ABRSM Grade 7 practice paper, 2006: Pg 16, Q5:

B) a lower auxiliary note played by a double-reed instrument that sometimes uses the tenor clef - double reed? never heard of it!

C) an imperfect cadence in C major - where is this!

D) a place where the violas have to play an open string - how can you tell the viola is meant to be playing in this way, from the score?

identify the chords marked * in bar 15... I got G minor, in Eb Major


E) three ways in which the composer creates a change of mood:
-Dynamics (p)
-Phrasing: use of the slurs
-Key change? Eb Major

F) Describe fully the numbered and bracketed harmonic intervals sounding at concert pitch - what does this mean??


Many thanks for your help in advanced!

Not got the paper but

D) You are looking for the lowest string on a viola.

F) it means name the interval by number and is it major/minor etc. (I'm guessing that this involves one transposing instrument).

Jenn, can I make a suggestion? Please don't take it the wrong way either .

Do you think that perhaps you should stay away from the past papers just for now and work through some other workbooks and revise some general theory information? It just seems to me that from your many threads with grade 7 questions, regarding various different topics, that maybe doing past papers is a little beyond your reach at the moment. You won't be able to ask these questions in the exam!

B) A double reed is an instrument such as an oboe, which has 2 pieces of reed bound together to make the sound, rather than one reed and a mouth piece such as your saxophone.

By lucky coincidence the G7 paper I have is the same, so I'll have a look for the others for you - let me know if you need the answers! (I'll do my best but don't take it without question, I havn't got G7)

Hey Scaramouche!

I do agree! I'm ordering the Harmony in Practice book to help me out. I cant wait to study it! It's the analyzing scores which I have most difficulty with. Figured bass, melody writing, plus reconstructing a score, are the things I am best at! The score analysis is worth half of the Grade 7 paper in itself, so I want to get it right There are some good people on here that have really been helping me out, and thats why I keep coming back! I feel my analysis is improving because of it, and luckily I have started early in preperation!


* I see now, what I have to do with question (F)!
* I put bar 13 for the Viola using an open string technique
* Thanks Rosemary! ...two pieces of reed bound together rather than a mouthpiece - duh! Of course!!

Thanks to all of you for your helps! x x

That's good then, I am just concerned that people telling you the answers is not actually going to help you. I don't want you to struggle on your own but I think there has to be a limit...

It's because I am teaching myself. At the moment, I only have my Grade 7 paper + this forum to get me going on it. I didn't want to wait until September to get the ball rolling with a theory teacher again at Uni. It would be too late of a start in my view, with the exam in early November.

Some of the questions on the scores are harmony questions which is using the knowledge you have for the first 3 questions in a different way.
I think the syllabus lists the chords you should know how to recognise and/or use.
It is useful to know the instruments of the orchestra (with their german, fremnch and itailian names), how they produce sound and some of the instrument specific performance directions.
It might help if you know the order in which instruments appear on an orchestral score.
When it comes to working out when a piece may have been written (and/or possible composer) you need to konw the main composers from each main era and knowing things like when instruments like the clarinet and trombone were first in common use can help here too.
You need to know which are transposing instruments and the direction and interval of transposition as well as which clefs they use. You have to be able to apply this when working out things like chords and intervals.

These are some of the things I remeber learning when I did the later theory grades.
My teacher used to spring tests on me with no warning on things like instrument names in other languages, transposition intervals and defining terms like 'homophonic' and 'contrapuntal'.

Thanks Sbhoa!

Is the syllabus of G7 on the net? Have you got a link to it at all?

Grade 7 syllabus

It's ok if you're teaching yourself and want advice, but I think there is a lot to be said for not jumping in straight with past papers, and sticking to other stuff first. Then you may find when you come to do a past paper that you know most of it and only a few things need tweaking. As it stands, you've not done that, so I just don't get a good impression when lots of the questions are answered on here. Some members have worked through them and explained things which is better than you just being given the answers straight off.

Do you have to do the exam in November? Why not wait until March and have plenty of time with a theory teacher and you'll fully understand everything then.

