Does anyone have any advice about how to go about learning G6 Theory?

I seem to be floundering about with the G6 books for quite a few weeks now and don't seem to be taking anything in

I have the pink AB book, the AB Theory Workbook, Practice in Music Theory (Josephine Koh), ABC of Harmony, Harmony in Practice and the Pink and Blue AB Guide to Music Theory

I can take in some of what the books are saying but its just knowing how to apply that to questions

I can read a section but feel I'm not actually learning anything..help !!

Am really determined to crack this though and want to carry on and do G7 and G8 after

If you've got all those books and are still not getting anywhere then I would suggest that you try to find either a teacher who can take you through Grade 6, or find someone who can help you with the bits you struggle most with. Posting individual questions here will help, but a teacher would be the best idea - if you can find one.

Personally I think if you do stick to teaching yourself that starting with the Harmony books would be best, work your way through one of them. So much of Grade 6,7 and 8 theory depends on having a knowledge of harmony that you can't really go wrong.

I started learning for Grade 6 last year. Like you I've got loads of books and found the ABC of Harmony the most user-friendly, but it's useful having the other books to refer to - they all explain things in a slightly different way and sometimes you can relate to what one says when another is incomprehensible. However... even though I got a distinction at Grade 5, I couldn't get to grips with Grade 6 without a teacher. Even when I thought I'd understood a particular section of the ABC Harmony book, it turned out when I saw my teacher that I hadn't understood it as well as I'd thought and some of the exercises I'd done were wrong.

[Then the summer holiday came last year and it seemed like a good idea to get a piano for the purpose of practising the theory on. The result was that I took to the piano, decided to learn it properly and I've had to shelve theory for the time being in order to concentrate on piano (and my clarinet still)].

I had a mixture of ad hoc individual lessons and group theory lessons, which in practice was individual lessons within a group, if you see what I mean (ie not whole class teaching). Do you have any music centres run by your education authority who offer that sort of class?

My teacher has always started me learning each grade using the past papers. At first answer the papers using all your reference material around you and then start answering them without.

Does your piano teacher help you with theory at all? That way you could perhaps every now and then use time in your lesson for answering one of the questions. For example the figured bass question? Get to grips with it and then move on.

As I said before I really didn't get very far with it until I started to do A214 and it is amazing just how far it brings you, I am going to look at Grade 8 theory either to take this November or in February. I was like you this time last year, all in the fog.


ET

Thank you jm-hamilton, skylark and eldatom for all your helpful replies and to cambiata for your PM

Last year I actually enrolled and paid for a G5 Theory course but it was cancelled (cheque returned) due to lack of numbers I haven't managed to find a G6 course but would be interested if I could find one,

So I carried on and had a little help from my piano teacher but would rather use the half-hour lesson for piano, although I really need to start increasing this. Yes, I think I will continue to try and find a teacher.

eldatom that is interesting that you got struck in straight away with the past papers

Have been looking at the AB workbook this morning and will continue with this