Adarsh did his Grade 4 and 5 exams, Classical Guitar, during the pandemic. That being the case, he did both the exams as online exams with us sending in recordings.

When it came to his grade 6, in addition to the complexity and intricacies of the pieces, he had a fairly tough decision to make regarding whether to do the exam in person or online. The online exams did have the luxury of being able to do more takes if he made a mistake in one of the run throughs. He was quite nervous about playing his scales, pieces and technical work live and being observed while doing so.

Though the more familiar option would have been to take the online exam, Adarsh decided that he wanted the experience of an in person exam. He wanted to challenge himself and really put his skills to the test. Having made the decision, he worked very hard and gave the exam on the 3rd of December 2022. It is a testament to his hard work and resilience that he passed the exam with a distinction.

We were very impressed with his courage, clarity of thought in his decision making and his willingness to push himself and get out of his comfort zone!

What Ardash says about his exam experience

I found the in person exam very exciting, yet quite challenging at the same time. The experience was very different from the online exam. This being said, I was up to the task and worked hard on the aural and sight reading exercises.

To build up to the exam, I practised playing in front of my parents to help deal with my nerves. On the day of the exam, I tried very hard to put into practise all the things I had learned and I am pleased to say that my efforts paid off. When I received my results, I was really happy to find that I got a distinction. I feel that all it needed was some hard work, perseverance and keeping calm under pressure.