Many parents assume exams are won on practice hours alone — in truth, the piano’s condition and the rhythm of preparation matter just as much on the day.
Six weeks before a piano exam, do four things: book a tuning and check-up (an out-of-tune piano undermines aural training), weight your practice to the mark scheme (ABRSM’s three pieces carry 90 of 150 marks), rotate scales and sight-reading daily, and run at least two mock exams.
Take the ABRSM Practical exam, the most popular in Hong Kong. The total is 150 marks: three pieces at 30 marks each make 90, scales and arpeggios carry 21, sight-reading 21, and aural tests 18. You need 100 to pass, 120 for a Merit and 130 for a Distinction.
That structure exposes a common blind spot: the three supporting elements are worth 60 marks between them — easily the difference between a Pass and a Merit. A preparation plan that only drills the three pieces quietly gives away the easiest marks on the sheet.
On choosing the pieces: the three works must come from the syllabus's three lists (A, B and C), which span contrasting styles — broadly baroque or classical, romantic, and more recent writing. Three clearly contrasted pieces satisfy the syllabus and let the examiner hear the student's range; choose with the teacher for hand size and temperament, not for how "impressive" a title sounds.
| Weeks out | Focus |
|---|---|
| Weeks 6–5 | Book the piano tuning and check-up; play each piece through in full, then repair weak passages section by section |
| Weeks 4–3 | Rotate scales and arpeggios daily from the syllabus list; one timed sight-reading passage a day with a 30-second preview |
| Week 2 | First mock exam: full exam order, no stopping, recorded and reviewed |
| Final week | Second mock; taper the workload and protect the hands — no last-minute cramming |
Sight-reading deserves the special mention: in the real exam you get roughly 30 seconds with the score. That read-react-under-pressure skill is banked in daily half-pages over weeks — it cannot be crammed in the final days.
Mock exams also deserve proper marking: self-assess against the board's published criteria, or have the teacher score them, and compare the recordings of the two mocks — the progress and the weak spots become obvious, and the final week's effort allocates itself.
Something many parents never hear: practising long-term on an out-of-tune piano directly shapes a child’s sense of pitch — and pitch is exactly what the aural tests examine. A student who hears a flat A every day can find the examiner’s true A440 strangely "wrong" on the day.
Sluggish keys or a squeaking pedal do quieter damage, forcing compensating habits into the child’s technique. Book a professional tuning and inspection four to six weeks out — early enough for the tuning to settle and for any mechanical fault to be repaired in time. For the background, see why pianos go out of tune.
Exam venue pianos are usually in good condition, and their key response can differ noticeably from an older instrument at home — especially where the venue uses a grand, whose touch depth and rebound differ from an upright’s (see grand vs upright). Two counters: arrange a few run-throughs on the teacher’s piano or a studio piano to normalise the feeling of "not my piano"; and in mock exams, rehearse from the walk to the stool onwards, so the room itself holds no surprises.
Arrive early, keep the hands warm (exam rooms run cold with air-conditioning), and before playing, silently walk through the first four bars of the opening piece — teachers consistently find a clean start lifts the whole performance disproportionately. Bring original copies of the music and the admission documents, and confirm the venue in advance. As for aural: no cramming needed — five minutes a day of singing back pitches and clapping rhythms, or the official practice recordings, will bank those 18 marks comfortably over six weeks. Afterwards, whatever the result, give the piano some care in return: an exam season of intensive practice wears hammer felt and strings, and a post-exam check-up sets the instrument up for the next grade.
Out of 150: three pieces at 30 marks each (90 total), scales and arpeggios 21, sight-reading 21, aural tests 18. Pass is 100, Merit 120, Distinction 130. The 60 marks outside the pieces are too many to surrender.
Four to six weeks out. That leaves time for the tuning to settle and for any key or pedal fault found during the check to be repaired. Tuning a day or two before the exam is cutting it fine.
Yes. Long-term practice on a flat piano shapes the ear the wrong way and costs marks in the aural tests, while worn keys and pedals breed compensating habits that misfire on the exam room piano.
One short timed passage a day: 30 seconds to scan the key, time signature and hazards, then play through without stopping — steady beats fast, and never stop to fix errors. This skill accumulates over weeks; it cannot be crammed.
At least two in the final fortnight: full exam order (pieces, scales, sight-reading, aural), no stopping, recorded and reviewed. If possible, do one on an unfamiliar piano to rehearse the real-day feeling.
Exam coming up? Four to six weeks out is the ideal window for a tuning and check-up — let a certified technician make sure the piano is ready too.
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