Would be keen to hear of experiences taking grades 3 and 4 theory. Did it make a lot of difference to getting ready for grade 5? I have put my 10 year old through grades 1 and 2 to avoid situation with older sister of doing an emergency grade 5 theory. But it's arduous and I don't have a good feel for how big the step up is between 3-4-5. Advice please....

I think the biggest step is between 2 and 3. Up to grade 2 you can learn the key signatures by rote, after that it's wisest to know how to work them out. Once you can work them out you can work any/all of them out. I like to enter my pupils for grade 3 and then work through 4 and then take 5.

I think if you have the time, it's good to do the individual exams, as it gives them a chance to consolidate at each stage before moving on. My 'emergency grade 5'ers manage to do it in about a term and a half, but I doubt that they end up with the same depth of knowledge as those who work through a book and past papers for each grade alongside their practical work.

The introduction of compound time is quite a big step at grade 3, but I don't think there is a huge step up to grade 4. However, the step to grade 5 is quite a big one - things like transposition, composing a melody, and so on are quite complex compared to some of the earlier grade topics.

I also think the step from grade 2 to 3 is a big one (isn't that where you have to know melodic minors? as well as compound time, as mentioned . . .).

I'm afraid to say that, if she found grade 2 arduous, I think grade 3 will be a real slog. But, the emergency grade 5 route is not good either.

I don't like the theory exams, neither as a teacher nor a parent . . .

In an ideal world, pupils would perhaps do every grade, and I know some teachers who almost insist on this with their pupils, but I think one of the difficulties is that people often can't afford to do so many exams, and that is the main reason I don't put my pupils in for anything before Grade 5.

I had an enthusiastic pupil who insisted on doing every grade and he got distinctions in all of them and eventually went on to university to read music - so perhaps that says it all.

However, with other pupils, including my own children, I put them in for one earlier grade, maybe grade 2 or grade 3 depending on the pupil - what stage they're at in school, all sorts of things. I like them to have the experience of sitting a theory exam before grade 5. It often gives them a confidence boost as well. The theory exams are a different sort of experience compared with school exams or the 11+ that they might have experienced before.

There is quite a jump between grade 2 and 3. Then I tend to skim through the grade 4 book (if I'm using the AB book) on the way to grade 5.

I don't think it's necessary unless it would benefit the student to get some experience in exam conditions and working to a time. With children this may well be a useful exercise in itself.
I would go through a workbook and at least one set of papers for each grade (these can be done under timed conditions). As a teacher I find that one set of past papers is enough to tell me where there are still gaps that need addressing before moving on to the next grade and to identify likely 'careless mistake' areas.
I wouldn't move on until a at least 2 papers scored marks in the 90s.

If I have time, I encourage pupils to take the Grade 3 theory exam before Grade 5. It just allows them to get used to the paper in exam conditions and how theory exams work. I find that most of them usually want to do another theory exam before Grade 5 anyway.

I never bothered, although I did all the work books from 1-5 and was working on it for a year or so. I had enough exam experience by them (school exams every year) so didn't particularly need the additional experience, although I did do a couple of mocks under exam conditions.

Thanks this is all very helpful. We are on the way between grades 2 and 3 and it is good to know that is the big step. My daughter plays violin at grade 4 and piano around grade 2, and I definitely feel theory knowledge is helping her consolidate her playing - but not a great deal of fun for either of us...

I am putting my first pupil in for Grade 3 this summer, I hope. My logic for putting her in for something before 5 is that she's already working for Grade 4 piano, and has Grade 2 singing, so she needs to be getting the theory nailed. Given her age, she's probably never sat an exam under "exam conditions" so I think it's good for her to sit it for practice, and also because it's nice to get a certificate for doing the hard work of learning the theory stuff!

I figure that if my student is doing Grade 1 singing, they should be able to do most of the Grade 1 theory, and so on up to Grade 5. I don't want to end up in the situation I did where I needed intensive lessons with a separate teacher to try to get my Grade 5 theory so I could take my next singing exam. I went from nothing to 5 in two terms or something.

So, I am working on keeping the theory in step with the practical as much as possible. And, at this stage, it's good for me to be sure I can teach the theory up to Grade 5 at least!

My children did this with their teacher, and I thought it a good idea. They took grade 5 at around age 13, so didn't have much experience of formal exam conditions in an unknown venue; the grade 3 was a useful introduction.

I remember my daughter nearly froze to death in the grade 3 exam because the venue was a local independent prep school during February half-term week and the school didn't put on any heating, although it was a very cold day. I was not amused! It was still a useful experience for her though.

No, not really.
Grade 5 is the only one you need, and it's possible to cover most of the stuff up to that more casually- and for most, the theory doesn't really match what you're doing in practice anyway. However, if you've cash to spare, by all means give some of it to the AB.

I only did grade 5 theory, and that was back in about 1980, I think: some three years after that I stopped music lessons, then returned to music a good many years later, jumped in on my new instrument at grade 7, and the only thing I needed to do at that point was some revision of cadences, for aurals.

This is an interesting question. Both my children will be starting as choristers next September, and the theory will be done through school with the aim of getting grade 5 done at least before they leave at the end of year 8. My youngest (6) has started a first grade book with me already because he was trying to write music down anyway. His sister (9) was given a theory book by a friend of ours last year and I'm about to get her the grade 2 book. I'm seriously considering putting them in for grade 1 and 2 exams respectively this year to consolidate where they are currently up to.

Having just had a look at the violin syllabus, I'm realising that grade 6 violin is probably within my daughter's reach in a couple of years (we're doing Suzuki so far, and I'd like to continue the repertoire though I know her new school will want her to do some exams at some point) so actually the sooner we crack on with the theory the better! Musically I don't think the theory should prove too difficult for either of them; and with choir work stuff like cadences will become very familiar! (they've got local church choir experience already)

It is not essential to take theory exams before grade 5, but I believe it is essential that students are taught theory from grade 1 onwards, and given the option to sit an exam. All of my students get a grade 1 theory book alongside their grade 1 piano book, and I include a few minutes theory in every lesson. They are then given a set of past theory papers to work through, and given the option of sitting an exam, which the majority chose to do. Cramming for grade 5 theory at the last minute is sheer madness when the requirements can be learned more easily and more thoroughly over a longer period, and the experience of sitting exams before grade 5 makes the higher grade seem less daunting.