Music exams: the good, the bad, and the ugly
There seems to be much more emphasis on music exams for students now as compared to when I learned flute growing up. I had actually never even heard of the concept until I took up another instrument seriously as an adult and was offered the opportunity to do ABRSM exams. I ultimately jumped at the chance and will be taking the Grade 7 exam in piano this year, but there has been some justified criticism of the exam system, and I think it is worth exploring why the exams are useful for a musician’s development, but need to be approached with caution.
First, the good. My reason for doing the exams is quite simple and, I think, overrides any potential negatives to the exam. That reason is: you need to take every single performance opportunity you can get. Performing is a different skill than practicing. You have to learn how to play under pressure—something you definitely improve with repeated exposure—and you have to let go of your perfectionism, as the piece has to be “ready” on a certain date, even though there will absolutely always be things you would improve with more time. At some point you have to call it and get on with playing for people, and these opportunities do not come around as often as they need to for your development, so absolutely do not pass up a chance to perform, even if it is in an exam setting.
Second, the bad. I have heard from my teacher that young students consider the scales, sightreading, and aural skills demands to be extreme, and it ultimately can kill their love for the instrument. As a lifelong musician, I absolutely believe scales, theory, aural skills, and sightreading to be critical, but I understand how young musicians can view these as a slog. I think for younger students the key here should be relevance, e.g., requiring the scale of the piece they have selected, and appropriate challenge. I have heard that sightreading is on too high a level for most people, and although I myself am a good sightreader, I consider the 30 seconds that ABRSM gives you to review the sightreading excerpt to be laughably short. It’s really only enough time to check the key and time signatures and to estimate how fast you might be able to play. I really think students should get one or two minutes to look at the excerpt, so that they at least have a chance to play through tricky spots.
Finally, the ugly. When something is evaluated, it is far too easy to tie up your entire self worth in the result. One bad performance does not make you a bad musician, it’s just experience. Students and their parents place a lot of emphasis on the result, which is understandable, but also really harmful. Music is subjective, and ultimately you are aiming to share your interpretation and what you have learned, not aiming to receive any particular score. Exam scores are feedback points, and they can be valuable, but should not be overemphasized. If the exam did not go the way you wanted, put it behind you and move on. It is ultimately meaningless.
Overall, I think exams are worth it. They give you valuable experience playing under pressure, and in the best case you may discover new repertoire that you love and would not have otherwise found. Exams are not the be all and end all of your progress as a musician, however. Hold your exam goals loosely and have fun. You are still worthy, no matter the result.