Not so much a question - just a few ideas after having completed my first ABRSM exam. Hopefully of use to noobs...will seem very obvious to the old-lags!
Rehearse the full exam at home in the order that you want to do it, at least a couple of times; and use the backing CD for the aural and improv tests.
Get to know the scales really well in the build up to the exam - and also practice scale patterns and improv using the scales - really helps with the listen/respond and the sight read/improv sections - as they are all based on that Grade's scales.
Get someone to read out scale choices to you; in random order; or record this yourself; as part of practice. If you just learn from a single list the memory relies on that order.
Practice in different rooms - I had played nearly all in my tutor's room and my office at home - small. Playing in a humungous church for the first time made everything sound very different and quite off-putting for the first few scales.
Always follow through a full tune when you have started it in practice - I was getting experienced in filling in for missing the head by a bar - it happened in the exam and I knew how to recover!
Rehearse the full exam at home in the order that you want to do it, at least a couple of times; and use the backing CD for the aural and improv tests.
Get to know the scales really well in the build up to the exam - and also practice scale patterns and improv using the scales - really helps with the listen/respond and the sight read/improv sections - as they are all based on that Grade's scales.
Get someone to read out scale choices to you; in random order; or record this yourself; as part of practice. If you just learn from a single list the memory relies on that order.
Practice in different rooms - I had played nearly all in my tutor's room and my office at home - small. Playing in a humungous church for the first time made everything sound very different and quite off-putting for the first few scales.
Always follow through a full tune when you have started it in practice - I was getting experienced in filling in for missing the head by a bar - it happened in the exam and I knew how to recover!