Grade 3 exam

I did a tiny amount of playing at 7am just before packing the harp away and setting off for a morning's teaching. I got to the exam venue at lunchtime to find fellow harpists Robyn and Anne along with Rohan who teaches us all. Rohan had organised this particular session, Anne was accompanying some of her own woodwind pupils and Robyn had finished her exam and was deciding when to head off home. Robyn's exam had been somewhat nerve-wracking for her but she said she got through all of her pieces withouth any memory slips. She remembered some of what had gone well, along with a few things that hadn't but I think she was relieved it was over. I took my time warming up and tuning up then Rohan re-tuned my harp to a more acceptable standard. The examiner came back from lunch early and I was in!

I started with my scales and this time there are more so I made sure I thought very carefully about my lever changes. I did get them all right but had a few little finger slips along the way. My pieces went fairly well but also had some small slips and places where notes were a little uneven. Rohan suggested I could take Barcarolle a little steadier and I meant to but went straight into it at a brisk tempo so perhaps lost a little control in a few places. Sight-reading was easy but I got complacent and added an F sharp to my final G major chord as I didn't check my fingers before hitting the chord! Aural was ok I think but grade 3 is quite tricky and it is easy to get caught out with some of the tasks. It was over very quickly but I didn't feel quite as confident in this one as I did for grades 1 and 2. I then had to go back and play the piano for four of my own pupils all of whom did well I think.

Rohan had sent me an email a while back asking me if I would like to enter the Cambridge Music Festival next March. At the time I said I'd think about it but she took that as a yes and I am now entered for the harp grade 3-4 category. Anne is also entering in the 7-8 class and while I was a bit worried about competing against some much younger pupils it gives us all a chance to see and hear others at our own level so should be an entertaining day. I'll find out more nearer the time but for now I need to get through the last few days of teaching and decide what to do next with the harp. I have had a few requests from the family for some Christmas entertainment so will see what I can rustle up.