at least i did not get lost

OK now that it's over, it's time for the dissecting of What Went Wrong, And What I Should've Done Instead.

I do not normally dwell on the past, but unpleasant mistakes should be noted and learnt from!

First thing I gotta say is this - after 13 years of piano education, I had the decency to forget B Minor has what key signatures!

And the thing was, he asked me to play such easy scales! D Major, G Major and even C Major! Like, I didn't think that there would still be examiners who asks candidates to play C Major scales?! I don't even play C Major-anything anymore during practice!

I practised all the difficult scales like hell before the test, even though I know that what I usually practice won't come out in the exam. It's the same every exam; that whatever I prepare for will usually not come out. Instead it's the easier ones. But I'm not going to take risks, so I practised my 'F sharp Harmonic scales in thirds' 50 times the day before.

Therefore I think the reason I freaked out and forgot all my scales was due to the shock that he gave me such simple scales that rendered me momentarily shocked and wondered if I heard wrongly.

AND THEN he asked me to play B Minor similar motion scales.

I put my hands there. He waited. I waited.

For inspiration/my memory to return!

I went 'Oh shit' a couple of times and tried to grind my brain to remember. B Minor, what was it?! It's neither B Major nor B Harmonic Minor, both of which I remember which key signatures they have, so in the end I played a mixture of both B Major and B Harmonic Minor.

"Sei mouuuu"

The rest of the scales were a blur. I don't think he asked me to play a Dominant 7th scale at all, and luckily my arpeggios were okay. So were my songs and sight reading.

I dislike playing scales! The monotony of practising the same notes over and over again until you get it right, and having to constantly practice because if you stop for a period of time, you'll forget the key signatures and fingering, and you'll have to re-learn everything.

The supposedly one hour-long exam took me less than half an hour. Sigh, I think I sped on my pieces; they're supposed to be a minimum 20 minutes by themselves.

And to think of it, I probably should have said something like 'Thank you Sir, nice meeting you', rather than mumble something incoherent and run out the door like a pack of wolves chasing me. Which was what I did!

You'd think that somebody who is turning almost 20 would be more level-headed and less anxious, having taken countless piano exams and knowing what to expect.

And yet, the mistakes still happened. The panic still came, the shaking and 'oh shit' did not stay away.

Image Source: piano inclinato

On the way back home, it suddenly came to me.

B Minor is B Harmonic Minor! Just because he did not mention 'harmonic', it totally blurred me out.

FML Sam, after 13 years of piano education....

On the other hand, look at the bright side! I'm probably not going to forget what are B Minor's key signatures for the rest of my life.