I am going to be doing grade 8 piano but i haven't done the dreaded Grade 5 theory exam. i am now on the grade 4 book and finding it pretty hard. I really do not understand chromatic scales and intervals! If anybody could reply back who could help me on either topic I would be soooooooo grateful!!

As my 'C' piece,i am doing the Chopin Waltz which I'm finding it to be the hardest piece ever! Anybody got any tips?

Anybody is more than welcome 2 reply!!

Hi ping-lee,

Just a question, are you hurrying to a Grade 8 exam?

If you are doing a Grade 5 theory exam, your possible practical grade must be 5.
It's really a great gap from practical grade 5 to grade 8.

Anyway, your teacher must also be helpful in order to tackle the technical problem of Chopin Waltz.

Wish you good luck to your Grade 8 exam.

Hi

im not sure that was asagohan has said is definetly true. your theory grade does not always (if often!) reflect what standard you are at practically.I am gr5 theory and haver done gr8 and am doing my diploma. - i also know many more people in the same kind of boat.

in answer to your question chromatic scales are just scales that are played in semitones up and down. The intervals im afraid I can't help you with! you just have to learn them - i never got my head round them and it has never backfired on me!

Can those of you who has taken and passed the Grade 5 theory share with us how you studied and prepared for the theory exam? I have got the AB theory book, but it doesn't seem to have enough explanation and details for studying and passing the exam. Any other good books/materials that would help a student to self-study? Also, how long do you think that's needed to study for it?

Thanks!

Hi, i found my self in the same position as you last year once i looked at the syllabus after doing my grade 7 (London College of Music) and found that I needed grade 5 theory. I went on a class over the summer near where i live in Northern Ireland and it was a theory crash course and i found it very helpful and if i hadnt have done it I wouldnt have passed my grade 5 theory in November. Here is a table which will help you with intervals. I was tought this way as it was a lot easier. All you have to do is count the number of notes between the two notes. Eg. the interval between a D and a G. You can count D E F G. That is a 4th. You then count the semitones between the two eg. D D# E F F# G that is 5 semitones so then you look up the table at a 4th and go to where it is 5 semitones and you will find that it is a perfect 4th. Just learn this table and write it down in the exam that what i did you cant really go wrong. Hope this helps

Matt

NUMBER SEMITONES TYPE
2nd 0 Diminished
2nd 1 Minor
2nd 2 Major
2nd 3 Augmented
3rd 2 Diminished
3rd 3 Minor
3rd 4 Major
3rd 5 Augmented
4th 4 Diminished
4th 5 Perfect
4th 6 Augmented
5th 6 Diminished
5th 7 Perfect
5th 8 Augmented
6th 7 Diminished
6th 8 Minor
6th 9 Major
6th 10 Augmented
7th 9 Diminished
7th 10 Minor
7th 11 Major
7th 12 Augmented
8ve 11 diminished Octave
8ve 12 Perfect Octave
8ve 13 Augmented Octave

A chromatic scale is a scale where no notes are omitted. They are a requirement for grade 8 piano. In the exam you have to spot a certain amount (4 in my exam) of notes that form part of a chromatic scale, i.e. they are four note without gaps, e.g. C-Db-D-Eb.

Intervals, try this - write out the letter names, and count the notes of the letter names including themselves - C#-Gb would be a fifth of some sort, so would C-G and C-G#. Just look at the letter names first and check out what number the interval is. Then look at the bottom note and from that figure out with its major or minor, if its a 2nd, 3rd, 6th or 7th - C-Eb is minor while C-E is major. Then there's diminished and augmented intervals... I'll leave it at that.

C-G# and C-Ab are not the same. The first is an augmented fifth and the second is a minor sixth. They sound the same, but they aren't the same interval. (Feel free to correct me.)

Good luck! You can do it!

when working out whether intervals are major/ minor etc. it really helps if you know your scales (on paper at least).
Always take the lower note as though it is the key note (tonic).
Then see if the note is in the major or minor scale which starts on that note.
(using key signature, not altered notes, of minor scale).
Bigger than major or perfect is augmented; smaleer is diminished.
Hope that helps, not easy to put it clearly without making a long post

Thank you for all your help and advice! I feel a lot more comfortable about intervals and chromatics!

in anwser to violinmacs question about theory i found the ab book very helpful as it went in to detail but also kept it simple! I done alot of theory work on my own but it was always explained to me before by my teacher who was wonderful as she had lots of tricks and things to help! I think if your doing theory u at least need to have the work u do cheacked by a teacher as they see problems that u may not so ask ur instrumental teacher to give u a hand and im sure they wont refuse.

