teacher said and play what she was requiered to play for the duration of her time there.

[pianoplunker]

My teacher wanted me to buy the Grade 5 books which includes theory before I had got my results for Grade 4 and I said that was a mistake in case I do not pass Grade 4.  Why do teachers jump the gun and get students to do this.  It is far better to wait until you get your results and then buy the books and start looking at the next Grade.

It seems a bit anecdotal to say "why do teachers jump the gun.."    Your teacher probably already knows how well you play at level 4 and is not sweating about the exam. Although anytime you can get a certificate of accomplishment is a great thing to have, enjoying the piano is more important to you and your teacher. Nothing wrong with moving on. The main thing is, can you pass your family&friends exam :-)

[pianoman1349]

From a person who has completed the whole RCM system, I can understand your frustration.

Not that I am an advocate for the examination systems, exams are important because they do give an objective third person evaluation on your progress.

Your teacher probably told you to start on the grade 5 stuff mainly because she figured you were ready for it.  Your examination results are not really indicative of your readiness to move on in your studies. 

As a teacher, I have usually found the grade 5 exam actually easier for students to pass and acheive great marks with than the grade 4 exam, as the repertoire choices are more idiomatic and pleasurable to play, and the technical requirements seem to be more easily acheived.  The same can be said about the RCM grade 7 exam.

I would recommend you take some time to study repertoire that really interests you and move away from the exams for a while.  You can easily skip examination levels without problems.

Best of luck

[outin]

This proves that you can reach a high standard without sitting an exam. 

Isn't that quite obvious, it's not the exams that make you learn.

[quantum]

yes but when you make your own choices of what to play, you can become rigid. 

I find that intriguing, would you care to elaborate?  How would someone else making choices on your behalf make you less rigid?

I've personally felt more joy in discovering music on my own, then what has been prescribed by any grading system or what was was listed in university course descriptions.  One of the elements of music education that I feel is lacking in many grading systems is tools for the self-discovery of musics.  Students are given little instruction on how to seek out music.  

As others have said, feel free to skip grades (I've done a lot of that).  It is not absolutely necessary to follow each grade consecutively.  

[outin]

yes but when you make your own choices of what to play, you can become rigid.  

One can, but not necessarily. And choosing your own or having exams are clearly not the only choices. It's just as possible for the teacher to assign suitable pieces and exercises than selecting from a syllabus. Or the student can pick pieces from the syllable requirements without actually taking the exams.

Isn't the only real difference of the exam route compared to a balanced study plan from a teacher just to test one's playing under pressure, get a second opinion and the papers you get? The first two CAN be done outside the exam system as well and what's the real value of the third for most adults?

And finally, isn't what counts really just what it is that you want to do with the piano and the music? In most exam systems I would be forced to play many pieces I don't like at all, so usually just avoid  (like a bunch of classical era pieces). If I won't, will I be a fully versatile player? Of course not, but I also do not want to study blues, ragtime, jazz piano or new age music. How is that different, if one is not looking for a career in music? I can still use a lifetime learning and playing Baroque, Romantic and early 20th century music... And always searching, I do every now and then stumble on something from the classical era that I do want to study as well...And even without exams I did suffer through some of the most common early level classical pieces... It is not lack of exams that made me rigid in this way, I was already very selective before I even touched the piano. I have never understood why it would be negative to let one's own taste be the guide in discovering music.

[outin]

discovering music on my own,

That has always been just as important for me than actually learning to realize music on the piano

[hfmadopter]

I was thinking that to save face I could lie and say I passed.  None of my friends have ever asked to see my previous certificates so they wont ask to see the Grade 4 one and if they then say ok how about Grade 5, I could say I have decided not to go any further.  (The truth being, if I cannot pass Grade 4 then I have no hope of trying Grade 5)

If you lie this off you have failed more than the exam. You know the circumstances of the exam and they were exceptional ( tooth ache, bad stomach from med, prob more side effects as well from the med and high humidity that day. That's a bad day !!). That simple and in the end even if somewhere down the road the truth always prevails anyway, so don't lie about it. So be it for that exam, move on.

[coda_colossale]

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Exams are stupid
So are grades

[bronnestam]

I have never been to any exam. I see no reason whatsoever why I should do that.

