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When I get a student who needs to prepare for their GCSE music performance piece, I always try to simulate what they'll get when the ''red light'' goes on, and being recorded.
I used to drill them to death on the chosen piece, so to (hopefully) get them playing all the mistakes before the big day, but then I though of another idea.
The main thing that got my students in a state of nerves, wasn't (normally) the piece of music, but KNOWING they were being recorded.
So, for the last few lessons before the scheduled exam, I used a mock ''red light''. I told them (having not done the exam before, they didn't know any difference) that this WAS the exam, right now.
Flicked on the ''red light'' and told them, ''when you're ready''.
As they finished, many with notable mistakes, I then told them that that is how it's going to feel in a few weeks time. After realising that this in fact WASN'T the real exam, they seemed to feel that there wasn't anything to actually worry about, apart from relax and enjoy.
