If your teacher has suggested that you work towards taking an examination, chances are you are progressing well and have the motivation to complete the hard work ahead. It means they trust you ro practise hard, and believe you have what it takes to succeed.
The length of time it takes to prepare for an exam varies between pupils and grades. However, The choices available in the syllabuses means that together with your teacher, you can choose a piece that suits you well so the time spent preparing will be enjoyable and productive.
Guidance for teachers
REGULARLY check all the requirements in the current syllabus, as details can change from time to time. I have noticed requirements changing particularly fast over the last few sessions, I don’t know about you?)
View the current regulations and check the syllabus updates on the ABRSM website.
Involve the pupil in the choice of pieces. They work hard when they have a say in what they play.
Maybe give a mock exam to the candidate well before the actual event. Maybe include walking into the room and setting up to perform. Especially if this is all new to the student.
Encourage the pupil to perform the pieces to family or friends.
Remind pupils where the exam is to be held (not as obvious as it sounds) and to arrive in plenty of time!.
Music Theory exams
At Grades 1 to 5, theory exams are taken online only (this is a fairly recent change). Online digital resources and practice exams are available HERE. Many answers are multiple choice, ticking true or false and drag and drop.
At Grades 6 to 8, exams can be taken the traditional way. Preparation materials are also available here. They include examples of the type of questions in the exams and help candidates familiarise themselves with the work required within a given time limit.
ABRSM Practical Exam Advice
Practise!
I Know. It’s really obvious but I had to mention it of course.
Ultimately, practice is key. Just like exercising or studying for any other exam. What grade you are doing will ultimately dictate the amount of practice you should be doing but no doubt your teacher will let you know!
Listen To Your Pieces Youtube/Spotify
I always suggest that my pupils listen to different people performing their exam tunes to work out which ones they like best and why a particular performance stands out to them personally. This means you are listening critically. The idea os NOT to emulate what you hear, rather, to decide for yourself what the piece means to you and how you imagine yourself playing it. It also helps to imagine the accompaniment as you practise (if relevant).
Use a Metronome
I INSIST that at some point, even at the initial grades, that my pupils practise with a metronome as there are many benefits other than just playing in time with the beat.
I encourage metronome use even at the initial learning stage to encourage students to play SLOWLY enough to maintain accuracy, and then at the later stages when raising the speed to performance requirements.
Tempo consistency is one of the things that examiners lookout for. Nerves can often lead to irregularities in rhythm such as speeding up gradually throughout the whole piece. This is very common but less evident when metronome practice has been done.
Whether you are practising pieces, scales or arpeggios, using the metronome instils in them a sense of rhythm. You can probably tell I love my metronome and I’ll make you love it too 😅.
Pieces
With the guidance of your teacher, choose pieces that you actually like. Slow, methodical practice is essential at first and will make the final performance so much better.
After the initial stages, practise your pieces right through without stopping and get in the habit of going on immediately if you do make a slip. Be brave and play them through to family or friends to help build up your confidence.
Practise page-turns where these occur and try to memorise the first few bars of the next page to help your confidence. Difficulties with page-turning, however, will not actually affect the mark.
In most cases you are allowed to photocopy a page of your piece for the exam where it will help to overcome an awkward page-turn. Organise this in advance and practise putting the photocopy in the right position on the music stand.
If you are a string, wind or singing candidate make sure you are familiar with the accompaniment, particularly the introduction if there is one, and try to find time to rehearse with your accompanist beforehand.
Scales
Practise scales and arpeggios daily. I always suggest students practise them first as a warm up. They help you build a reliable technique. Depending on your instrument, they will also help breathing, bowing control and general coordination and control.
Keep Going! Keep a steady pulse, ignore mistakes, don’t stop to correct them. Try out any part of the test piece in the 30 seconds allowed before the test begins.
If you have told your teacher of any special requirements, for instance, if you have dyslexia, you are allowed 3 minutes to prepare.
ABRSM Aural tests
Download some ABRSM mock aural tests.
Don’t be afraid to ask the examiner to repeat the question. Not every one though.
Practise singing in tune by playing notes on your instrument and repeating them. It’s not as daft as it sounds.
Clapping the rhythm of excerpts of music you have never heard before.
Singing tunes you have just heard on the spotify or TV.
Sight sing a few notes of music in any of your books you haven’t seen before this will help you gauge intervals.
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