I have just started uni and im finding it difficult to find time to practice my violin (havent played it for a month an its killing me!!) I have the taken grade 7 exam twice now and failed by 4 marks!!! (just because i cant sing!) Very nasty examiner...im sure i wasnt that bad... Anyways I still want to take the exam again however i cant take the exam this term cos basically i havent practiced and have forgotten all my scales, but i dont want to learn the new syllabus. Does anyone know if i can take the exam next term (Easter 05) and still use the 2004 syllabus?

QUOTE (vickywife @ Nov 1 2004, 04:55 PM)

I have the taken grade 7 exam twice now and failed by 4 marks!!! (just because i cant sing!) Very nasty examiner...im sure i wasnt that bad...

You can't fail by four marks just because you can't sing: there are 132 marks that aren't even for the aural tests and certainly don't involve singing; and even the aural test marks don't all require singing (I think that you get about 7 of them for turning up!). Don't blame the examiner for failing, resolve to practice hard and don't enter until you will be able to pass clearly.

QUOTE (vickywife @ Nov 1 2004, 04:55 PM)

Does anyone know if i can take the exam next term (Easter 05) and still use the 2004 syllabus?

If you mean the first exam period next year then yes you can.

I got pass marks for everything apart from aural part cos only got 8 marks. Got errors in all things in aural test. My teacher did not teach me anything for the aural tests so i would have passed if he had taught me. I even asked him to teach me and he said he wouldnt. Thanks for letting me know about the exam for next term, il be getting a new teacher before then hopefully!

If you got 8 on aurals that means that you lost 10 marks on the aural section; to fail the exam one has to lose at least 51 marks that means that you lost 41 marks on the other sections too. So my point is don't just re-enter if you fail blaming your aural marks you need to work on everything else to get your marks up in the other sections and then you won't be so reliant on aural marks (I'm not saying that failing the aural tests is a good idea but under the current system it doesn't mean that you will fail the exam). A bare pass doesn't mean that the playing is good it means the playing is just about acceptable so there's room for improvement in the other sections too to give you a bigger cushion (not to mention better technique).