How to prepare for Graded Exam...
1. Know the syllabus- are you preparing for ABRSM or Trinity College London? will you need an accompanist? Can you prepare with the accompanist in advance? Sight-reading, musical knowledge, aural, improvisation? Scales and in what keys or Technical exercises?
2. Practice makes progress! Set up a practice schedule short term and long term with your teacher. Have weekly goals with a schedule for each day dependant on your age and spare time of what should be achieved each day and a long term goal of where you want to be each month leading up to the exam
3. Know how to improve- have mini tests in preparation with grades given to you along the way prior to the exam. This will give you a gauge of how you are progressing and what you need to work on outside of your lessons
4. Aural should not be intimidating! Practice with the CD in the car when you can and listen to lots of mixed genres of music in preparation that you can analyse. What do you notice about expression, structure, context, textures, dynamics, harmony, melody, orchestration, tonality and rhythm?
5. On the day- have a good nights rest and makes sure you are there in plenty of time to warm up and run over your pieces with the accompanist. If you are nervous have coping mechanisms in place such as avoiding caffeine or rescue remedies at hand.Â
6. Introduce yourself to the examiner when asked and stay calm, hand over the sheet showing what you will play, what scales and your chosen skills.
7. Check sight-reading if chosen and play through once if possible. Look for dynamics, key, time signature and any ornamentation or tricky runs you might see at first glance. Remember to keep going no matter what happens!