On the other hand, its good to see where you have gone wrong and where you are correct. By getting the answer, I can see how others have worked it out which helps.
I feel I'm half-way with it. I have good knowledge of melody writing, figured bass etc. from studying Grade 6 as I mentioned before. I have strong points, and of course weaker ones! November is my target, and I am committed. I've learnt alot by looking at theory papers, and I know what is expected of me. I know that analysis is my weaker area at this point, so I'm getting help with that from the forum, and the new Harmony book etc. If I hadn't of looked and tried at the past paper, I wouldn't of known what I need to be working on right now. I still have 85 days to reach the level which I am expected to be at. I can do it

Thanks for your advice Scaramouche x x

Go for it Jenn It looks like you're the opposite of me - I can do the analysis but my melody/harmony writing is hopeless!

Thanks Rosemary! Are you looking to take Grade 7 in November too?x x

No, I'm working through it with the intention of taking G8 'sometime' hopefully before I leave school... And because I like theory, and because it'll help with A level music next year. Plenty of good reasons to keep on doing theory

Definately so!

Good luck with it all! xx

And you

If you look at the extract, despite the fact that it has 3 flats it doesn't start in Eb majot, or C minor - look at the accidentals in the first three bars and you'll see that it starts in C major. So what you are looking for is an imperfect cadence - this is any chord followed by a V chord, so while the extract stays in C major look for a chord V and then the chord which precedes it - it's a very basic imperfect cadence in this extract.

I always think this is a very easy one. The only note that a string instrument has absolutely got to play as an open string is the lowest note in its range, so you just look for the lowest note of the viola's range

Afraid I didn't get the same as you - that doesn't mean you're wrong though, I might have been wrong. I didn't have Eb major for the key either, again it might be me who's wrong. However, G minor is chord III in Eb major, and although this isn't impossible, it's more likely to be a simpler chord, particularly as we know the extract is Beethoven, therefore classical and more likely (but not inevitably) to be a primary triad. And also, there's an Eb in the chord (Clarinet in Bb is playing an F, which is an Eb at concert pitch), which makes it unlikely to be G minor.

1 The interval is between the Horn note and the viola note. The Horn is a transposing instrument so work out what the note is at concert pitch, then work out what the viola note is, and work out the interval
2 the notes are played by the Clarinet in Bb and the Bassoon. Clarinet is a transposing instrument so work out the concert pitch. Bassoon is already playing at concert and is in bass clef, so easy to work out what the note is, then work out the interval between the two.

I've done all the 2006 papers so I can help with the rest of them for questions 4 and 5 if you need help, but please don't blindly accept that I am right. Check it all out for yourself, that's the way you'll learn. Although you'll get loads of info and help from the harmony books about chords and recognising them they won't give so much help with things that are specifically insturmental - like the ranges of instruments, whether they are reed instruments, names of instruments in other languages. Use the Dolmetsch website, or the AB Guides to music theory, or just Google things - I've found a lot of useful info that way. I'm happy to help via the forums, and then other people can help too, or if you prefer to PM me I'm happy to do that too.

Hi I think I can help you with some of the stuff. I don't have the paper so I can only help with the qu that doesn't need a score...

B) a lower auxiliary note played by a double-reed instrument that sometimes uses the tenor clef - double reed? never heard of it!

-----The double reed instruments are: oboe, cor anglais, bassoon, double bassoon. Only bassoon sometimes use the tenor clef, so you're looking for a lower auxiliary note played by the bassoon here.

D) a place where the violas have to play an open string - how can you tell the viola is meant to be playing in this way, from the score?

-----Open string is when the string player does not have to use his/her left fingers to stop the strings. The open strings are different for each string player. For the viola, open strings are
1. C below middle C
2. G a 4th below middle C
3. D a 2nd above middle C, and
4. A a 6th above middle C.
FYI sometimes, the number "0" is put above the note, as a sign for no fingers

F) Describe fully the numbered and bracketed harmonic intervals sounding at concert pitch - what does this mean??

-----Maybe some of the notes that you have to measure the intervals from are played on transposing instruments, and so, it sounds different to what's written. And they want you to measure the interval from the actual note that is sounded (concert pitch).

Hope this helps a little

Annabel