Ways to Sparkle or Fizzle at Piano Exams

I am currently preparing a small handful students for piano exams in the upcoming Winter 2012 Session for the Royal Conservatory of Music.  I also attended a teacher training workshop and one of the topics focused on piano exam preparation. I decided to transform my notes into a list and added a few of my own ideas into two categories I'm referring to as Sparklers and Fizzlers. This is a collection of ideas on how to sparkle or not sparkle at your next piano exam.


How to Sparkle
1) Teachers believe in your student; student believe in yourself. Temper this with realistic expectations.
2) Provide a good edition. Urtext is not always the best fit for all pieces; be sure to find an edition that has useful fingering and not too much editing.
3) Focus on the concepts, context, musical relationships and technic. When teaching, make comparisons with other works, use contrast, comment on the style of the period and character.  The student workbooks provide good insight.
4) Teachers demonstrate colourful sound, describe the tone production. These could include arm weight, round out the wrist.
5) Develop the Music Skills early in the year (Technique, Sight Reading, Interval Naming, Melody Playback, Rhythm Clapback combined, accounts for more marks than Repertoire).
6) Build a performance in gradual steps. Learn the individual sections but join them, don't practise the mistakes!

Ways to Fizzle or Lose Marks!
1) Student has weak basic skills (intervals, melody playback, rhythm counting etc)
2) The performance pieces are still in the learning stage with unncessary skips and disturbances to the flow; imprecise rhythm, lack of right-left hand balance, unsteady tempo.
3) The music piece is at the wrong level based on the student's ability and maturity
4) Student did not adequately prepare the requirements. For example the Sonata performance requires Movement 1 and 2 but the student only prepared the first; otherwise, the last pages missing from a rondo.
5) Inappropriate repertoire choice. Stick to the list, or go through the proper procedure for the substitution approval.
6) Lack of stylistic variation
7) Lack of structual awareness and dynamic range
8) Insufficient control of touch, unstantial tone, misplaced accents and bumps in the melodic line. The effect is a beat by beat playing.
9) The tempo is too slow and breathless, ignoring rests and accelerating.
10) Shy or insecure student succumb to nerves.


* The list was compiled from my notes at the RCM Teacher Professional Development Seminar presented by Dr. Hahn