I'm finding Question 1 Trio Sonata on the Grade 8 exam papers the most difficult to get 'right'. I aim to complete an answer in 45 mins to an hour but I am not spending enough time checking. Correct realisation of the figuring is not enough to do well, so I have devised a checklist after my lesson today. Just typing it out and sharing it will help me remember! Most of them are obvious but I still find doing this question rather like trying to solve a rubik cube with notes on!

1) Find the key and cadences. If there are any obvious imitation figures which fit, sketch them in.

2) Write out the chords on rough paper (my preference) or on/under the staves as notes/letters

3) Go through and mark on both staves a realisation of the figuring (as I don't know yet which Violin will get which note at this stage).

4) Go through again and find where 7ths and suspensions need to be prepared in the previous bar. This will now help to make decisions about which stave gets the 7th or suspended note.

5) Edit: Do not sound the note of resolution with the dissonance.

6) Do not double leading notes or major thirds.

7) Leading notes must rise and 7ths must fall by step.

8) In deciding which notes to omit from a chord the 5th is a safe bet as they are assumed by the performer.

9) Check for consecutives

10) Avoid augmented intervals in the melodic lines

11) Fingers crossed I'll get at least a pass mark xx

P.S. Why is it so difficult to avoid grammatical errors in this question?? Does anyone have an easy, quick method of working? Have I missed anything?

That's more or less what I did. Another thing I tried to do is to balance the "interesting" bits so if you have crotchets in the bass and 1 of the melody lines try to get quavers in the other part and similarly if 2 parts have quavers maybe stick to crotchets or minims. I found that some were easier than others because if you got one with a string of suspensions it pretty much wrote itself.

I don't recall going into that much detail.
Your numbers 2 and 3 were the first things I'd do.
Then I'd put in any obvious imitation.
I'd keep checking that I did have the chords indicated by the figuring and check for consecutives and doubling as I went along.

When there wasn't much by way of obvious imitation I found it trickier as it meant I had to work out a lot more instead of just having a few gaps to fill in.

Thanks oboecop

So does the note of resolution become the 7th of the next chord in a cycle of suspensions?




Hi sbhoa,

Thanks for your reply too. I was hoping not to have to go into too much detail but most of my list covers the errors I keep making and my teacher deducts marks for each one I'll keep practising!

Sometimes. For example if the chords are going round the circle of 5ths (Am7-Dm7-G7) the G which is the 7th of Am7 resolves down to the F which is the 3rd of Dm7 and the C which was the 3rd of Am7 becomes the 7th of Dm7 then when you move to G the C resolves down to the B which is the 3rd of G7 and the F which was the 3rd in Dm7 becomes the 7th in G7. So you get a whole string of one part resolving whilst the other part is holding the 7th and so its kind of like "painting by numbers".

That's the pattern I was trying to remember - thank you Hope I get to use this in the exam!

Good Luck!

I never really gave any thought to fitting in anything like this as it's there in the figuring if it's going to happen.

Looks like you have quite a comprehensive list. One other thing I would always do was to go through each melody part individually, "singing" it in my head and noting the melodic shape, making sure it is coherent as a melodic line. It always struck me when I looked at extracts of trio sonatas from Corelli, Bach, etc. that each part would make a compelling melody in itself. As well as being a good thing in it's own right, this can also throw up solutions to harmonic problems which you wouldn't normally think of, I found.

Thank you - I will add this to my list. Singing through the lines will help me spot another potential error - augmented intervals in the harmonic minor scale, and to make sure the 6th is raised as well as the 7th. Another thought I had yesterday was to listen out for possible accidentals on non-essential decorative notes, which are not shown in the figured bass until the next bar along, to make a lead up to a modulation sound more convincing.

Yes! I always did that as well - check through each note individually to make sure nothing needs to be flattened or sharpened, that the accidentals agree with the "key of the moment" and there aren't any augmented seconds.

I've just been through a Koh exercise. I can't believe the rubbish I still manage to write, and I don't always pick up on all my errors until I play it through on the piano!!! Arghhh!!!

Thanks AndyL and everyone for your help. I guess it will eventually fall into place and all the hard work will be worth it. At least I did well with the rest of the paper in my lesson last week