Question from son Viohazard about upcoming Grade 8 violin exam:

As he was studying for questions such as "What period/composer is this extract likely to be from?", he wondered whether extracts would all be played on keyboard by the examiner (and would therefore reflect keyboard music), or whether the examiner plays extracts from CDs?

He was suddenly taken with a fit of uneasiness that he doesn't know nearly enough about pre-Romantic keyboard music/composers...

i think they should all be on the piano.

tbh, he probably doesnt need to worry too much about that part of the aural. for my grade 8 violin i was asked a possible period, then 'did you happen to notice the time signature' (3/4) 'what sort of piece could it be?' (a dance) 'what sort of dance' (a waltz). they're usually pretty obvious q's.

all i learnt were typical features of the style, composers and dates, for renaissance, braoque, classical, romantic and 20th century music.

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It will be played on the piano. To be honest, you don't really need to know all that many composers. For Baroque, Bach will generally suffice and Mozart/Haydn for Classical. I think they basically want to hear of someone from the correct period. I think knowledge of a few more composers might be necessary for Romantic and 20th Century (e.g. Jazzy - Gershwin etc.).

General features to look for to identify Baroque and Classical pieces: There is often a load of ornamentation (trills, acciaccaturas, turns, suspensions etc.) in Baroque, as they couldn't sustain notes on the harpsichord, and there's sometimes imitative counterpoint (between the hands). Classical - balanced phrases, clear cadence points, little chromaticism, modulations to closely related keys (dominant/subdominant/relative minor) and features such as alberti bass. I hope that's helpful, and good luck to your son.

Thanks a lot for the information, and for the advice!

I think he's feeling that he's supposed to know "everything" .