Grade 2 expectations is so high...

After one month into Grade 2, I have only passed one assignment so far (to my teacher's expectations). And have been playing the same other 2 pieces for the past 3 weeks. I can play the piece fluently when I am at home, but when I go for my classes, there bound to be hiccups here and there. I know when I make a mistake, I should just continue so that the piece is still considered ok. But practically, once I made one mistakes, all the other mistakes will follow.

I do feel that there seems to be quite a big jump in expectations from Grade 1 to 2. My teacher's rational is that I need to learn how to perfect every piece that I learn, so that when I am learning the exam pieces, it would come as a breeze, and not struggling through them. She says she has saw other teachers just teaching their students the 9 exam pieces grade after grade, and yeah, the students can play the exam pieces, but other than that, they are really not very exposed to the various pieces, and their technical skills will also not be as strong.

But I can't help to think, is it that her standard is high? Or is it that I am really very lousy? But well, hope by increasing my practice time, my piano standard will move quickly to match her expectations. Jia You!

Theory wise, so far ok. But the relative minors to the majors are making me a bit stress. And those Italian that needs to be memorized. Wow. Overwhelming!

Sight-reading, just feel that I am progressing very slowly. Need to practice more! So many things to look out for. The tempo, the key signature, the time signature, where to play loud and where to play soft. And before I know it, 30 seconds is over, and I need to start playing the piece, even before I feel ready.

A dozen a day. Wow. The exercises at the back of the Book One are getting so much harder. Argh!! My fingers keep pressing the wrong keys! =( And aching fingers! Especially my last 2 fingers for both hands.

Scales wise, still coping. Hopefully after a while, I will know exactly which notes to press when I am asked to play which minor and so on. Now, I still need to pause for a while, think first for like 5 secs, before I can play out the scale.

Ok, hopefully after a few more lessons, I will find Grade 2 easier and more manageable...