Failed MUSIC by 3 points — what should I change?

I actually failed the first time by a few points. Total gut punch. But passed on the second attempt with a comfortable margin.

What changed: I stopped trying to memorize answers and started actually understanding the material. Specifically on how to transcript music — I went back to basics and worked forward from first principles.

Also switched from reading to doing. Less time with the textbook, more time on practice questions with detailed answer explanations.

You've got this. The second attempt is always better because you know exactly what the exam is like.

Quick data point: I spent 7 weeks studying, 2-2 hours a day, and passed with a 86%.

The section on how to transcript music took me the longest to feel confident about. Eventually I just drilled practice questions until I could answer them without hesitation.

What testing center did you end up booking? Some of them have much shorter wait times than others right now.

Great discussion. One thing nobody mentions: sleep the night before matters more than one more study session. Went in fully rested for my music-transcription and felt sharper than expected.

Three points is brutal — been there with a different exam and it sticks with you. Looking back at my own prep, the thing that caught me off guard was how much the exam leans on ear training as notation, not just theory. You can know what a transcription is conceptually all day long, but the actual test wants you working through rhythmic ambiguity and enharmonic choices under time pressure. That's a different skill than studying a fixed script like a musical transcript, which is polished and already resolved for you.

What shifted things for me was drilling with raw, messy audio — stuff where the rhythm isn't obvious and you have to commit to a notation decision without a net. I also spent time on the music transcription practice test to get a feel for how the questions are actually framed, because the phrasing matters more than I expected. Some of the "what is this technique" questions are really asking about function in context, not just definitions.

Hindsight take: the fine score on the section you did well on probably means your ear is solid. It's the written analysis and terminology side where most people leave points. Three points is genuinely close — you're not rebuilding from scratch, just tightening one layer.