Well I've just finished two days of accompanying exams as well as having several of my own pupils take exams so thought I'd write a few thoughts about this. I have a mixture of pupils - some enjoy working toward exams whereas others prefer to just learn for fun. Exams are useful as they give you a goal to work toward and a sense of achievement when you pass an exam. You will also get useful feedback from the examiner on the mark form. If you do plan on taking music further it is really essential to gain the different qualifications, but even if you don't the higher grades do give you UCAS points which can be useful for going on to university.
I think the real key to exam success lies in being well-prepared. Make sure you know the scales and pieces set for the grade thoroughly so that you can perform them in a way that demonstrates your playing at its best. Its a good idea to know the pieces from memory even though you'll probably use music in the exam. Also, don't just focus on playing the right notes and rhythm (although this is important) but play the pieces musically. Obey all the different dynamic and expression markings as this will really help you gain a good result in the exam.
A lot of candidates focus a lot on the pieces but can easily forget about the other parts of the exams. For most exam boards you are expected to perform some scales or technical exercises, do some sight-reading and also do some listening exercises or aural tests. Make sure you have practised all these parts of the exam and are comfortable with what to expect on the day. The more prepared you are on every part of the exam the better you are likely to do on the day. It is probably worth asking your teacher to give you a mock exam at some point before the exam so that you know exactly what to expect on the day.
Having said all this when it comes to the actual exam mistakes sometimes do happen even if you are really well prepared. The examiner will understand that pianists are playing on an instrument they are not used to and also that many people do get a little nervous in exam situations. It really isn't the end of the world if you make a mistake or slip! The key is to keep going. The examiner is on your side and wants to hear you PERFORM the pieces. If you're performing in a concert and you make a mistake you keep going (the audience may not even notice!). Do the same in the exam.
Above all be as prepared as you can and then try your best to enjoy playing the pieces to the examiner on the day! The examiner really is on your side and wants you to do your best!
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Tips for Pianists no. 4: Scales
I can almost hear the groans at the mention of scales. So many students think of scales as that very boring part of learning a musical instrument that you only really do to get through the music exams! However, scales are actually a tremendously important part of learning any musical instrument. Below are just a few advantages to practising scales:
1. Most pieces of music are either in a major or minor key so practising scales will help you to have a greater understanding of the different keys you may need to play in.
2. Scales are useful for building up a good technique. They make great "warm up" exercises and are good for getting the fingers moving around the piano before attempting to play pieces.
3. Scale patterns appear all the time in pieces so learning to play them fluently will help with performing pieces of music.
4. Since melodies are often based on scale patterns a good knowledge of scales should enable you to improvise or compose melodies more easily.
5. Scale practise will help with sight-reading as you will have a great understanding of keys.
Those are just a few points - I'm sure there are many more! So how should we practise scales and how can we make them more interesting? Well while a grade one piano exam might ask you to play C major scale 2 octaves hands separately at a tempo of around two notes per second and at a mezzoforte dynamic I would suggest that it is useful to practise scales in lots of different ways. When you think about it you rarely see a straight forward two octave scale at mf in a piece of music. Often the scale will begin and end on different notes, involve some changes in dynamics (eg. crescendo or diminuendo) and perhaps have different rhythm patterns. Therefore try to be inventive and practise scales in lots of different ways. Here are some suggestions:
1. Practise at different dynamics - f, mf, p... crescendo, diminuendo....
2. Practise beginning and ending the scales on different notes.
3. Practise at different speeds but never so fast that the scale becomes inaccurate or uneven.
4. Practise using different rhythms eg. dotted rhythms.
5. Practise feeling the scales in groups of 2s, 3s, 4s...
6. Practise with different articulation eg. staccato, legato...
More advanced pianists might also try the following:
7. Practise scales with hands crossed over.
8. Practise playing triplet rhythms in one hand against 2s in the other hand. You'll begin the scales 2 octaves apart and end one octave apart.
9. Practise different dynamics, rhythms and articulation in each hand.
Above all try to be inventive and play the scales in lots of different ways. This will enable you to tackle scale passages more effectively in pieces as well as improve your scale playing for music exams.
Hope this is helpful. Let me know any thoughts or comments.
