If you've got a hankering for learning a musical instrument then you might have come across the phrase "music grades". These are exams that form part of an official music syllabus which seeks to encourage and promote musical standards. Many students like taking these grades because it gives them something to aim form and assesses how they are progressing with their instrument.
Now how can you take these graded exams? You or your school will have a choice between three examining bodies. The main one that people use is ABRSM. This stands for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. The other two bodies are Trinity College London and London College of Music. ABRSM is hugely popular due to its detailed syllabus and range of sheet music it publishes in conjunction with this.
Practical exams offered by ABRSM are by far the most taken of all music exams. These are the ones that range from grade one to eight. You can sit these exams in any of a range of 35 different musical instruments. However, ABRSM also offer jazz exams, practical musicianship exams and music theory exams.
Now let's examine what actually takes place during a practical exam. The first thing you should know is that every practical exam, regardless of grade, is divided into four components. The first component carries the highest value of marks. This is the set pieces component. ABRSM brings out a course syllabus for every grade of every instrument they offer exams in. From this syllabus the student will be guided by their teacher to select three pieces of music to play during their exam. They practice these pieces thoroughly for the exam and can take the sheet music in with them. Each piece is worth 30 marks, with twenty needed for each to pass the component.
After set pieces comes the scales and arpeggios component. This requires the student to play a variety of scales and arpeggios that the examiner will request on the day. They must play these from memory. The maximum number of marks offered on this component is 21. A minimum score of 14 is required to pass.
The third component is the aural. As the name would suggest, it involves listening comprehension. In this part, the examiner will play a short melody on the instrument and then question the candidate over it. The aural carries 18 marks with a minimum of 12 required to pass.
The last part of any music exam is sight reading. This involves playing a piece of music that you are not familiar with. What happens is this: the examiner will give a short piece of sheet music to the candidate. They will tell them they have 30 seconds to look through and practice it. After this time the candidate must play from the sheet music for real. A minimum score of 14 out of 21 is needed to pass this section.
The number of marks needed to pass the exam and be awarded the grade is 100 out of 150. Candidates that score 120 or more will be commended with a pass with merit. Candidates that score 130 or more will be commended with a pass with distinction.
Now how can you take these graded exams? You or your school will have a choice between three examining bodies. The main one that people use is ABRSM. This stands for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. The other two bodies are Trinity College London and London College of Music. ABRSM is hugely popular due to its detailed syllabus and range of sheet music it publishes in conjunction with this.
Practical exams offered by ABRSM are by far the most taken of all music exams. These are the ones that range from grade one to eight. You can sit these exams in any of a range of 35 different musical instruments. However, ABRSM also offer jazz exams, practical musicianship exams and music theory exams.
Now let's examine what actually takes place during a practical exam. The first thing you should know is that every practical exam, regardless of grade, is divided into four components. The first component carries the highest value of marks. This is the set pieces component. ABRSM brings out a course syllabus for every grade of every instrument they offer exams in. From this syllabus the student will be guided by their teacher to select three pieces of music to play during their exam. They practice these pieces thoroughly for the exam and can take the sheet music in with them. Each piece is worth 30 marks, with twenty needed for each to pass the component.
After set pieces comes the scales and arpeggios component. This requires the student to play a variety of scales and arpeggios that the examiner will request on the day. They must play these from memory. The maximum number of marks offered on this component is 21. A minimum score of 14 is required to pass.
The third component is the aural. As the name would suggest, it involves listening comprehension. In this part, the examiner will play a short melody on the instrument and then question the candidate over it. The aural carries 18 marks with a minimum of 12 required to pass.
The last part of any music exam is sight reading. This involves playing a piece of music that you are not familiar with. What happens is this: the examiner will give a short piece of sheet music to the candidate. They will tell them they have 30 seconds to look through and practice it. After this time the candidate must play from the sheet music for real. A minimum score of 14 out of 21 is needed to pass this section.
The number of marks needed to pass the exam and be awarded the grade is 100 out of 150. Candidates that score 120 or more will be commended with a pass with merit. Candidates that score 130 or more will be commended with a pass with distinction.
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