In these trying times, it seems that a music exam would be impossible to conduct. After all, how can the experience of a live exam be replicated through an online medium? There are all sorts of problems that might pop up at any time! I was filled with these thoughts as I enrolled for the LCME Guitar Grade 3 exam last month.
To begin with, I had prepared for this exam entirely online. For this, I would like to thank my teacher Shree Artha sir, who ensured that my preparation was thorough and understanding complete, despite the fact that we were sitting in two different rooms on two different sides of the city! Without his guidance, I would not have been able to attend the exam nor progress this far in my music.
The lead-up to the exam too had its fair share of problems, as I was traveling and would be unable to attend the exam on certain dates. I would like to thank Ms. Jovina Smith, the LCME representative for Karnataka, who was very accommodating and worked with my teacher to ensure that I got an appropriate exam date.
Although I was quite sure that the LCME would conduct the online exam with no problems, I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the experience was. Starting with the connectivity call, I had no problems at all. The exam itself was on time, and I would like to thank my examiner for being supportive of the fact that this was my first music exam ever and ensuring that I understood everything that I had to do.
At this point, we expect that anything conducted over the online medium will face a problem, be it a connectivity issue or incorrectly working hardware. However, I am pleased to say that there were no problems during my exam, which can be attributed to the brilliant idea of having the connectivity call so that there were no problems from my end, and the professionalism of the examiners in their equipment, connectivity and interactions.
Overall, the online exam was a great experience. It felt very much like a real exam, all the way from the jitters and nervousness before to the joy of completing the exam after! Although I was initially skeptical, I am now convinced that online exams are quite appropriate substitute for the in-person exams. I would once again like to thank my teacher, Shree Artha sir, and the LCME Board for receiving this wonderful opportunity to take my exam online, and would highly recommend it to other students looking to attend their music exams.