We’ve all been there, sitting in the room with the examiner, and for all the practice hours you’ve clocked, you’re sure to ace your performance, then your fears come true and you’ve made a mistake mid-performance!
Truth be told, we all make mistakes, and making a little mistake here and there is nothing to worry about, but it definitely can feel frustrating and nerve-wracking, especially when you’re being marked!
We reached out to our community of Rockschool Educators in Singapore for their advice on overcoming mistakes in an exam. Here’s what they shared.
“Don’t think about it and carry on playing! Mistakes are part and parcel of music grading exams. It shouldn’t define who you are as a musician. Most of all, have fun! Happy practicing!”
– Er Chow Kiat, from Drum Tutor
“Your main “enemy” on the day of the exam is going to be your nerves, so my personal tip is to practice your exam pieces slightly faster (say, 5 to 10%) than they are supposed to be played using a software that allows you to adjust the playback speed without changing the pitch. Knowing that you can play your pieces at higher tempos will boost your confidence during the exam, which in turn helps keep your nerves in check. In addition, the relative ease of playing them at normal tempo should also force fewer errors during the exam.”
– Dr Marc Armand, independent Guitar Instructor
“Performances in general aren’t always going to be perfect. Try to relax, remember to breathe, focus and catch up. The important thing is to keep playing.”
– Joan, Vocals Instructor
“Mistakes happen. I like to tell my students to treat it like their oral exams at school. If you can’t read a word or misread a word, just jump to the next word, no biggie!”
– Ember Leong, from Vibratone Academy
“Mistakes are part of the journey. Just like technical exercises and musical pieces, you need to expose yourself under those circumstances ‘til you’re comfortable as part of the skill you need to learn as a performer. A good way to do that is to simulate a performance/exam environment when you’re practicing your pieces. Record yourself and watch to see what areas you need to work on.
Making mistakes and having something to work on is a great motivator of progress. It is actually a lot more detrimental when you feel like there is nothing else for you to improve on.”
– Alex Thanos, from Vibratone Academy
“I always tell my students, whenever you make a mistake, just pretend like nothing happened. If you act well enough, maybe nobody will notice!”
– Christine He, from Drum with Christine
“Laugh it off and keep going, humour helps to loosen up and calm your nerves.”
– Zee, from Vinnie Classroom
“Mistakes happen! Don’t stop, and keep it going. The show must go on!”
– Justyn Kang, from The Music Shed
Overall, it’s important to view any performance, whether on stage or in an exam, as a whole. A little slip here or there won’t detract from your performance.
RSL contributing writer Leigh Fuge (a guitarist himself) shared the perfect anecdote on recovering from mistakes:
“As a musician and semi-perfectionist, I used to dwell on mistakes… In recent years, I’ve learnt to let this go. I had a revelation in 2014 at the Download Festival watching Aerosmith. Steven Tyler the bands frontman started the piano intro to the hit Dream On and lo and behold in front of 85,000 screaming rock fans, he messed up. He played a chord that was a screamer of a wrong chord. What did he do next? He threw his head back, laughed out loud and carried on. For me, this made me realise, maybe it’s not so bad to make a mistake occasionally.”
You can read more of his thoughts (and find tips from RSL’s Examiners too!) here.
For our tips on preparing for your next exam, click here.
Don’t forget to check in on our website for information on registration for the Rockschool Exams in Singapore
If you’d like to find out what Rockschool Singapore is up to this year, check out our 2022 Calendar!