When I turned sixty, I fancied doing something to celebrate getting to this stage in my life! I considered working on a piano diploma, as a gift to myself, since music has been so important to me, especially in later years. I finished my piano grade exams before going to university, and I thought, maybe I could just go one better, one last time…

I wanted to do it with ANZCA, because it’s the examination board I enrol my students with. I find them modern and positive, and love bringing my kids through their exam structure.

Of course, I vacillated massively. The band is busy, why did I want to load pressure on myself?

But I also felt if I didn’t make a move soon, it would be too late. My chops aren’t getting faster, the old arthritis is making an appearance here and there, in the form of swollen nodes on my finger joints.

In the back of my mind I knew, if I failed the exam, I would tell myself: well, I’m already a paid musician, did I really need to pass an exam, to believe I’m any good? But I put that aside. I didn’t want to think like that. I just wanted to do my best, and if I passed, it would be a gift to myself to quietly know I had achieved a measured standard by an external board. Putting the letters Perf. Dip. after my name is not going to mean much to my students, nor to the reggae band. So it wasn’t about any professional gain.

I picked my pieces. For Modern Pianoforte there is a wide range of music to choose from. I chose these.

List A: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, The New Best of Billy Joel – Piano Solo, JOEL, B

List B: Cast Your Fate To The Wind, Jazz — Note-for-Note Keyboard Transcriptions GUARALDI, V

List C: Granada (Serenata) No. 1 Suite Española, Op. 47 ALBENIZ, I

List D: Nocturne in B-flat minor No 1 Nocturnes Op. 9 CHOPIN, F

It was a perfect selection! After all, I am a Jack-of-all-trades, I’m not a specialist (and not fishing for compliments either). I just love a variety of music, and prefer to explore rather than limit oneself. My friend Bojan is like this, drumming reggae for Roaring Lion, playing bass in metal band Adriatic, and loving classical. Hear him jam drums over a concerto. So to take an exam with pieces by Billy Joel (rock), Vince Guaraldi (jazz), Isaac Albeniz (Spanish classical) and Chopin (romantic classical) was a real reflection of me. I was very happy about it!

I worked on it for about six months, and for sure many times I thought about quitting. Why the hell was I doing this to myself? Also, I had to write accompanying diploma notes. Far out! I didn’t have a teacher, because I didn’t want to have to drive from Kooralbyn (a bit far away from anywhere) to Brisbane or the Gold Coast to an appropriate teacher. In hindsight, this was crazy. I should have at least talked to someone for guidance and I feel very fortunate to have passed.

I enrolled for the exam and two weeks before my 61st birthday I received news that I has passed, and they sent an amazing report! Boy, they didn’t hold anything back! But that was very good to read, I wanted to know everything and appreciated the detail and time the two examiners took to break down my work. There was plenty to take apart:

The Chopin piece. Try to avoid predictable rubato, as this misses the whole point of freedom in time. This is potentially a superb performance, showing a depth of feeling which is pleasing, but it needs much further refinements and understanding of Romantic rubato.

In the jazz piece. The polyrhythms were mostly handled well in this list, although a much greater degree of rhythmic accuracy could have been achieved. Musically this was quite an assured performance, with a peaceful atmosphere created in the outer sections and quite a good feel for the swing in the central section. The touch here could have been more contrasted, with more “bite”. … the rather untidy ending was a pity, and it is worthwhile noting that relaxing one’s guard a little too soon is a danger in performance. Keep the concentration going to the very end.

Yep, for sure, brain fade was a problem for me! All in all, I believe the many criticisms were fair and I was grateful that both examiners passed me. I think, if I had had a teacher, my understanding of how to play the pieces would have been better, and definitely my accompanying notes would have improved!

But with the noted technical shortcomings — my tempo should have been faster in the middle section of the Billy Joel piece, and some polyrhythmic runs in the classical pieces were unpolished, among other things — I don’t think I could have been much better. I think my skills had met their limits, and I’m content with that.

Also, life does get in the way! Roaring Lion was getting more and more bookings in 2024, and if I didn’t just commit and take the exam, the opportunity was likely to pass and I’d never get it back!

Sadly, I didn’t get to the graduation ceremony to receive my certificate. We’re just too busy playing — and no complaints from me. I had to laugh at myself when I received the invitation to the ceremony. I had my “London mind” on and assumed the ceremony would be in Brisbane at the Convention Centre or somewhere else in the city. Nope. It’s in Melbourne! Ha. Joanna, you forget, you’re in the sticks now. Yea. And I love it!

The certificate came in the post today. Yes it was raining and the envelope was soaked! Grr. But it’s salvaged, and eventually I’ll get a frame for it. Feeling purty good tonight ☺️.

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