I have just been talked through the aural tests for the first time by my teacher (this is for Grade 3). They have changed a lot since my last music exam (way back in 1986), and I have to say I think some of them are really, really hard.

The worst one by far was the "spot the difference" one. Does anyone have ANY ideas how to improve on this one?? The others can all be practised after a fashion by listening to lots of music and (eg) tapping the beat, but this one just seems impossible. (I also have to say I can't really see how it's much of a test of musical skill or ability, but then I *would* say that, cos it seems I can't do it )

All suggestions gratefully received.... I have my exam next month (probably), and not many lessons scheduled between then and now, so I could really do with some DIY practice ideas!

Start by deciding if it's a rhythmic or melodic change.
Try to spot whether it's near the beginning, middle or end.
If it's rhythm then words like longer, shorter, dotted will be useful.
With melody higher or lower is enough.
Anything else is icing on the cake.
You can idicate with a gesture when you hear the difference though children may be more comfortable with that. If you don't make a visible gesture you can make a small movement sort of to yourself as this might help to fix the place the change occurs in your head.

Oh yes it is! Try to imagine you are a conductor of a choir or orchestra and you know how the music should go. Your musicians play or sing a slightly different version. You need to be able to explain what they got wrong and where so that they can put it right. The difference is that you cannot see the music; you have to compare the 'correct' version which you hear first, with the faulty version.

So you say to your 'choir', "You sang a dotted rhythm towards the end of the phrase but the notes should be evenly spaced"

Stuff like that...

In the last couple of days I've seen a thread which had a "spot the difference" test in it. There were 36 examples of "spot the difference" and you could use it for practice. Unfortunately I can't find the thread now because I didn't contribute to it, but perhaps somebody else could remember which thread it was...

I think you mean this thread skylark.

Get your teacher to test you on lots of examples. Sometimes seeing the music after attempting the test can be useful. I find that most students find the melodic type easier. But knowing the best words to describe the change can also be tricky. Once you've heard the first example, try to sing along in your head with the second playing - this can sometimes help you to spot the difference more easily.

Don't forget it's only one small part of one test, so keep it in proportion if you still have difficulty with it. And take heart - this test doesn't carry on after Grade 3.

But that's my point. A conductor in my experience usually has the music in front of him/her. I can readily distinguish points at which the music which I hear deviates from the printed page in front of me, and can describe the nature of the deviation. What I can't do (it seems) is do the same thing when I am comparing my recollection of the first playing with what I am hearing second time around. But when would I need to do that, in real musical life? This is why it seems to me to be a test of auditory memory and not actually a test of musical ability.

However, I digress. Thanks for the link to the other thread, skylark / barry-clari - I shall have a go on these tests (sometime when I'm not at work ) and see if I can't train my auditory memory to be a bit sharper. And I will definitely keep the test in perspective - it's just that, for various annoying reasons to do with work and other commitments, I may only have a couple of lessons between now and my exam, which doesn't leave me much time for practice with my teacher on any of the aurals (or anything else, come to that!). Hence the plea for help!

I use www.hofnote.co.uk. It is an aural based exercise site to prepare you for the aural part of each ABRSM grade. It cost £6.50 for 4 months access to whatever grade you are working on. The site is ok, there is a lot of repetition but for the price I think overall its worth it.

I have given this a go. It's OK - ish - but I wish they would give you an option of seeing the score afterwards, especially if you get it wrong. I think I must be more of a visual than an aural learner! Still, I'm hoping it will give me the quantity of practice I (clearly) need...

I find hofnote reasonably useful.
However, I find the religious message at the bottom of their web pages annoying.

They can dedicate it to Mussolini for all I care, as long as it's useful

I bought books with CDs to practice, ABRSM aural training, David Turnbull's, etc. I practiced all of them and had some aural lessons. The thing is towards the end of an exam, I tend to loosen my guard. That's when my attention drops. If one can avoid that, I'm sure there won't be any problem.