How to pass an ABRSM exam - Theory. I have
many years of experience preparing students
for theory exams with a 100% pass rate and
in this video I want to share with you some
tips so that you can be more confident in
passing your ABRSM music theory exam. It goes
without saying that you need to learn your
topics thoroughly, but often it is difficult
to assess how much of that knowledge you have
actually taken in. With this in mind I have
prepared a series of videos which cover all
the topics needed from grade 1-5 music theory
and at the end of each video there is a little
quiz to see what you have learned. To be honest
ploughing through the official ABRSM workbooks
is a long and tedious process. So long in
fact that often by the time you have gotten
to the end of the workbook, you have forgotten
what you have learned at the beginning. Learning
via the video series is a thorough but more
compact way. You could learn all the topics
for a grade in a couple of weeks. Then you
need to practise past papers. This is an absolute
necessity. You may have understood all the
topics, but you need to get used to the way
in which the questions are presented. In fact
after you have done a few of theses papers,
you can take one glance at a question and
think to yourself - Ah I have done this question
before. ABRSM uses the same format year after
year. The section which many of my students
find the hardest, is learning all the foreign
musical terms, especially at Grade 5, there
are over 150 of these to learn. Note that
you need to know all the terms from the previous
grades as well. To help with this, I have
produced a free Android APP, "Music Theory
Terms and Signs", which will quiz you on all
the terms needed for your grade. There should
be a link card appearing on your screen now.
So you get to the day of your exam, you know
your topics. How do you give yourelf the best
chance of getting a good mark. Here are my
top 3 tips. Number one, write in pencil and
write neatly. Take your time. It says on every
paper that marks may be lost if your work
is not neat and clear. I would suggest a mechanical
pencil, because they always stay sharp and
be sure too to take a good eraser. Number
two. Read the question. Sounds too obvious?
But I have seen hundreds of examples of past
papers of my students where they didn't read
the question carefully. For example, they
have written perfectly a scale asked for,
with a key signature, when the question asked
for WITHOUT key signature. Number three. Use
the blank paper that you will be given for
rough working. You might find drawing a piano
keyboard on this helpful. Or even a table
with your cycle of fifths, that is major and
minor keys. By the way, if you want some extra
help with preparing for your music theory
exam there are resources available on the
music online UK Patreon page, including exclusive
videos on some past paper worked examples,
common mistakes to avoid, a free download
of our "Music Theory PRO App", which will
test you on all the topics needed for your
grade and not just the terms and signs. And
also the opportunity for you to send your
past paper to me to be marked and appraised
with feedback on how you can improve. If this
video has been helpful in any way, please
give it a like and feel free to comment below
if you have any questions about music theory.
I'm here to help. Good luck and thanks for
watching.