1. Most pieces of music are either in a major or minor key so practising scales will help you to have a greater understanding of the different keys you may need to play in.
2. Scales are useful for building up a good technique. They make great "warm up" exercises and are good for getting the fingers moving around the piano before attempting to play pieces.
3. Scale patterns appear all the time in pieces so learning to play them fluently will help with performing pieces of music.
4. Since melodies are often based on scale patterns a good knowledge of scales should enable you to improvise or compose melodies more easily.
5. Scale practise will help with sight-reading as you will have a great understanding of keys.
Those are just a few points - I'm sure there are many more! So how should we practise scales and how can we make them more interesting? Well while a grade one piano exam might ask you to play C major scale 2 octaves hands separately at a tempo of around two notes per second and at a mezzoforte dynamic I would suggest that it is useful to practise scales in lots of different ways. When you think about it you rarely see a straight forward two octave scale at mf in a piece of music. Often the scale will begin and end on different notes, involve some changes in dynamics (eg. crescendo or diminuendo) and perhaps have different rhythm patterns. Therefore try to be inventive and practise scales in lots of different ways. Here are some suggestions:
1. Practise at different dynamics - f, mf, p... crescendo, diminuendo....
2. Practise beginning and ending the scales on different notes.
3. Practise at different speeds but never so fast that the scale becomes inaccurate or uneven.
4. Practise using different rhythms eg. dotted rhythms.
5. Practise feeling the scales in groups of 2s, 3s, 4s...
6. Practise with different articulation eg. staccato, legato...
More advanced pianists might also try the following:
7. Practise scales with hands crossed over.
8. Practise playing triplet rhythms in one hand against 2s in the other hand. You'll begin the scales 2 octaves apart and end one octave apart.
9. Practise different dynamics, rhythms and articulation in each hand.
Above all try to be inventive and play the scales in lots of different ways. This will enable you to tackle scale passages more effectively in pieces as well as improve your scale playing for music exams.
Hope this is helpful. Let me know any thoughts or comments.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Tips for Pianists no. 3: Slow practise
Yes its true - slow practise really does work! In order to be able to play something correctly and securely you need to practise it over and over again slowly in order to enable your brain to remember the pattern. Always practise at a tempo which is slow enough to get every note accurate. I find that it is often difficult to practise slowly and I tend to want to speed things up before they are ready. A really good way of keeping yourself at a steadier tempo is to practise with a metronome. You could try the following method:
1. Practise with the metronome at a very slow tempo at which you can get everything accurate for at least a few days.
2. Try speeding the metronome up a little (say by 10). If you can still play it accurately then keep practising at this speed for a while. If you start to make mistakes slow the metronome back down.
3. After a few days you might try a slightly quicker tempo. Try speeding the metronome up by 10 again. If it is still secure keep practising at this tempo.
4. Keep going through this process and eventually you should be able to learn the piece up to speed, even if it is quite a difficult piece. However, as soon as you start to make mistakes slow the tempo back down again.
Practising with the metronome is extremely useful in keeping the tempo steady and also developing a good sense of rhythm. However, in reality not every piece will be played at a rigid tempo. For example much Romantic piano music will need quite a bit of rubato. However, practising with the metronome will help to work on getting the music rhythmically accurate and then later you can add in the rubato.
Hope this helps! Feel free to post any comments.
1. Practise with the metronome at a very slow tempo at which you can get everything accurate for at least a few days.
2. Try speeding the metronome up a little (say by 10). If you can still play it accurately then keep practising at this speed for a while. If you start to make mistakes slow the metronome back down.
3. After a few days you might try a slightly quicker tempo. Try speeding the metronome up by 10 again. If it is still secure keep practising at this tempo.
4. Keep going through this process and eventually you should be able to learn the piece up to speed, even if it is quite a difficult piece. However, as soon as you start to make mistakes slow the tempo back down again.
Practising with the metronome is extremely useful in keeping the tempo steady and also developing a good sense of rhythm. However, in reality not every piece will be played at a rigid tempo. For example much Romantic piano music will need quite a bit of rubato. However, practising with the metronome will help to work on getting the music rhythmically accurate and then later you can add in the rubato.
Hope this helps! Feel free to post any comments.
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