Over the past five years, digital music exams have continued to evolve, gain traction and grow in popularity, not just with students, but with teachers, parents and schools. As I’ve written previously, they are here to stay. Their introduction and use is not without criticism. How can a digital exam be valued in the same way a face-to-face exam can? Are digital exams an easier options? These are all justified concerns, and in some cases, valid criticisms.
The problem is that for many of us, again, as I’ve written previously, face-to-face exams are becoming increasingly inaccessible. Some venues have closed, and other centres are too far to travel to; in some cases facilities at venues are not up to standard, and in many cases, there simply isn’t the availability of dates. In fact, the demand has been so low at some local centres recently, that it has not been possible for them to run at all.
I have very few students who do exams these days, possibly just a handful each year. The syllabuses and the exams themselves are not mainstays of my teaching, but nevertheless, they still, in my view, have a valuable place within the wider music education community. The ongoing challenges of booking a face-to-face exam means that for those of my students who do want to work towards an exam, we’ve gone digital. I’ve been registered as a Trinity Digital Exam Centre for around 18 months, and whilst I still occasionally use ABRSM and LCM, I’m now mainly using Trinity exams, a really bonus, as I’ve never lived anywhere where there’s been a centre within fair travelling distance.
But the criticisms remain: how can we compare a digital exam to a face-to-face exam?
As a side note, I’m focusing here on graded music exams, rather than diplomas; I think there are significant criticisms and questions to be explored when it comes to their digital counterparts (another post, maybe?).
Some people will never be converted, in the same way some will never be converted to online banking. But in a world of easy criticism, I think that there are some positives to the digital exams, and I want to share some of those here.
Digital exams challenge our notion of performance
Perhaps incorrectly, when I was preparing students for face-to-face exams, we never thought much about the performance aspect of the programme. Our focus was on learning and playing, rather than performing. Performing, was of course a part, but it wasn’t something we focused on specifically, and it was generally not commented upon on the mark sheets.
Certainly with Trinity Digital Exams and ABRSM Performance Grades, there are marks specifically allocated for the overall performance. This means that in approaching the recording date, we have thought consciously about those things which make a performance: how a player stands or sits; how they move between items; how they create a sense of performance; and how the music hangs together as a complete programme.
In some ways, this was never a consideration for face-to-face exams. We had to stop at the end of each piece or section to allow the examiner to write their comments, so there was never any need to create a sense of overall flow. This aspect has been a real positive for me and for my students, and in that sense, I might argue that these recordings are closer to a genuine public performance than a face-to-face exam.
We might have to learn to accept ‘good enough’ over perfection
Initially, I think that a lot of students, and maybe teachers too, thought it would be much easier to record an exam than go and do it live, after all, you can in theory, record and re-record as many times as is necessary. I think that many quickly found that actually, that ability brings with it a whole set of new challenges. For many students (and possibly teachers), they have had to come to terms with the fact that no performance will be perfect.
In a face-to-face exam, we have one chance, and that’s it. It will never be perfect. Students have had to work with the fact that no matter how many times you record your exam, there will always be something else that’s wrong or something which could be improved on. We have had to learn that instead of perfection, we might need to accept ‘good enough’. I think this is a wider positive of playing and learning an instrument or to sing.
Digital exams offer us a flexibility which could better serve the differing needs of our students
With face-to-face exams, we were inevitably restricted to taking the exam at a certain time of year. Digital exams mean that students can work towards and enter an exam whenever they’re ready. Nevertheless, I would always want to agree a recording deadline with students well in advance, and do a mock recording the week before, just as we may have done a mock exam previously for a face-to-face exam.
All learners are different, and the flexibility the digital exams have brought recognises that not all students progress at the same rate. Sometimes, life happens, and they need a bit longer. On the other side of the coin, sometimes they are ready earlier, and we can record before the performance passes its ‘peak’. We can still have deadlines, but we can agree these in consideration of other factors.
Our understanding of assessment and performance is challenged
Overall, for my students and I, the digital exams have challenged us to think differently about musical performance, not just about playing, but about what makes a complete performance in itself. This has inspired a valuable dialogue with many students, of all ages. We have all had to learn, or perhaps re-learn, the art of performing. Performance matters, something which in our face-to-face exam culture has perhaps been overlooked.
Digital exams are clearly here to stay, and it seems that face-to-face exams are being increasingly squeezed out. It’s a shame. No one should be forced to switch to something new by stealth. I miss the occasion of face-to-face exams, but I also recognise that as teachers, we can create a sense of occasion in a different way when it comes to digital exams.
Digital exams do, and will continue, to challenge our teaching, and indeed, our whole notion of assessment, but ultimately, I think that’s a good thing. We can embrace change, and as much as we lament the passing of the old ways, we can take the best of those with us into a new era. We don’t need to throw out the baby with the bath water, but we can explore the possibilities of a new digital age.
Published 17.2.25
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