Hi

My daughter is taking her grade 5 exam soon and I believe that she will have to do her theory grade 5 before she can carry on with her music grades.

I wondered whether it was possible to study for these exams without a teacher? She does lots of extra curricular activities and fitting in theory lessons could be just too much for me.

If it is possible - can anyone recommend good study books? I have got "the rudiments of music" from when I played the piano, but it is so boring.

Thanks in advance!

hi i have just started learning theory and have the ab guide to music theory part one and the work book that goes along side it they are written by eric taylor. i got them from amazon £5.50 and £2.95 for the work book i find them nicely set out and clearly explained

hope this helps
monkey flute

How old is your daughter? Has she done any theory before? The ABRSM theory in practice books are good (one for each grade) and you can buy past papers with model answers. Perhaps you could help your daughter and get her piano teacher to check any difficulties and mark some papers. The forumites are pretty good at ironing out theory problems too!

Good luck!

I used the Eric Taylor books in conjunction with the guide to music theory.
It should be possible to do it without extra lessons as long as she can get some support from her piano/school teacher, there's also the theory forum which can be helpful.
If she doesn't take to theory though you might like to look at the Practical Musicianship or Jazz exam, both of which are valid substitutions for the theory.

Hi

Thanks for your very quick replies. She plays the oboe, by the way!

I didn't realise that there is a theory forum, and I will order some books for her. Thank you very much for the recommendations - I was thinking of getting Theory is Fun. She is 12 by the way, I thought if I got her some children's type books it would be best, as she is young and easily bored.

Hopefully these books are okay? It is a long time since I played any instrument seriously, although I did play when I was younger, I am hoping the books jog my memory.

Thanks again everyone - you have encouraged me! I will have a look at the Eric Taylor books too.

I was 12 when I took Grade 5 theory last term. Okay, I failed it but only just and I still to this day do not know why. I didn't have a teacher because of money problems, accessibility, (no transport) and school commitments,so I taught myself.

"Theory is Fun" by Maureen Cox is a series of graded theory books which are aimed at children / younger people. It's easy to follow and if you use it together with the AB workbooks I think you gain a lot more because the AB workbooks can be a bit hardgoing. I also had past papers - they're doing answers now which really helps because otherwise you have no idea where you're going wrong.

It is possible to teach yourself if you are committed. I really worked hard because I wanted to take Grade 6 trumpet. I failed it by the narrowest of margins but I know it's possible. I got a poorer mark for composition than I've ever got. I have no idea why and that was why I failed. I'm leaving it for a while now to concentrate on playing. I'm entered for Grade 6 Trinity Guildhall for November, and in a way I feel I've wasted a term. So if your daughter takes longer than she hopes for in studying for the theory, she can always do Guildhall exams and then take the theory later. There's no rush to do so, and in a way I'm sorry I attempted it. Nobody advised me about Guildhall until after I'd failed it first time.

Mikey

That is exactly what my other daughter did - she didn't want to do the theory part and so she did grade 6 Trinity exams. She is not as interested in music as my younger daughter so just didn't want to bother with the theory but enjoyed playing her instrument (she is 15 by the way).

I am sorry you failed your grade 5 theory, but I am sure you will do well if you do it again. I always think that the most important thing is to enjoy playing your instrument, and it sounds as if that is what you do - so good luck with your grade 6 in November. My daughter said that they asked her a few theory questions, which she couldn't answer (never studied theory at all), but she still passed it well.

Good luck and thanks for your reply.

My daughter 12 likes the Josaphine Koh Books, they are similar to the AB ones but have more background information in them

In the Theory forum there's a thread on Theory of Music Books that you might like to have a look at