Whatever you do, don't let a fail stop you from enjoying music. Exams are just a means to an end, not an end in themselves, and sometimes a fail is just what we need to remember that we are not exam taking robots – we're musicians.
Use a high-quality piano polish that doesn't contain alcohol or silicone. Ideally, find a high-gloss polish that can be used on plastic as they are...
Read More »Yes, professional pianists occasionally make mistakes. Mistakes that professional pianists may make are typically minute, and rare in occurrence....
Read More »I was having a look through the search terms that led people to look at this blog, and I noticed that a couple of them were things like “failed sight reading on singing exam”, “abrsm grade 6 theory fail” and “abrsm grade 8 fail”, so I thought perhaps it was time to address the horrible question of what to do if you fail a music exam, or a section of the exam. The first thing to say is don’t panic. I know it’s hard when you first see the mark sheet and it doesn’t hit that magic pass mark. Failing an exam doesn’t mean you aren’t good at playing your instrument, or that you don’t understand the theory. It doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve your goals. All exams are there to do is mark points on our journey and give us feedback about where to improve. Remember, it’s also ok to be sad, frustrated, angry and disappointed. Do what you need to do to process the feelings. If you need to have a cry, that’s ok! Or get someone you love to give you a hug. Make a cuppa and treat yourself to your favourite chocolate bar. Don’t try to figure out your next move until you feel ready. Once you are ready, the first thing to do is reflect on what you did well:
How Often To Take Piano Lessons. Regardless of age, it's a wise decision to take piano lessons once per week. This gives piano students a full 7...
Read More »You might find it helpful to make a separate list of the things you need to work on for next time. The last thing to do is to answer the question of “what do I do now?”. Here are some of my suggestions Talk to your teacher to make a plan to tackle technical problems like pitch, rhythm or memorising. Make a plan to focus especially on developing aural and musicianship skills if you failed the aural tests. For sight-reading, challenge yourself to sight-read as much material as you can. Sight-reading is often a fail point in exams because it takes a lot of time and effort to build up the skills to do well. Join a choir that uses sheet music – this will help your aural, sight-reading and performance skills
The average mass produced piano lasts 30 years. Hand-crafted pianos last substantially longer, often exceeding 50 years. Over time, the piano will...
Read More »Eager parents often ask when to expect their child to jump with both feet off the ground. The simple answer is, every child is different. Of...
Read More »If you want to record MIDI in your DAW's tracks, just press your DAW's record button then press the Play button in MuseScore. Your MuseScore...
Read More »The diminished chord is the darkest chord in music. This is because it's constructed with stacked minor third intervals. The D diminished chord and...
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