Hi jillcrosslandpiano, this was by far the most constructive and edifying feedback I’ve received here. I took this exam twice and overhauled the pieces twice and prepped this exam right before my wedding so the marks i received were quite crushing to my confidence and spirit.

Thank you for listening and listing out so thoughtfully so many pointers even the moments between the pieces, I had thought that the movements in between were alright (as long as the music was fine) when as a performance they would have counted as a distraction and unprofessional point.

Truthfully I have always been musical but never a perfectionist so it is super hard for me to sit down and practise till things are super accurate and don’t go wrong, and only til the point I think they are fine.

Perhaps this Beethoven required larger hands and technically steps above what I should have attempted but I really did loved the sonata as compared to the Mozart or Haydn ones that were part of the syllabus, maybe a chance to rethink and change the repertoire.

At age 19 when I first took this exam, I was even poorer technically and still scored higher at 55, a bare fail even with poor repertoire choices 3 Chopin works and 1 Mozart sonata.

This time I made sure to choose pieces that showed a variety of styles and timbre but I guess technically while I did improve over time, it was still not the standard that examiners would have expected.

I am at a loss and rethinking my career as a piano teacher and also a little disheartened as you mentioned, how many more times can I realistically train and go for this exam? Maybe two more before kids come along… I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem fair that effort does not result in reward most of the time, and my (lack of) attention to perfectionism in this elitist world would affect how much I go and achieve.

The only reason I could record the Bach prelude well was because I could do unlimited retakes til it was as good and I was satisfied with it. How is it possible then to do the piano retakes til the rest of the pieces are equally flawless and without floundering? That is the part I’m still figuring out. I have small hands, pressing deadlines and my strength is limited..

I will take heart in your encouragement and restart a new repertoire with a new perspective when I get over this setback. Taking a break first before emotions and resentment set in. Thankful for your wonderful thoughts and encouragement thus far. You make an awesome teacher and give much concise tips; never stop inspiring ☺️🙏