I have been playing the piano for approximately 4 years, and currently, I am preparing for my Grade 5 Theory Exam and Grade 5 Practical Exam. I was going to do these exams earlier this year, however, due to COVID-19, my exams were cancelled. As a result, I will be taking my Grade 5 Theory Exam in December, and my Grade 5 Practical Exam sometime next year.

For the Theory Exam, there are some concepts that I am comfortable with and others that are challenging, especially, since the ABRSM Board has decided to change their syllabus and add new things into the syllabus. I have approximately 1 month to learn the new concepts, which is going to be a stressful process, but I believe that once I learn the concepts and start doing more practice questions on the new concepts and the concepts I find challenging, I’ll be able to overcome my challenges and convert my weaknesses into my strengths as well as become more confident.

For the Practical Exam, I would normally have to go to a music institute and give my exam, however, with the ongoing COVID-19 situation, I am required to send in videos of my pieces which may sound easy since I have already prepared for them, however, the ABRSM Board have asked to learn one more piece. I think learning another piece is going to be quite hard especially because I have to balance everything else, however, the extra time until next year provides me the opportunity to improve the playing of my previous pieces and I can record at any time.

I really hope that I can balance the preparation of my piano exams as well as my school-related work and other extracurricular activities.