Independantly sitting grade exams?

[Fassa Albrecht]

Just wondering, and this counts for my piano as well as my bass playing: is it possible to sit grade exams having studied for them yourself, with no teacher?

I've been told a few varying opinions on this and I really don't know what to believe any more. Yet I'd like to do this some day.

[fdeck]

Don't see why not. I looked up the grade exams, and each one has a pretty well defined syllabus. Just learn the tunes cold.

Now, what a teacher can do for you is to evaluate your playing compared to other students who have taken the same exams. They can also identify points of technique and musicianship that might be obvious to an examiner but not to you.