Finished!!!

[LAT]

Very impressive self control Kingsley! Good luck with the clarinet exam btw.

[katsmom]

I'm blown off my feet that you finished this so quickly!

Kingsley, how was the exam? All went well I hope!

[fernando]

well done cenwulf

[kingsley]

Yes, it was all quite good, thank you.

My pieces weren't as good as they've been when I practise, but they were by no means bad. Everything else was quite good, and aural tests were a lot better than I expected, as I was dreading them! I just need to wait for my results now!

[Bunnylump]

Well done, and fingers crossed! Let us know how you get on?

[MBH]

Well done Kingsley - I'm sure your results will be fine.

It's never easy saying how good or bad things are when you're in a 'pressure' invironment like an exam or a competition. So long as you relaxed as the piece went on I'm sure there were no problems.

So now it's "Puzzle Time" for you I'll give you a wave as you go past me

[Wulfruna]

When doing piano exams I remember that results were totally unpredictable, and found that when examiners were wonderfully kind and encouraging that was often a bad sign before they failed you. That seemd a bit mean. It is so difficult to tell the outcome, because it may depend so much on whether they are having a good day or not - and whether they have already seen a whole series of brilliant people and decide it is time they dropped one. This is not to discourage you, Kingsley, as it sounds as if you did everything that was needed - and from your mother's reports [biassed? - never!!] you are clearly very good at your chosen instrument. Just to say that it is not the end of the world if you don't get it this time.... at this level they may not always be entirely fair about measuring you on your own merits!
Having said that - I really hope you now feel freed up to get back into the wonderful world of Puzzlebrains! Look forward to noting your progress

[giraffe]

I totally agree Wulfruna, they are very unpredictable, and when you get the comment sheet the comments bear little or no relation to the mark. She'll be back on here when she has broken up tomorrow. She has an ICT project to complete by the end of term and with our PC breaking down has been a bit delayed. (My laptop doesn't have the right programs on it so she has now borrowed a laptop)

[fernando]

I thought that generally the examiners gave you a pass at least unless you had done atrociously and then they were a bit unpredictable about giving merits or distinctions. I don't think there is much doubt that kingsley has passed after all the work she put in and it sounded rather spectacular when she practised in her bedroom but it all comes down to your performance on the day.

[Bunnylump]

Well, I have to tell you that my daughter failed her first attempt at grade 8 piano. But she went on to get a credit the next time, and went on very successfully to do performance at uni in her music degree. So, that's worth bearing in mind!! She was devastated at the time (only missed the pass by one mark! ) and was completely scathing about the whole ABRSM exam system, especially because the week before she had got a "distinction" for her saxophone grade 7, which is her second instrument, and she'd only been learning it for 3 years, and had worked through one of the more complicated pieces for the first time 2 days before the exam.

[Scurra]

And music is a terribly subjective thing anyway. There's such a difference between what is written on the "score" and what the piece can be made to sound like. Otherwise no-one would ever bother to perform a piece twice!

[eirian]

aural tests were a lot better than I expected, as I was dreading them!

now that I sympathise with! I used to hate the aural tests, and thought it really unfair when my piano teacher made me practice them in my piano lesson for a viola exam!!
Good luck!

[giraffe]

We've had the piano teacher going at them all term, particularly as she has hardly practised the piano as her attention was elsewhere. She's done grade 7 piano, they will be relevant for the next exam there too.

[Laura]

Well, my little piano pupil just got her results and she got a Merit in grade 1. The annoying thing with hers was that she came out of the exam saying that she'd tried to do the dynamics but they didn't work properly because the piano is so different from the ones shes played on at home, and her grandma's house. So when she got her marks back, every section criticised her dynamics and very little else. Its the biggest problem with piano exams; not playing on your own instrument.


Incidentally, she did a practice exam with me the week before, and I gave her one mark more than the examiner, so I reckon both of us were pretty accurate!

[giraffe]

Well done Laura.

We're still waiting for Lally's grade 4 piano from the end of June. We've never done a LCM one before, so I don't know if that's slow or not.

[chazzie]

I don't think there is much doubt that kingsley has passed after all the work she put in and it sounded rather spectacular when she practised in her bedroom

Kingsley - must be great to have a supportive brother Hope you pass - and look forward to you having time to spend puzzling over the summer!!

[Laura]

I've entered a couple of LCM ones before and they seem to take longer than ABRSM ones. I entered one who did hers on 4th July, so I'm not even looking out for it yet!

[kingsley]

Kingsley - must be great to have a supportive brother

Well he's not normally this supportive. He's surprised me!!

[giraffe]

Lally got a Merit! Only 2 marks off a distinction. Examiner did comment that she did both chromatic scales only one octave

[Bunnylump]

YAY!