Performance & Exam Day

A chart on playing well when it counts — a week-by-week countdown to the date, a night-before bag checklist, walking-on steps, and how to handle nerves and mistakes.

What's inside

• A countdown table from six weeks out to the day itself, with what changes and the test that says you're ready
• A night-before bag checklist — music, spares, tuner, water, clothes and the entry form
• Five steps for walking on, from walking in slowly to acknowledging the room afterward
• Notes on nerves as preparation not a warning, what to do when it goes wrong, and reviewing afterwards
• Three habits — practising performing, knowing your entry points, and warming up the body first