Monday, July 03, 2006

Hanging Out With the Examiners

Oh man do I remember the feeling well! Tossing and turning the night before. Sick stomach. Sweaty palms. Trembling hands....PIANO EXAMS!!!

With fear in my heart and willing my feet to move each step, I'd tentatively walk into the exam room. The whole time the thought, 'Why didn't I practice more? Why didn't I practice more?' would scurry through my head and taunt me as I approached the bench.

Trying to make up for my less than adequate amount of practice I'd try to make eye contact with the examiner and with a big smile say, 'Hi.' while trying desperately to project more confidence than I had. And, it never hurts to make a good first impression. All the while, not fooling her/him in the least!

It was now or never baby. Bring it on! Anything but B-.....sending up a quick arrow prayer, 'Please not B-. Anything but B-'

And then she would begin. The ‘Examinator' (as one young exam student once called Sharon) would request, 'B- formula pattern please.' Ugh!!! And we were off!

****

Now, if you haven't gone through the experience of a piano exam, I'm sure you can relate these feelings to some other experience in your life. A school exam, job interview or something of the like.

One of my greatest faults in life is that I am a procrastinator! If I can put it off, I will. If I can't put if off, I still do! Practicing for lessons and in turn preparing for exams was no exception to the rule. There were a couple of years when I had a little more dedication and put the time into it but believe me, those times were few and far between!

These days as the tables have turned and I am now the piano teacher, I sometimes wonder if lightning will strike as I challenge my students to practice more! Having seen the added challenges procrastination and lack of practice can cause, I hope to encourage my students to prepare early and learn better practice habits from the beginning. I'm hoping to have a 2nd chance at this and teach Hannah from a young age how to better plan out her time. I'm hoping to teach her from the mistakes I've made which I guess is a common parenting tool.

Without further adieu, I give you the examiners I had the privilege of driving to the examination centre each day and getting to know while we were in Calgary. See, they're not so scary! In fact, we had a lot of fun together and some great new friendships were formed! Marilyn, Joan and Brian - Hope to see you again sometime!



PS - Between you and me, I'd rather chauffer these examiners than play for them any day! Even though we became friends, I'm sure you'd still find me trembling at the piano! :o)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...