A year and a half over in 20 minutes

I just spent the last year and a half of my life studying for my music exam, Grade 6 to be precise, with the Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music, London. I sat Grade 5 back in 1998, so I had a lot of revising to do to get to this level.

I practiced daily the three pieces I would play, along with the scales and arpeggios. I sight read constantly (which was a thorough pain in the arse for me as my sight reading is absolutely horrid), and to top it all off, I took aural ear-training lessons weekly. Before all of this, I had no idea what the word 'aural' even meant.

I'm glad to say that for the most part the exam was okay, although my sight reading was bad. I did try my best, but still, there's tons of room for improvement.

But what amazes me is how we can spend so much time preparing for something and when that moment comes, it passes so quickly in comparison to all the time spent in anticipation.

The exam was over in 20 minutes, that was it!

I'm glad it wasn't longer, but the ratio is 1 & 1/2 year(s): 20 minutes

I remember when I graduated from university a few years ago, and as we all walked on and off stage to collect our scrolls I thought 'Is that it? Four years of studying for exams and mid-terms which we all acknowledge now by walking to collect a certificate in public. The certificate collection process took less than a minute for each of us.

It's strange but the public display of any procedure (whatever it may be) could never truly reflect all the preparation that it took to get to that point. What we see as the end product, as great as it may be is only a glimpse of all the hard work that it took to get to that stage. But still, it's noble to acknowledge persons and certain events in public.

The end is not the goal, it's the journey that's the true lesson, the true joy. At the end of it all, we all wonder 'Now what?'

Anyways, I'm glad the exam is over and now, I gotta start getting ready for Grade 7. Oh boy!