MUSIC EXAM TALK #5: How to prepare for music exam/audition?
- Mar 1, 2018
- 3 min read
Preparing for a music certificate exam or an audition can be stressful. Just by looking at all the requirements is enough to scare off the students. Furthermore, the students often feel being buried under a sea of materials and forget how to practice, what goal they want to achieve in each practice session.
How to prepare for the exam so my child can pass it successfully? It is all about the time leading up to it. The students must follow the study plan/schedule thoroughly. I often include extra weeks in the plan in case of holidays, sick days, family emergency, and “catch up” time. However, there are always students who just don’t follow the weekly assignment, then they forget and the teacher has to spend another lesson to re-teach, which is the number one cause of student’s failure.
Make A Plan and Keep Practice Steady
Make a study plan by starting from the exam date and working backwards. The student should be well prepared at least 2~3 weeks before the exam, so he/she feels comfortable and confident with the pieces. In the final 2 weeks practice everything slowly to make sure you have control over your fingers, good memory of notes, and make sense of phrases.
Next, calculate how many pieces you need to play and how many weeks you need to learn a piece. This will help you to construct a study plan and give you an overall preparation calendar. Please make sure you include holiday weeks if there are any.
The first piece in your exam preparation plan should be the hardest or longest piece. This ensures you enough time to learn it well. Use all the time you have available. Cramming for an exam doesn’t work. It will only lead to frustration and overly nervous.
Make a little progress every day is the best strategy. Look over the teacher’s comments and assignment sheet, set attainable goals in each practice session. For example, play a scale perfectly three times in a row, learn the first 8 measures well, perform the rhythm precisely, pay attention to the articulation, exaggerate dynamic contrast, and so on.
Mock Exams
Just like you prepare for the studio recital, you can do mock exam:
At your home practice, pretend you are now playing the exam.
Record yourself and watch it. You’ll feel a little pressured when your performance is being recorded. In addition, listen to your own performance allows you to reassess your playing from a different angle. It is a very good exercise.
Perform for your parents, siblings, or people who visit your family. Try to expose yourself in these little performances and you will become more confident when it is the real deal.
Perform in school’s talent show when there is a chance.
Finally, in the last 2~3 lessons do a full run of mock exam, that includes scales, repertories, etudes, ear tests, and sight reading. After played everything, go back to the pieces and look at what needed to improve, and what went well. This mock exam practice is important because it helps students understand the entire exam process, and realize how to be mentally prepared as well. I personally like to do mock exam 2~3 times beforehand. However, if your child likes to cram for exam, then you will lose the timing of doing this final important step.
On The Exam Day
Try to relax as best as you can. Warm up a little at home before you go. Play couple scales or arpeggios. Do not do a full run through!
Arrive at the exam center about 10-15 minutes before your time, so you are not rushed straight into the exam room. On the other hand, you don’t want to come too early and sit around, get more and more nervous.
Remind your child:
After you go into the exam room, check the piano bench height and adjust it to suit you. If you are an instrumentalist and you are sitting, place the chair in front of the examiner but also make sure you can see your accompanist.
Take your time and try to relax. The examiner is not here to trip you up. He/she wants you to succeed too.
Do the best you can even you know you can’t do everything perfectly.
Don’t play too fast! Your examiner is not interested in how fast you can play a piece.
Know what your strengths are and be confident with them.
In conclusion, it is good to make a study plan, but it is more important that you stick to the plan, meet the deadline, make steady progress every week.
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