[awayinmyhead]

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for me to at least pass my grade 8 recorder (it's a real instrument before anyone says anything haha). I was meant to have my exam 11th July but it's the day that I'm going away. So now my only choice is to do it Tuesday or I'll lose the £80 fee (seriously where does that money go?!). I already lost 25% of my fee last time because I broke my arm 3 days before the last exam so I was quite well practiced last time but stopped practicing due to my broken arm!

It really doesn't help that my biology a2 exam is Friday and my driving test is next Thursday so it's sort of inn between everything arghhhh!!!

So I'm having a mini breakdown and I'm wondering if you guys have any tips or tricks to help me get through this exam without making a fool of myself!? I'm most worried about the aural. It's a complete nightmare!!


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[TauMuon]

First of all calm down! It's no use panicking haha :P

Then check out the aural syllabus here: http://tinyurl.com/7rnvpkp

So now you know exactly what you need to do, just do as much as you can with the time you've got. Without a teacher, I'd say just practice sight singing by remembering certain intervals (recognise what they sound like) and reading off random music.

Learn to identify the cadences with this site: http://tinyurl.com/8a5dsty

This website is very good if you're willing to pay about £15 or so: http://tinyurl.com/6p6jbah

Armed with this information you'll at least pass the aural tests :P I have a grade 8 piano exam on the 6th, and I'm dreading the aural, I had no help with it till last week :/ GOOD LUCK!!

EDIT: Just realised you basically only have a day. Just learn the cadences, that's a 1/3 of the entire test. I'm sure you'll do much better on the singing than you thought, so that's another 1/3. Just relax and think to yourself "cmon, this is really easy, just humming to a goddamn tune!" haha. I never really understood the whole point of the aural stuff for an exam in piano (or recorder in your case). Surely most of it you cover in the theory exam? Doesn't make much sense to me

[awayinmyhead]

(Original post by TauMuon)
First of all calm down! It's no use panicking haha :P

Then check out the aural syllabus here: http://tinyurl.com/7rnvpkp

So now you know exactly what you need to do, just do as much as you can with the time you've got. Without a teacher, I'd say just practice sight singing by remembering certain intervals (recognise what they sound like) and reading off random music.

Learn to identify the cadences with this site: http://tinyurl.com/8a5dsty

This website is very good if you're willing to pay about £15 or so: http://tinyurl.com/6p6jbah

Armed with this information you'll at least pass the aural tests :P I have a grade 8 piano exam on the 6th, and I'm dreading the aural, I had no help with it till last week :/ GOOD LUCK!!

EDIT: Just realised you basically only have a day. Just learn the cadences, that's a 1/3 of the entire test. I'm sure you'll do much better on the singing than you thought, so that's another 1/3. Just relax and think to yourself "cmon, this is really easy, just humming to a goddamn tune!" haha. I never really understood the whole point of the aural stuff for an exam in piano (or recorder in your case). Surely most of it you cover in the theory exam? Doesn't make much sense to me

Thanks so much for your help! The sight singing, modulations, and cadences are okay it's just recognising the chords now and the singing from memory. Aural is so mean. I don't see the point in the singing especially.

I havent done theory since I passed my grade 5 about 6 years ago so bit weak there and I don't do A level or GCSE music so that doesn't help either

Grade 8 piano? Arghh I'm meant to be doing that next term. It's nasty! Good luck for yours too! I'm sure you'll be better prepared than me.


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[TauMuon]

How did the exam go?!

[awayinmyhead]

(Original post by TauMuon)
How did the exam go?!

Well my pieces were the best I've played them. Scales were awful though! My aural and sight reading were okay. The sight singing was a piece I've been singing in choir for the past few weeks...what are the chances?! Thanks for asking.

I'm not to bothered if I fail now because I at least passed my driving test two days later so I'm happy either way!


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[TauMuon]

That sounds great!

How do they do the cadences in the exam? I'm under the impression they play a melody and then a very obvious 3-chord cadence at the end? Is that right?

[awayinmyhead]

(Original post by TauMuon)
That sounds great!

How do they do the cadences in the exam? I'm under the impression they play a melody and then a very obvious 3-chord cadence at the end? Is that right?

Yup. The I could name the cadence so that helped a little. But I have no idea if I was right because they don't give a lot away. Your exam is in two days isn't it? How you feeling?


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[TauMuon]

Aha, fairly good, it's mainly the damn aural And sight reading can be a bit of a pain sometimes too, depends on the examiner really haha.