ABRSM: Traditional Graded Music Exams

Hi everyone,

In this post I'm going to talk about the traditional graded music exams that are on offer from ABRSM.

The traditional style of a graded music exam is the exam taking place in an registered ABRSM exam centre with an examiner in the room.

The exam consists of :-

- Three pieces of your choosing from the syllabus for your required graded

- Scales & Arpeggios

- Aural Tests

- Sight Reading Tests

- Singing Tests

Three Pieces

The three pieces are what you will work towards with your music teacher on the run up to the exam. The pieces can be chosen from the ABRSM exam packs or from the ABRSM extended syllabus that lists additional pieces for your required grade.

Scales & Arpeggios

These have to be performed from memory on the day of the exam, and they are a number of scales and arpeggios that you need to know for each grade; and in some cases they will ask you for either scales and arpeggios from previous grades.

Aural Tests

The aim of the aural tests is to test your pitch, and to see if you can recognise notes without looking at sheet music. This skill takes a while to develop, and this should be worked on prior to the exam with your music teacher.

Sight Reading Tests

The aim of this test is to see how well you can read music notation without ever seeing that piece of music before. The examiner will place a piece of sheet music in front of you, and you will have 30 seconds to get used to reading it and maybe a go at playing it. After the 30 seconds is up, you will then play the piece to the best of your ability.