New user - first post alert!

I have recently started playing clarinet again and am loving it! I want to enter for Grade 6 this year the only problem is the dreaded aural test. I bought the CD & Book that the ABRSM publish and had a go last night. I was terrible

I was totally out of tune and couldn't sing back even the most basic melody. I know my teacher is going to test my aural skills soon and I'm dreading it. My pieces and scales are of a fairly good standard so I think she's going to be shocked at just how bad my "musical ear" is! Any suggestions on how I can improve???

Hi, I just did grade 6 piano, and have just entered myself for grade 6 flute. I find one of the most powerful tools for aural tests being solfa singing. Practise this, and your sight singing improves no end, and may also help singing back from memory. Solfa only internalises the concepts, and eventually needs to be dropped in favour of "la". My grade 8 clarinet aurals were a struggle because I had not learned this yet.

And cadences are usually a doddle. You only have to distinguish perfect (sounds finished) and imperfect (sounds not finished) for grade 6.

Good luck with the exam.

Try to not to worry about how your teacher will see your aural skills (or lack of?).
A good teacher is there to help you with this.
Maybe she will take you back a couple of grades and work up to it as this can be a useful approach.

Have you discovered the threads about the forthcoming concerts being arranged by forum users yet?
Look out for them on the general and adult users boards.

I'm afraid there is no quick fix - you must INSIST your teacher starts training your ear immediately. The most common problem I have when "inheriting" students at this standard is lack of scales/technique, sight reading and aural (VERY grumpy Bagpuss). I use solfa for sight singing, and you CAN sight sing in the exam using solfa - it doesn't have to be to boring old la. You can whistle, hum or blow raspberries so long as it is at the right pitch. Good luck.

dont panic!

nobody is as bad as aurals as me and i passed my grade 6 piano aurals( only just i got 12 lol)

and none of my singing stuff was correct!

QUOTE (Bagpuss @ Apr 22 2005, 07:28 PM)

you CAN sight sing in the exam using solfa - it doesn't have to be to boring old la.

Can you really? I didn't know that. I remember singing it to la, thinking solfa in my head. It would have easier to just sing solfa, but I thought that was not allowed. Anyway, there were comments on the singing in numbers thread that solfa is a tool, and should be dropped after a certain stage.

QUOTE (neil.clarinet @ Apr 22 2005, 08:15 PM)

Anyway, there were comments on the singing in numbers thread that solfa is a tool, and should be dropped after a certain stage.

Yes, of course one of the ultimate aims is that solfa is not used (yes, it IS a tool - but what a wonderful one!) - but I have to say that even after as long as I've been using it, I still PREFER to sight-sing in solfa even though I can do it without...I just feel safer, somehow - and I'm always SURE I'm right - it's never a 'guess'...

Thanks for all your replies. I know this is probably a really stupid question but could someone tell me more about what Solfa singing actually is?

QUOTE (Ensemble @ Apr 24 2005, 09:04 PM)

Thanks for all your replies. I know this is probably a really stupid question but could someone tell me more about what Solfa singing actually is?

do, re, mi, fa ,so, la, ti ,do


hehehehehe

OH MY GOD! I am so stupid!