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Part 1 and
Part 2.
Today is the actual exam. I am so excited, I could not sleep and woke up at an unearthly 0530hrs, where I went to unearth the keyboard Mr L advised me to get, so that I could learn to recognise music MYSELF.
When the hapless B1 showed showed up, I got him to test me on the intervals, ie. Major 2nd, perfect 5th etc, by pressing on the keys randomly on the keyboard. I ended up confusing myself, because I tried to doh-reh-mi everything I heard, and he pointed out I was subconsciously hitting very high doh-....reh, where it should be doh-reh-mi-fa... I could have been singing a reh-reh song.
We left for the recital studio at Chinese Swimming Club at 1030Hrs because E told me that the pianists and teachers would be there at 1100hrs for tuning. I was worried that they would be preoccupied with accompanying the other students, so being super kiasu, we were there despite my exam being in the mid afternoon. Poor B1 spent the five hours we were there, listening to me "scratch the blackboard" or playing on his iPhone. D, E and Mr L were there, and Mr L gave me the evil eye when I told him my song choices, which were Mazurka, O mio Bambino Caro and Lark in the clear Air. I was telling D about where I was planning to go softer, and louder, and I even had time to discuss with E on how to sightread.
Guess what... I came back from lunch. D, my accompanist is gone. Mr Lee demanded that I play Gavotte instead of o mio. I turned to E and begged him to accompany me because he had played with me yesterday at least. He said that as a professional, he did not want to compromise his own playing and that if I had wanted him to accompany him, I should have given him notice two days in advance. What the fuck, seriously.
I did not request for any particular pianist. D was assigned to me on my first session, and since he had practised with me twice, of course, one would assume that he would be playing for me. And fuck you, seriously, You are the accompanist. Not the person who is going to take the exam, who would be me. Who is seriously fucked by Mr L, D and E. Talk about a gang bang. If I had any real choice, I would have my old friend R to accompany me, but he chickened out. Or I would have gotten a lady to accompany me, instead of two young teenage boys who did not practise any responsibility as well as the old F. and D, shit head, did not return me my piano score, which I actually went down to Paragon to buy myself, paying good money for it.
I was very infuriated, but then my hands were tied. I furiously told Mr L that If I had to play that stupid Gavotte, I did not want any accompanist for that song, as they will throw me off with the speed that they usually play for the kids.
As I was angrily playing in the corner, I remembered something. If that guy doesn't want to play o mio, why the heck would he play Lark in the Clear Air, which he also has only played once before on Thursday? I dashed back to confront Mr L, only to find E asking the same thing of Mr L. Even if I played my backup song Gavotte with accompanist, E would still have to play Lark which he has done only once and Mazurka.
Mr L was badmouthing D, said he had zero sense of responsibility. E replied that D told him that Mr L had told him he was only supposed to accompany the grade 5s today and that D had class with another student this afternoon. Mr L admitted that no matter how fucked up his planning was, D should not leave everyone in the lurch. basically everyone in the second session was sabotaged, but I was the one with the most collateral damage because I had two songs different from everyone. Everyone else was playing Mazurka, Gavotte and Hush little Baby, which E already knows by heart even if he has never accompanied the afternoon examinees
before.
So that was how Z, another of Mr L's pianists showed up and took on half e load. he was the only one willing to play the three songs with me, even though he has not accompanied anyone at all. So now I had someone who did not know Mazurka by heart, but was willing to play for me o mio and Lark versus Mr evil D who can at least play Mazurka and has attempted o mio and Lark on Thursday yet refused because of his professionalism.
We had less than ten minutes to practise together in a little room off the recital studio. a super nasty lady came to chase us out, ostensibly because It was not my turn next, but because she belonged to another music school, and there was no reason to lend her studio to us.
I have to say Z was the nicest guy all around, even though there was no piano anymore, he went over the songs with me and beat out the beats for me so that I could pace myself accurately. I was torn. I had practiced v hard for o mio that I could do a little vibrato for it,yet should I not play Mazurka or Lark which I am not very good and play Gavotte unaccompanied?
Thanks to Mr L already writing booboos on my exam paper, I decided to stick to my original choices. I waited very long for the child in front of me, and my own test was only ten minutes long...because I failed epically.
Bambino was the only one without mistakes... mazurka, because we were chased out of the room and didn't played together, had me starting without Z even though we had agreed beforehand to have a signal as we were supposed to start together. I actually stopped and looked at him, because he did not come in on time, and this might have cost me heavily, as the examiner, a beautiful angmo woman gave me the WTF face. I don't know if she marked me as fail for that sing because we are not supposed to stop. This made me panic and I made some mistakes.
I did not do well. For the sight reading, and even though I had my scales, arpeggios and dominant 7s memorized, I did terribly for the aural. D had told me that she would emphasize
the first note of every bar which she did in the morning, and at she would repeat the song if I asked politely. SHE DID NOT.
When I came out, Mr L feigned concern, first time he showed me since I decided to take the exam. because his legions of anxious mommies were waiting outside to go in with their kiddies. I was super catty and said it was very difficult and that I failed loudly so that the kids and their mommies can hear me very clearly.
Mr L said he would return my piano score book next cc lesson. I. Thought he meant that he would take it back from D. I heard one of the little girls anxiously asking after a violin score book left behind by the kid who tested before me. that was when I realized the old Fucker who took my exam piano and violin books to photocopy immediately without my permission when I told him I had bought them, had been circulating my original piano score book that he took back from D already. I bow this, because I smashed D later and demanded my book back. he confirmed that they were with Mr L.
fuck you and your pirating ass. I am not learning from you ever again after this Exam.
Updated!!!
I got over it by the next Tuesday. I figured if I stopped my violin lessons, I will cutting my nose off to spite my face. At least that was what I was trying to psycho myself all of Wednesday. When I turned out on Wednesday, I asked Mr L for my piano scorebook. He had the cheek to say he didn't have it, it was with the accompanist because someone was having exam that day too. *FURIOUS*
And then he offered to buy it from me, second-hand. He definitely got more use out of the book than I did.
