Dear all, I took up the classical guitar as a teen and passed Grade 5 practical in that. I then got stuck because I had no money to pay for Theory lessons.

Now, I'm an adult. Never much of a guitar lover (I picked it because guitars were all I could afford as a teen), I have just bought myself a violin and have started lessons. I don't want to be stuck at Grade 5 in violin again.

Is it possible for me to learn Grade 5 Theory by myself? I have no desire to become a composer and wish to learn merely to fulfill requirements. At my age, I have no desire or time to join tiny tots in theory lessons. I also have an adult brain that is probably capable of learning faster than a 6 year old. I have looked at Practical Musicianship but it seems even harder than a paper exam.I'm thinking of buying the exam papers and the textbooks and working through the stuff myself.

Has anyone succeeded in teaching themselves theory from scratch? Any tips?

Sakura

Hi Sakura, I think it is perfectly feasable for you to learn theory by yourself - a pupil of mine did it before she met me and got 99 per cent.

She started at Grade 1 and did some of the old papers (you may have to get a friendly teacher to mark them for you). She moved through the grades using the AB book Theory in Practice and, on Grades 4 and 5 the Josephine Koh book, which I also find excellent, all the time practising on the out of date papers.

So go for it and the best of luck. Let us know how you get on.

Hi Sakura

I taught myself theory from scratch, and even marked my own past papers - I took grades 3, 4 & 5, so built up the knowledge fairly gradually, and managed distinctions in all three (with 96% for grade 5). Whether you sit all 5 grades or not, I would recommend working through all 5 "Music Theory in Practice" workbooks, using "The AB Guide to Music Theory" as supporting material. Another handy little book is "First Steps in Music Theory" by Eric Taylor which sets it out grade by grade for ease of reference.

Once you've decided which exams you want to sit, buy about 3 books of past papers (giving you 12 papers to work through) - do these under exam conditions (ie time yourself and don't look anything up!) - then mark them from the books. If you're really stuck on something, I'd be happy to help - you can PM me.

Good luck and with your violin playing
Jen

You can learn as you go if you are already learning to read/play from music. No worries about becoming a composer, your requirements are to write a fragment of melody or set words to a melody. The rest is either what you've learned to get to grade 5 or arithmetic to do Q1 and work out scales.
It's easy to learn by yourself, useful to have a teacher to check re phenomena like "figured bass" which the AB persist in perpetuating (why don't they set the paper in ancient greek!). figured bass is as useful as an umbrella in a hurricane.

Buying past papers is the first step then see what you need in books. Writing scales is easy. A procedure, same with intervals. Doing the harmony component isn't too bad. Melody writing? I think you have 8 bars so you can learn what to do by checklists and procedures.

If you recently started violin you have plenty of time to get g5 theory but start now, learn as you go and it wont be an added burden. Don't look on it as a barrier. Mostly it'll enhance your understanding of practical music (except the figured bass silliness, good if you want to become a baroque keyboard player, useless otherwise but for this grade you can easily learn the fugurings - only 2 or 3).

Hi Sakura!

You don't have to. My understanding is that you have to have grade 5 theory OR practical in order to progress to higher level exams. At least, that's what the AB syllabus seems to say!

Elisabeth

No, sorry Elisabeth, that's not quite right. To take Grade 6 upwards in a practical study (ie instrument or singing), you must have passed either Grade 5 Theory, Grade 5 Jazz or Grade 5 Practical Musicianship. The last of these is an exam in its own right - it is NOT a practical exam on an instrument.

Sakura - it's perfectly possible to train yourself in theory. Other replies have given a sensible list of publications to use. Hope it works out OK for you.

You should find (though it depends sometimes on the teacher) that by the time you are a grade 5 playing level you have already had to learn much of what is needed for grade 5 theory. With an instrument which requires you to read only 1 clef then there are the notes for another clef to learn, but you don't need to be fluent in that, only able to work it out. The harmony may need a little extra effort too, but it is only very basic at this level.
As nannyjay mentioned it is worth beginnig by working through from grade 1 workbooks upwards with past papers at each stage just to make sure you are secure in what you have learned.

