Time management during BM exam — how fast are you supposed to go?

by FirstTimeTaker 142 views2 replies
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FirstTimeTakerOP
March 19, 2026

Did a full timed practice test today and ran out of time with 5 questions left. Definitely have a time management problem.

The BM or BMus Bachelor of Music exam has 108 questions and the time limit is 115 minutes by my understanding. That works out to roughly 72 seconds per question — which should be doable except I keep stopping on "bm festival" type questions.

My bad habit: I over-analyze questions I'm unsure about rather than making a best guess and moving on.

Any strategies that worked for you? Specifically:
- Do you go through once and skip hard questions to come back to?
- How many questions on "bm vs" should I expect — is it worth the time investment?
- Is the real exam usually easier to pace than practice tests, or harder?

I'm good enough on the content, I think — it's purely pacing that's failing me.

S
SameBoat
March 20, 2026

Quick data point: I spent 5 weeks studying, 2-3 hours a day, and passed with a 83%.

The section on bm chord 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.

G
GotCertified
March 21, 2026

Quick data point: I spent 9 weeks studying, 2-3 hours a day, and passed with a 76%.

The section on bm chord 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.

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