I have a piano student who, having achieved a good merit in his recent grade 5 theory exam, wants to go on and work for grade 6. Is there a recommended book/tutor for grade 6 theory from which we could work? Up to grade 5 I have only ever used the little red book (First Steps in Music Theory) and past exam papers. This has yielded results from 77% to 90% so ideally I am looking for another little red book that deals with the grade 6 syllabus.

Also I think he would benefit from having some initial tuition in basic harmony, and I wondered what tutor is normally used these days. When I were a lad we used the 3 volumes of C H Kitson's 'Elementary Harmony'. I always thought it was excellent but maybe it's considered a tad dry and academic for the 21st century. Any suggestions gratefully welcomed.

Here's a topic on G6 books - an old thread but the syllabus hasn't changed

http://www.abrsm.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=31773

The AB books Harmony in Practise (textbook and answer book) are good. I skipped grade 6 and 7 theory and got a secure pass at grade 8 through the sole use of this book plus past exam papers.

Saying that, I had done A level music. Saying that, there are lots of options for A level depending on the syllabus (chorales, trios, minimalism, writing the accompaniment for Romantic song). I did a "traditional" A level course which focused on Bach chorales and traditional harmony, which to be honest when paired with composition assignments and a musical analysis paper covers grade 6 theory and touches upon some grade 7/8 requirements (but not much at all).

So for me, I needed to relearn/revise some A level concepts (I did A level in 2005 and grade 8 theory in 2010) and extend them to grade 8 level and learn how do deal with trios. The Harmony in Practise books met these needs perfectly.