[carl_h]

It's like code_colossale says: Exams are stupid and so are grades
You should study piano/music for the love of... piano music, getting a grade might give you a minor sense of achievement that lasts about 12 seconds... then what?
The fact that you worry about what your friends might think and that you considered lying to them is worrying, re-evaluate why you are doing this please.

"I have come to realise that it is better to play lots of pieces at a particular level than just two or three pieces for a 6 months to a year for an exam until you are so sick of them, you never want to see them again." - I want to comment on this one. You should not underestimate the value of STUDYING a piece for a considerable amout of time (not repeating it everyday without giving it much thought). There is a lot to learn from a single composition, some things you only discover after maybe 6 months or whatever timeframe. However, you will not be able to do this if you don't love the music. If this is a piece given to you by your teacher and you don't particularly like it, it is impossible to spend that amount of time and concentration on it.

You study in a school, schools use methods, methods are like exams.
If it is possible for you, look out for a good private teacher. You can tell them what you want to learn, they can guide you to achieve your goals (they might assign you pieces for this but you will have very specific goals in mind) and you will not have to worry again about studying a piece you don't really like, to play it for people you don't even know, who will then "grade" you on it.

I value the idea of an (in)formal recital much more. Just playing to music you like with no strings attached.

Good luck and enjoy playing

[pianoplayer51]

My school has various modes of learning.  They do not force you to take exams. If I said to my teacher no I do not want to do exams, then she would say ok fine. 

I am currently learning to play Prelude in C by Bach and REALLY enjoying it.  I played it one afternoon at my church when nobody was listening and a visitor came in and sat down and someone commented afterwards that he said "lovely".  She wasnt sure whether he meant the church was lovely or my playing.

As for my earlier comment on being rigid (someone asked me to elaborate on that).  I meant if we only play pieces we like we dont have any variety.  Singer/songwriters like Adele etc play ballards.  I would no more play ballards than fly to the moon.  However, I do realise that in order to be a good pianist, you should be capable of playing different kinds and styles.  A woman I know is trying to carve out a career as a singer/songwriter.  She said she does not play ANY classical because she doesnt like it.  She is more of a pop style pianist and that is not me.  She plays stuff similar to Liberace, although he was a very good classically trained pianist back in his early days and I have heard and seen youtube recordings of him as a young man playing classical music with a full symphony orchestra and he is as good as any of those great pianists you hear on the classical circuit.

Anyway I will not dwell on things.  I will take my pieces and continue to learn and practice

[j_menz]

As for my earlier comment on being rigid (someone asked me to elaborate on that).  I meant if we only play pieces we like we dont have any variety. 

That can be true, but is by no means necessarily so. "Pieces I like" should be an ever expanding category. If it isn't, you might as well be dead.

[quantum]

I meant if we only play pieces we like we dont have any variety. 

That depends on the effort one puts into self-discovery of musics.  If one chooses to stay within a narrow focus and areas of familiarity and comfort, one's musical world view can be constrained.  However, if one continually seeks out to learn and pose questions about music, this process can be far wider reaching then sticking to a programmed syllabus. 

If one were to solely rely on a syllabus or one's teachers for discovery of new music, such reach would only be as wide as that of the persons on whom one is depending on.  IMO this just defeats the intent of an argument that proposes freedom from rigidity of musical discovery. 

This brings into play a related issue: breadth of knowledge vs depth of knowledge. A good learning workflow balances both of these. 

[pianoplayer51]

I found out last night that I failed by 4 marks. 

I do not know if this means I should try again and maybe pass. 

The thing that puts me off is that I have to pay again for the exam.  It is not cheap and what if I fail a second time.   I would have spent a lot of money in the hope to pass?

One part of me thinks that ok I missed it by 4 marks.  This means had I been feeling well on the day then I would have passed.   This also means I am capable of passing but do not want to sit te exam again and will not bother to do it all over again.

I have an extremely busy job.  I work long hours.  Therefore I feel the graded exams are not for me.  Take last night for example.   I did not get home until 8pm.   Then I have to relax and eat dinner and then if I was cramming for a grade exam, I would then have to go and study etc.   Grade exams do not fit my lifestyle.  Working to deadlines etc when I am already working to deadlines in my paid job at the office. 