Sakura
Please don't be put off by the thought of gr 5 theory. I just went through the AB workbooks-which tell you how to answer the questions- & past papers at my own pace and my teacher kindly marked them for me. She was also happy to help on any areas where I wasn't sure if I'd got the right idea of how things were done. It really isn't that difficult although I would imagine that non piano players may find there is more to learn that they don't already know. Perhaps your violin teacher would be able to help you in this way. It goes without saying you should offer to pay for their time! Good luck & let us know how you get on.

I don't think Grade 5 is difficult even for non-pianists. I certainly don't have keyboard skills (and didn't when I took Grade 5), but I still knew how to read all the different clefs and how to write harmony - it should be part of an all-round music education, rather than specific bits aimed at what you play.

Entirely possible. I taught myself theory well enough to pass the theory papers for LTCL, LGSM and ALCM.

Liz

A-ha! I see. I'm not as up on all the AB stuff as most around here.....

So, what's the Practical Musicianship??

Elisabeth

Hi,
As an adult learner I thought I'd have a go at the practical exams, and then got to the grade 5 stage and began to panic about the theory. My teacher moved away and I had no-one to teach me. Got all the work books and ploughed my way through them. Did lots of previous exams at all grades and sent them to my teacher to mark and make comments. This worked fine, and I put in for my grade 5 - got 98% only 2 marks deducted on my composition ( I hate composing!). So yes it is possible and providing you put the work in you will pass with a good mark - like evey-thing else.
Best of luck and go for it!
Capriwidow

Hehe - yes, I had 2 marks deducted on my composition (it must have been those semi-staccato runs for trumpet ) and I made one other mistake (drat )

You can try learning it by yourself, but it will be difficult.

I hear a lot of moaning about the grade 5 theory 'barrier', but in truth to be able to play effectively at grade 6+ you need the theory background - not least for the aurals and sight reading.

David

Practical Musicianship:

*To sing and then play a 4 bar melody.
*Transpose at sight a 4 bar melody up or down a semitone as directed by the examiner.
*Sing or play at sight a short melody including dynamics, ornaments etc
*Improvise a melody above an accompaniment played by the examiner or to improvise a melody while the examiner plays a melody.
*Improvisiation based on a motif given by the examiner
*To recognise from the printed score 5 changes in melody, rhythm, dynamics etc in a short piano piece played twice by the examiner.

I'm another adult learner who taught myself theory from scratch as I wanted to do grade 8 singing. I bought the workbooks (grades 1 to 5) and worked through them methodically. I got my singing teacher to check a sample of the exercises to make sure I was on the right track and did some past papers to get used to the style of questions. If you are determined and motivated you shouldn't have any problems - the hardest part for me was actually summoning the energy to pick up the books after a day at work.

Go for it!

I can't find my syllabus at the moment, but it says grade 5 theory or practical musicianship must be passed before you go on to grade 6 practical and above.

Hi Sakura,

If your already having lessons for violin, then can't you ask the odd question about theory? When I took grade 5 theory I got top marks and that was because I used a combination of my own research and also asking my teacher when I got stuck. Most of the work was done on my own though through my own initiative. In fact, I ended up teaching my piano tutor a thing or two! (he thought that the submediant came before the mediant, where in fact it is the other way around).

If you really want to pass grade 5 theory then just go for it. If you find you can't ask your teacher theory questions then just ask people on these forums who will be pleased to help, including me!

Good luck and remember it really isn't that hard.

Shelton

Hi my current teacher isn't the helpful type and my lessons are only half-an hour long! I'm in the market for another teacher in fact!

Hi Sakura,

Not all music teachers are helpful.. but it really depends on your luck as well...

Why not start with Grade 1 book by Lina Ng-Music Theory made Easy? This is a step by step & easy to understand & start with...

You can try to self study yourself unless you really can't cope with it by yourself then, perhaps find a theory teacher or unless you have friends studying music, they can also help you. Alternatively, post your questions here. I'm sure everyone here will definately lend you a hand.

Last but not least, try reading some theory handbook-those very basic first.

Czaire