Advice on Music Exams, Cramming and Number Games

Sometimes, our music students are still scrambling to get ready for their music exams. If you're like my one Grade 9 piano student who has been trying to memorize his Brahms' Intermezzo, it's too late. You need to start looking at the numbers and focusing your energy on the areas where it is do-able to in the time you have left to prepare. Take a look at what he'll be doing at his Gr. 9 partial examination through Conservatory Canada:

1. List C (Romantic): 10 marks

2. List D (Late Romantic to Contemporary Classical): 10 marks

3. Studies (2): 10 marks (worth 5 apiece)

4. Technical Tests: 14 marks

5. Memory: 2 marks (1 for List C and 1 for List D)

Now take a look at what examiners are looking to award Honours (70 - 79%)

• consistent tempo

• clean rhythms

• clean notes

• technical facility

• clear dynamic contrasts

• some articulation

• a sense of phrasing

• good tone

• sense of musical style

Memory needs lots of time for the music to settle (and performances). As you can see, memorization is only worth one mark for his Intermezzo. I asked him if he wanted to sacrifice the 70ish marks he'd get for all of the above for that one measly memory mark. For a piece that's not completely secure, there is a good chance that these things will crumble under the pressure of an exam.

If you're like my student, you're better off focusing on getting the basics as stated above. If those are secure, you can still walk away with Honours or even First Class Honours.

Technique is a big area. It's worth 14 - 16 marks alone, depending upon the grade and the music conservatory you are following. If your technical facility is lacking, examiners will penalize you. This is not an area to cram in at the last minute.

Sight-reading, rhythm and ear training are crammable - to a degree. If this is truly a weak spot for you, then it is an area you need to work on throughout the year, not just one week before your exam. However, bear in mind that sight-reading is worth 10 marks (clapping and playing), while ear and rhythm training are worth 10 marks. Those are easy marks to give away but just as easy to keep with some consistent practice.

I used to panic over melody playback (worth four marks). In hindsight, I should have focussed on nailing my intervals, chords and cadences more (worth six marks). That, combined with my clap backs, would have balanced the scales a bit.

To wrap up, when you're trying to play the "numbers game" with your exam marks, keep in mind the following:

1. Beef up the foundation (the basics) of the areas that are worth the most marks.

2. If you know that one area is going to be wobbly no matter what, then look at the other elements in that section and try to strengthen those areas.

3. Just guess on the wobbly areas. You may get partial marks.

Speak with your teacher if you have any questions on this or need more advice. The mark breakdown for each grade is listed in the conservatory syllabi.

Sources: Conservatory Canada Piano Syllabus & Royal Conservatory of Music Examiner's Guidelines for Assessment of Repertoire.

Memory needs lots of time for the music to settle (and performances). As you can see, memorization is only worth one mark for his Intermezzo. I asked him if he wanted to sacrifice the 60 or so marks he'd get for having most of the notes, rhythm and the tempo there for that one measly memory mark. For a piece that's not completely secure, there is a good chance that things will fall apart under the pressure of an exam.

White-Out on Music? Why Not?

This is a nifty tip I learned from my colleague, RCM examiner Colleen Athparia: If you keep coming to a dead halt at the barline, get rid of the barlines!

I've tried this with a few students recently with songs in triple meter, or in the above case, in 6/8 time. It works like a charm!

Of course, you want to make sure that you know your rhythms and time signature well. This is best used when you are trying to get the music flowing.

Music Practicing 101 - Alternating Hand/Bar Drill

My students and I started playing around with this practice drill last week. It's an accuracy drill to clean up notes, fingering and wonky timing. Try playing the left hand alone in bar 1 and then right hand alone in bar 2, etc. Check out this video for a demonstration.

An Introduction to Fake Books

You may be intimidated the first time you crack open a fake book. However, if you're familiar with (or at least willing to learn) your chords, then that's half the battle. A fake book contains pieces written out in lead sheet form. That is, you see the melody and chord symbols written above.

The idea is that you "fake" - or create - your own accompaniment. Throw down a pop groove on "Happy Birthday" one day. The next day, you could play it in ragtime style.The possibilities are endless.

Plus, with the music condensed in this format, you can have hundreds of songs in one book. It's so much easier to bring one fake book to a gig than 10 music books.

These are some of the fake books that I've collected over the years. They are also the ones I shared with my fellow music teachers when I did a presentation to the Piano Pedagogy Group last month:

Fake Books for Beginner to Intermediate Students:

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The Easy Christmas Carols Fake Book Melody, Lyrics & Simplified Chords in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Christmas. Softcover. 114 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.238187).

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Your First Fake Book - 2nd Edition Featuring Large Music Notation, Lyrics, & Simplified Harmonies C Edition. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Broadway, Pop, Standards. Softcover. 176 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.299529).

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The Easy Disney Fake Book - 2nd Edition 100 Songs in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Children, Disney, Fake Books, Movies. Softcover. 232 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.275405).

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The Easy Broadway Fake Book - 2nd Edition Over 100 Songs in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Broadway. Softcover. 218 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.276670).

Everything is in C Major. For an added challenge, you can ask your students to transpose them into other keys once they've learned the pieces.

Fake Books for Intermediate to Advanced Students, and Music Teachers:

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Classical Fake Book - 2nd Edition Over 850 Classical Themes and Melodies in their Original Keys. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Classical Period. Fakebook (spiral bound). With standard notation, chord names and vocal melody (on some songs). 648 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240044).

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The Ultimate Pop/Rock Fake Book - In C 4th Edition. By Various. By Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Pop Rock, Rock and Pop. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 584 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240099).

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The Best Fake Book Ever - C Edition - 4th Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Country, Fake Books, Jazz, Pop, Standards. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 856 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.290239).

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Just Jazz Real Book - C Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Jazz. Fakebook (softcover). With vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, black & white photos, discography and introductory text. 400 pages. Hal Leonard #FBM0003. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.321416).

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The Praise & Worship Fake Book B Flat Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Christian, Worship. Softcover. 432 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240324).

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The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book - 6th Edition For Piano, Vocal, Guitar, Electronic Keyboard & All C Instruments. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Christmas, Fake Books. Softcover. 232 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.147215).

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The Disney Fake Book - 4th Edition Composed by Various. Fake Book. Children, Disney, TV & Movies. Softcover. 288 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.175311).

Pianists - make sure you buy the "C" edition fake books!

If you need some guide books on how to read lead sheets, check out my earlier post, Jazz Music and Improvisation Guide Books.

Sight Reading Tips

While cleaning up some archived entries on my teaching blog, I found this one on sight reading tips, called (predictably) Sight Reading Tips. Here are some other articles and vblogs that I've come across that also address how to practice sight reading.

• Five Steps to Mastering Sight Reading

• Sight Reading A to Z

• The Sight Reading Box

This is a pretty good tutorial. I like the driving analogy.