Grade 4 Aural Tests Questions Options

[undertoad]

Hi all

I'm working one of my students towards Grade 4 piano. We're working on aural tests a lot, and I'm using the ABRSM Aural Tests (1-5) book. It's a loooooooong time since I did my last ABRSM exams (1988), so I don't remember how it works (even assuming things haven't changed).

A few things are unclear:

a) Test 4A:
"To sing or play from memory a four-bar melody...."
I don't understand how anyone could play the melody, unless they have absolute pitch. And for a piano student, how would they play this? Shove the examiner off the piano and play it, again with absolute pitch?
I'm going with "sing" on this one.

b) Test 4B:
"To sing five notes from score...The examiner wil.... if necessary, play each note after it has been attempted..."
Does this mean the examiner will echo the student, or play the note they should have sung? I don't understand what this phrase is about - surely the test is for the student to remember and pitch five notes without prompting?

Can anyone clarify these?

thanks!



seb

[Dove]

a) Test 4A:
"To sing or play from memory a four-bar melody...."
I don't understand how anyone could play the melody, unless they have absolute pitch. And for a piano student, how would they play this? Shove the examiner off the piano and play it, again with absolute pitch?
I'm going with "sing" on this one.

b) Test 4B:
"To sing five notes from score...The examiner wil.... if necessary, play each note after it has been attempted..."
Does this mean the examiner will echo the student, or play the note they should have sung? I don't understand what this phrase is about - surely the test is for the student to remember and pitch five notes without prompting?

not an authority on the above but here is my understanding:

a) yes, to play on the piano, they don't have to have absolute pitch if they are aware of the intervals involved, as long as they know where to start. As far as I know, there's nothing to stop them looking at the piano?

b) I think they mean by 'if necessary' that if the student has got it totally off, they'll play the correct note so that the student has a decent change of getting the remaining ones right. ie if you're singing a tone out, the whole thing would be wrong, but if you're corrected one note in, the remaining four might be ok.

like I said this is just what I think...

[sbhoa]

I agree with Dove.
For playback (as for sing back) you are given the key chord and starting note.
This is possibly a little harder on piano than on other instruments as there is that couple of seconds longer to hold on to the melody in your head while the examiner moves quickly out of your way.

[dolce@piano]

Yes, the examiner plays the 'correct' note if you've gone off completely.

And, yes, you play it back on the piano (key chord and starting note having been given) but you can't look at the piano, just as you can't look at it if you were going to sing it back. (That would give pianists an unfair advantage over other instrumentalists).