ABRSM do an alternative which is Performance Assessments where you play something to an examiner and get feedback.  There are no deadlines, no time constraints to get up to speed by such and such a time.   Yes you go in for the Assessment tests BUT it is only ONE thing to learn and one thing to play to an examiner.   Not three pieces plus scales plus appegios plus a sight reading test.

ABRSM said the Performance Assessments are more my thing.  So that is now my way forward

[nyiregyhazi]

I found out last night that I failed by 4 marks.  

I do not know if this means I should try again and maybe pass.  

The thing that puts me off is that I have to pay again for the exam.  It is not cheap and what if I fail a second time.   I would have spent a lot of money in the hope to pass?

One part of me thinks that ok I missed it by 4 marks.  This means had I been feeling well on the day then I would have passed.   This also means I am capable of passing but do not want to sit te exam again and will not bother to do it all over again.

I have an extremely busy job.  I work long hours.  Therefore I feel the graded exams are not for me.  Take last night for example.   I did not get home until 8pm.   Then I have to relax and eat dinner and then if I was cramming for a grade exam, I would then have to go and study etc.   Grade exams do not fit my lifestyle.  Working to deadlines etc when I am already working to deadlines in my paid job at the office.  

ABRSM do an alternative which is Performance Assessments where you play something to an examiner and get feedback.  There are no deadlines, no time constraints to get up to speed by such and such a time.   Yes you go in for the Assessment tests BUT it is only ONE thing to learn and one thing to play to an examiner.   Not three pieces plus scales plus appegios plus a sight reading test.

ABRSM said the Performance Assessments are more my thing.  So that is now my way forward

Is there really any purpose to that? Why not simply book a lesson with an experienced high level pianist occasionally. You can treat it as a performance but rather than get general impressions they will work with you specifically on how to improve. The thought of paying top dollar for a vague general impression but no coaching seems pretty barmy to me. You might as well just play to a friend. A few more experienced comments on top of that don't make value for money. The value of exams is not the comments or the certificate but the organisation required to prepare and to get things up to standard. Doing things in your own time with no pressure to develop in a structured scheme, but only to play through something of your choice, doesn't give that. Even if you didn't pass the exam on this occasion, ask yourself whether you would have improved as much without working towards it. The problem with not having a structured learning pattern is that most people don't progress any where near as well when they pick up things casually and only do it for fun. It's also far easier to not bother, if you're coming home from a hard day and have no reason to practise, than if you have the goal of getting prepared for the exam.

[pianoplayer51]

I will surely practice a lot.  However, casually doing scales and pieces to no deadlines will still mean I can progress.  I have a good teacher who will make sure I progress and do all that is required without the stress of a deadline.  You can still learn all the arppegsios and scales for say, Grade 5 piano without having to do them to deadlines because you only have until such and such a date to perfect them by.

What I am trying to say is... I can get the books for Grade 5 piano and work through the syllabus and NOT sit the exam.  That way I am still learning all the things and progressing but can do it casually

[amytsuda]

I just applaud your courage to even take those exams as an adult amateur. I mean after out of school system 25 years, I can not imagine taking any exam, piano or others. Particularly when you have to take it with all these young children who have no fear of exams "yet". I am sure the person in the church meant your piano playing is lovely. I often hear a lot of expressions in adult amateur playing, even with some mistakes or less technical proficiencies. I think that's really precious. No need for exams, because exams won't be able to grade you on your expressive passion! Playing and having a stranger compliment your playing is probably the best exam, I would say. 

[pianoplayer51]

 

Thank you!  However, I do not know how that stranger is on music ability or whatever.  I have played pieces to friends who have no musical knowledge whatsoever and they say lovely.  A professional pianist with years of expereince or indeed a music teacher would listen to the same piece and say... well you can do this better it does not quite sound as it should.

I do not want strangers or friends who know nothing about how a piece SHOULD sound to say lovely because that is not an accurate evaluation.  It is not helpful to me.  

The other thing I want to ask folks on here is.......  I have now decided to scrap the exams.  However, I think I should still learn in a methodical and structured way so I thought what if I still study the Grades as if I am doing the exam, and simply not sit the exam.  I will be covering a lot of excellent ground work in a more relaxed way and still learn a lot about fingerwork etc.  

What I mean is... you learn a grade by 6 months to a year because you have a limited time in order to sit the exam.  If you take the same syllabus without doing the exam, you can take longer than that to complete everything because it doesnt matter as you are not time bound by an exam date.

