Violin Exam Preparation: The Last Two Weeks
Shang Kun 2026-09-25 77
Violin exam preparation in the last two weeks is less about learning new pieces and more about locking in what you already know. I teach students in Beijing who sit ABRSM and CCOM graded exams, and I see the same pattern every season: the final fortnight decides whether a solid player walks in calm or walks in shaky. So let's talk about exactly what to do with those fourteen days.
What should change in the last two weeks of violin exam preparation
The short answer: your practice ratio flips. From roughly now until the exam, about 70% of your time goes to polishing repertoire, 20% to scales and arpeggios at exam speed, and 10% to sight-reading and aural. If you're still "learning" a piece at this point, that's a red flag — either simplify your tempo target or accept that the examiner hears a slightly slower, cleaner version rather than a fast, messy one.
I had a 12-year-old student last spring preparing Grade 5. Ten days out, his third piece still had two bars he couldn't get through. We cut his practice plan and spent four days on those two bars alone, slow, with a metronome at 60. He passed with merit. Nothing else in his programme changed. That's the kind of triage the last two weeks are for.
Daily practice structure for the final fortnight
Here's a template I give students, roughly 90 minutes a day for a Grade 5–8 candidate:
15 minutes — scales and arpeggios in the exam keys, hands separate mentally, then together. Play each scale three times: slow, medium, performance tempo. If your violin scale practice routine has been weekly rather than daily, this is the time to compress it into every single day.
45 minutes — repertoire. Split it: first piece gets 20 minutes (the hard 8 bars get 12 of those), second piece 15, third piece 10. Always finish a practice block by playing the piece through without stopping, even with mistakes.
15 minutes — sight-reading. One short exercise a day, clap the rhythm first, then play at half tempo. Do not skip this section; it's the cheapest mark on the whole exam.
15 minutes — aural and memory work. Sing your scales, clap back rhythms, and play your pieces from memory in chunks. Memory isn't required in every exam board, but it makes you more secure either way.
Why do things fall apart in week two, not week one
Because adrenaline starts showing up early. Around day 8–10 before the exam, students begin unconsciously speeding up, gripping the bow harder, and skipping breaths. I see bow holds collapse first — the pinky lifts, the thumb locks. If you notice this in your own playing, go back to basics for ten minutes: check your violin bow hold against a mirror before you start each session. It sounds fussy. It saves marks.
Week two is also when nerves show up in tuning. Pegs slip because hands are sweaty and rushed. Learn to tune with fine tuners first, then pegs, and check the instrument the night before the exam, not five minutes before you walk in.
How to run a full mock exam at home
Two or three times in the final ten days, run a complete mock: walk into the room, tune, announce your first piece, play all three with no stopping, do one sight-reading example, one aural test, then leave the room. Time it. A Grade 5 exam usually runs 15–20 minutes; Grade 8 can go 30.
Record the mock on your phone and listen once. Not to punish yourself — just to catch tempo drift. Most students play their first piece 10–15% faster in a mock than in normal practice. Knowing that number helps you plan.
What should you do the day before the exam
Play through everything once, slowly. Then stop. No marathon practice sessions, no trying to fix a passage at 10 pm. Sleep matters more than one more repetition.
Prepare your materials the night before: instrument, bow, rosin, spare strings, shoulder rest, sheet music with page turns marked, and the exam slip. If you're taking the exam in Beijing, allow extra travel time — the Ring Road at 8 am is not your friend, and a rushed arrival can undo two weeks of careful work.
What to eat and how to warm up on exam day
Eat something normal. Not a huge meal, not nothing. Warm up for 15–20 minutes at home before you leave, or in a quiet corner if you arrive early — scales, then the openings of your pieces. Your hands need to know they're working today.
Should you play through pieces on exam day
Play the first two lines of each piece, slowly. Then put the violin down. Last-minute full run-throughs just tire your arms and feed anxiety. Trust the two weeks of work you've already put in.
How much should you practice in the final three days
Cut the volume, keep the shape. If you normally practise 90 minutes, do 45–60. Same structure: scales, pieces, a bit of sight-reading. Stop while you still feel good. There's a real phenomenon where students peak two days before the exam and then wear themselves out — don't be that student.
One concrete rule I give: no new practice material after day 10 before the exam. No new fingerings, no new tempo experiments. If a passage still isn't secure by then, slow it down and make it clean rather than fast.
Common mistakes in the final two weeks
Changing fingerings. I see it constantly. A student gets nervous about a shift, tries a new position in week two, and now neither option is reliable. Lock your fingerings by day 10 and write them in pencil on the score.
Ignoring the easy marks. Scales, sight-reading, and aural are typically 30–40% of the total mark in ABRSM graded exams. Students obsess over the hardest bars of their pieces and lose easy points elsewhere.
Practising only the hard bits. Your pieces need run-throughs under performance conditions. If you never play from start to finish, the exam will be the first time you do — bad idea.
Not sleeping. Sleep is when motor learning consolidates. Two nights of poor sleep in exam week can undo more than you'd think.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How many hours a day should I practise in the last two weeks
A: For a Grade 5–8 candidate, 90 minutes of focused practice is plenty. Two hours is fine if you split it into two sessions. More than that usually means diminishing returns and tired arms. Quality and structure beat raw volume every time.
Q: Can I still improve in the last two weeks
A: Yes, but in small, specific ways. You can fix intonation in a handful of bars, stabilise tempo, and improve your start-and-finish confidence. You probably can't learn a new piece or transform your vibrato. Aim for polish, not reinvention.
Q: What if I mess up during a mock exam
A: Keep going. That's the whole point of the mock — to practise recovering. Examiners mark through mistakes all the time; what they notice is whether you stop, restart, or panic. Learn to keep the pulse moving even when a note goes wrong.
Q: Should I memorize my pieces for the exam
A: Some exam boards require it, some don't. Even when it isn't required, memory work in the final two weeks makes you feel more secure. If memorising is causing panic, keep the sheet music nearby and play from the page — that's completely acceptable in most graded exams.
Q: How do I handle nerves on exam day
A: Breathe slowly before you walk in, and remember that a slightly faster heart rate is normal. Start your first piece at a tempo you can control, not the tempo you wish you could play. If your hands shake, play the opening bars a touch slower than usual — nobody penalises a steady start.
Q: What should I bring to the exam room
A: Your violin and bow, rosin, spare strings, shoulder rest, your sheet music with page turns marked, and the exam entry slip. If you use a music stand, check whether the venue provides one. Arrive 20–30 minutes early so you can warm up without rushing.
Related reading
If your scales need a structure overhaul before exam season, start with this violin scales practice approach. For students who freeze on the sight-reading section, this guide on reading violin sheet music faster is worth ten minutes of your evening. And if your practice time is squeezed by work or school, this violin practice routine for busy players will help you fit everything into fewer, sharper sessions.
Shang Kun Violin (Beijing) teaches online and in-person lessons for ABRSM and CCOM graded exams. If you want a teacher to look at your exam pieces and build a two-week schedule around them, get in touch — we've walked a lot of students through this exact fortnight.