Hi violinmac!!I took and passed my grade 5 theory last july, and I prepared using the AB 'theory in practice' workbooks, they have a good explanation of each chapter followed by exercises listed in order of difficulty (im not sure if you were referring to these when you said AB theory book, sorry)It took me starting from the absolute basics of grade 1 about a year doing about an hour a week to prepare for my grade 5, but obviously thats only about 52 hours altogether so it would depend how much spare time you had. If you have Grade 3 practical or above, i would think that most of grades 1 and 2 would be revision, but best to check i suppose. The exam itself is fine - you have either 2 and a half or 3 hours(cant remember)and if you have revised well you might be out before that - i was out after an hour after rigorous checking of the paper!!I also have a blue book called The AB guide to music theory, Book 2, but if you were to get one of these id recommend book 1 which is pink, because i have only just started to use book 2 now i am doing grade 6 theory.These AB Guides are also useful because the 'Theory in practice' workbooks quote pages from the theory guides, which is very helpful.Good Luck!

Thanks for LittleAnna and weejen's responses! They're very helpful. I have just got the Practice books of Grade 3, 4 and 5.

I am very disappointed to find that the Practice book doesn't come with answer I could ask my teacher to help here and there, but I'm not sure how helpful she would be since the instrument I play is Violin. (I have the impression that piano teachers usually explain theory better ). Anyway.. if any of you know there's a way to buy/get the answers for those practice books, pls let me know! I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks

There is a series of books called 'Theory Time' published by Bosworth which have answers for those who are able to work more independantly.

Oh goodness! I hope I'm not going to sound too harsh here.....I applaud your efforts, but I can't help but wonder why your teacher isn't doing this with you. Not just a little bit here and there but going over it until it is understood. It's part of the 'job' surely.

Now it sounds like I'm critising the teacher. I don't mean to, but it just sounds strange to me.

If you were learning a foreign language and the exam included both written and spoken skills, would you expect the language teacher to leave you to learn how to write this language whilst they just concentrated on the aural side?
I suppose I'm just wondering why this is being left to you and some of the other posters.

My students learn the theory grades alongside the practical. They don't usually take all the theory exams though. We do Grade 1 theory, Grade 1 practical, Grade 2 practical (but have worked through the grade 2 theory syllabus). Then Grade 3 theory, Grade 3 practical. The theory side is often not very popular with the younger ones, but that doesn't excuse me from the task.

When the get to grade 5 practical they have already taken the Grade 5 theory. Often they drop the theory after this giving me the extra time to concentrate on the practical side for the rest of the grades.

If I suggested that my students worked through the theory on their own, they'd look at me as if I had 2 heads.

To study for the grade 5 theory exam,
i did: loads of past papers, the work book, read the pink AB guide to Music Theory, made music theory quizes etc.
I got a teacher specifically for the theory, which really helped !! Ask your music teacher if he/she knows of anyone who'd teach you or if they would !
best of luck,
Ellie

Hi Piano_ellie,

How many years of past paper have you done? I have the past paper of Grade 5 from 1998-2002 (5 years), wondering if it's enough.

I'm not sure if you live in US or other countries. if you do live in US, where did you get all the past papers?

Thanks

Dear Violinmac

The 2003 theory papers were published on sale at the beginning of January. They should be available from all good music retailers worldwide.

If you are having problems obtaining them in the USA, can I suggest you contact our distributor there, C. F. Peters Corporation in New York? C. F Peters can be reached on:

Tel: +1 718 416 7800
Fax: +1 718 416 7805
Email: sales@cfpeters-ny.com

I hope that helps.

Ben Selby
Marketing Manager, ABRSM Publishing

I took my Grade 5 Theory in November, and the book I found really useful (and really easy to understand) was 'Take Five - and pass first time' by Christopher Dunn. I glad to say I did, too, with Distinction! There are some really helpful tables and ways to remember things, like intervals, and easy ways to do triads and using chords.

Another book apart from those already mentioned that has loads of examples as well as advice on how to tackle the questions is the Grade 5 book in the 'New Practice in Music Theory' series, by Josephine Koh. I also did lots of past papers and the AB practice books. The pink AB theory book was helpful, but not as easy to understand as the AB book, 'First Steps in Music Theory (Grades 1-5)'

I taught myself most of the theory for the exam, not because my teacher wouldn't teach it, but because I preferred to do more singing instead! If I got stuck, then I'd ask for help, but I had done a little bit before when I had oboe lessons.

Good luck!

I did pretty bad in my Grade 5.
I must have gone out of key in my last question or else i could have got a distinction.