I am going to talk about this with my teacher....

 

[amytsuda]

Oh no, you shouldn't underestimate the ability to feel the music your expressing among those who aren't trained. If you play it ugly, no one will sit, listen to the end or stick around, or even your friends and family would be honest to tell you (unless your friends and families are extremely politically correct, diplomatic and polite). But I agree we adult amateurs do need disciplined approaches and methodologies to improve our playing and in some sense following through syllabus does give the disciplined foundation. Good going! I will need your disciplines....

[quantum]

I do not want strangers or friends who know nothing about how a piece SHOULD sound to say lovely because that is not an accurate evaluation.  It is not helpful to me.

IMO this is not a constructive mindset for you to carry and not helpful to your growth as a musician.  A persons opinion should not be devalued for their lack of "expertise" on a subject.  

One of my university piano profs considered her mother's opinion as one of her most valuable feedback tools.  Her mother was not a musician, and did not speak musician lingo.  She could have been practicing stuff like the last five Beethoven sonatas, and the comments would be like:  that's got swing, I could almost tap my toes to that, are you playing for a funeral?, is that the new 21 century piece you were talking about, etc.  These comments proved of immense value, and helped shape the interpretations she created of these pieces.  

How SHOULD a piece of music sound anyways?  Can you definitively give an answer to that?  Does expertise entitle one to definitively answer that question?  The beauty of music is that one does not need to solidify one's performance in stone.  One can change one's interpretation and one's perspective of a piece of music with every performance.  A more important question would be: what do you think the music can sound like?

Another story: one of my other profs once submitted one of his recorded discs for review by a notable "Classical Music" critic that worked for a similarly notable newspaper.  The critic responded that he could not review the disc because he knew nothing about this particular music.  My prof (who actually has a graduate degree in music criticism) called this a pile of BS.  You do not need to know anything about the music in order to describe how it sounds, how it makes you feel, what your first impressions were about it.  A person's two ears and the parts in between are all that's really needed.  

[j_menz]

The problem with not having a structured learning pattern is that most people don't progress any where near as well when they pick up things casually and only do it for fun. It's also far easier to not bother, if you're coming home from a hard day and have no reason to practise, than if you have the goal of getting prepared for the exam.

Exams are only one form of structure. It is also possible to structure your learning in other ways. And not everyone needs or thrives with much structure.

It is also important to not confuse "as well" with "as fast". Piano is not the same priority in everyone's lives, and so there may not be the same need for speed present that is the case for younger students with career ambitions related to it. Neither does it serve the same purpose; it may be more about relaxation, enjoyment or personal growth than any pressing desire to get on and get on quickly.

I fear that this is another instance where you struggle to see beyond your own perspective.

This is not an argument against exams per se, by the way - it is up to the individual to consider what role they may play in their learning and whether that is useful or appropriate.

[pianoplayer51]

Yes for the first time since I started learning piano, I have realised that what I was doing was seeing how quickly I can pass the exams.  That is not constructive learning.  All I was doing was sitting these exams and boasting that I am up to such and such a grade and hanging my certificates on my wall for all to view  

My teacher was actively encouraging this.. Why I dont know

 

I was also watching these professional pianists and thinking if they can do it so can I... BUT they are not me and I am not them.  We all have different learning capabilities and are not all the same and it doesn't matter if I am not as good a pianist as Lang Lang, or Helene Grimaud.   The most important thing is that I enjoy it at the level I am at.  The danger of wanting to copy these professionals is that you end up burning yourself out through stress and then become ill.  These professionals started when they were very young and it was like water off a ducks back.  It isnt the same for everyone and the sooner one just enjoys where they are at the happier they will be  

[bernadette60614]

I raised the exams in a separate thread, since I was unfamiliar with them.

If you're like me (and I think you may be!) you want a feeling of systematic progression.

I'm not familiar enough to know if there is something absolutely critical (a skill you need to have down) at the Grade 4 level, or if you were having an off day, and you know this stuff in your sleep.

Only you know that...so if you feel moving forward leaves you with a deficiency which can only be resolved by focusing on Grade 4 stuff, I'd say master that at Grade 4.  If you feel you have it down, but couldn't do it during one occasion, move forward.