Popular Music Theory

Buy Your Book

Rockschool's Theory Guidebook Debut - Grade 5 are the ideal introduction to music theory for musicians, composers, students and teachers, designed for use with Rockschool's theory exams, as study and teaching aids, or as standalone guides.

VISIT THE STORE

 GUIDEBOOK

WORKBOOK

The Rockschool Debut Theory Workbook is the ideal preparation for your Debut exam, containing example questions and a full specimen paper. Topics at this level include drawing different note values, writing scales, identifying parts of instruments and understanding BPM and tempo.

Please note: The popular music theory workbooks are only available in hard copy format. You can buy a copy from you local stockist or via Music Room & Amazon

Music Notation

At Debut you will cover the following aspects of music notation:

•  Drawing and recognising treble and bass clefs
•  Drawing different note values (musical symbols)
•  Writing and identifying accidentals
•  Writing and understanding barlines and repeat marks
•  Writing and identifying time signatures
•  Understanding note lengths: adding barlines and time signatures, including double barlines
•  Recognising note lengths, and being able to add missing notes and rests
•  Understanding how to beam notes
•  Understanding equivalent notes and rests
•  Note naming, and identifying the correct clef
•  Identifying accidentals
•  Identifying chords
•  Understanding and identifying melodic intervals
•  Understanding and identifying harmonic intervals
•  Understanding tempo markings
•  Recognising the note values of: whole, half, quarter and eighth notes
•  Understanding how to group notes and rests
•  Naming flats, sharps, and naturals on the stave
•  Understanding note “tails”
•  Identifying pitch ranges: E on bass clef- middle C/ middle C to top G on the treble clef
•  Understanding and recognising tones and semitones

Popular Music Harmony

At Debut you will cover the following aspects of popular music harmony:

•  Identifying scale intervals
•  Writing scales with accidentals
•  Writing scales with key signatures
•  Applying scale knowledge
•  Identifying arpeggios
•  Basic chord knowledge
•  Understanding and writing scales and arpeggios in a major key
•  Identifying tones and semitones
•  Identifying C/ G major scales, chords and arpeggios
•  Understanding major scale formula
•  Identifying C/ G key signatures

Band Knowledge

At Debut you will cover the following aspects of band knowledge:

•  Identification of Drum kit parts
•  Identification of Guitar and Bass Guitar parts
•  Identification of keys on acoustic and electronic piano keyboards
•  Understanding vocal pitch ranges
•  Understanding and identifying a variety of instrumental notation
•  Understanding and identifying instrumental scores and clef

Band Analysis

At Debut you will cover the following aspects of band analysis

•  Understanding scores with up to two different instruments
•  Identification of tempo including an understanding of BPM
•  Recognising time signatures
•  Identification of clefs
•  Recognising keys
•  Understanding pitch
•  Understanding duration and rhythm
•  Chord analysis
•  Recognising melodic and harmonic Intervals
•  Understanding note values and equivalent rests
•  Understanding the use of barlines
•  Identifying different parts of band instruments

Digital Popular Music Theory Exams

We've been working hard to make our Popular Music Theory Exams available online, and we're delighted to announce that is now possible to continue your musical progression from the comfort of your own home.

The content of the exams remains largely unchanged and an interactive sheet music editor means you and your students' exam experience will be straightforward and accessible.

You can learn more about how our Digital Popular Music Theory exams work, including how to enter for an individual exam or arrange a private exam day, here, and download the full list of FAQs below.

Digital Popular Music Theory FAQs

During your music theory exam, you will be expected to complete some tasks which involve writing notation. These are completed using software called ‘Flat’, which is embedded into the online exam system. Please download the guidance below for instructions on how to access the software and some sample tasks to help you practise prior to your exam day.

Notation Guidance for Digital Rockschool Popular Music Theory Exams

Additional Information

All Rockschool Graded Popular Music Theory Exams are marked out of 100.

Classification Bands

The classification bands for Graded Popular Music Theory Exams are as follows:

Pass: 60%–74%
Merit: 75%–89%
Distinction: 90% and above

Please note: Candidates will need to pass 40% of every section in the exam to pass overall This is broken down as follows:

•  Music Notation (20%)- you need to get 8 marks to pass this section
•  Popular Music Harmony (25%)- you need to get 10 marks to pass this section
•  Band Knowledge (25%)- you need to get 10 marks to pass this section
•  Band Analysis (30%)-you need to get 12 marks to pass this section

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Learning outcomes

The learner will:

1 Understand music notation
2 Understand the elements of popular music harmony
3 Understand instrumental components and notation
4 Be able to identify music notation, harmony and instrumental characteristics within a multi-instrumental score

Assessment Criteria

The learner can:

1.1 Identify notes up to one ledger note and keys up to one sharp on the bass and treble clef
1.2 Identify whole, half, quarter and eighth-note rhythms and rests in 4/4 or 3/4 time signatures using bass, treble and percussion clefs
1.3 Identify elements of the stave
2.1 Identify and accurately reproduce major scales and related intervals
2.2 Identify and accurately reproduce simple triadic chords
3.1 Identify parts of musical instruments
3.2 Identify pitch, rhythm, instrument voices and techniques within instrument-specific music notation
4.1 Identify pitch, keys, time signatures and rhythms within a multi-instrumental score of two parts
4.2 Accurately complete a multi-instrumental musical score of two parts

All of the Popular Music Theory Exams have supportive material:

•  Graded Workbooks (Debut- Grade 8)- this includes a sample paper
•  Guidebooks- these are split into two levels; Debut- Grade 5, and Grades 6-8

Qualification Aims

The aim of the Graded Popular Music Theory exams is to provide musicians with the opportunity to attain accredited qualifications in the theory of performance in a popular music context. The qualifications will be available to anyone with an interest in studying the theoretical side of music performance, but is primarily aimed at musicians who play guitar, bass, drums, keyboards/piano or sing. Aside from individual instrumental knowledge there is a focus on band interaction and how the instruments in a band function together. In Grades 6-8, with the focus still on the former instruments, this knowledge will be extended to include ‘brass’ (trumpet, trombone and saxophone) and string (violin, viola and cello) sections.

The Debut exam is aimed at both musicians just starting out learning the fundamentals of their instruments, and for learners who may have special
educational needs. It is expected that most of these will be young learners in the early stages of their schooling but the principle applies to learners at the beginning of their musical careers of whatever age.

Progression

These qualifications are designed to offer direct progression into higher levels of learning. This can be in the form of either grade exams or an appropriate qualification such as the Music Practitioner suite offered by Rockschool.

Qualification Structure

The graded popular music exams are single unit qualifications in which candidates are asked to undertake the following unprepared elements in written form: music notation; popular music harmony; band knowledge; band analysis. The basic knowledge that forms the basis of the exam questions is outlined in this Syllabus Guide. The Workbooks provide examples of the types of questions found in the exams.

Assessment Methodology

The underlying philosophy for assessment is that learners should receive credit for positive achievement, and that all should be encouraged to reach their fullest potential in each aspect of the qualification. Rockschool expects the majority of learners to take any of the graded exam qualifications after a period of study directed by a teacher. However, the specifications of each qualification are set up to allow learners to undertake independent study should they so wish. Rockschool offers help and support in the form of guidance and test examples to those learners who may not have access to a teacher or to supplement the work a teacher sets the learner. All assessment of these qualifications is external and is undertaken by members of the Expectations of Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

The grade examination system is one based on the principle of ‘progressive mastery’: each step in the exam chain demonstrates learning, progression and skills in incremental steps. Successful learning is characterised by a mastery of the fundamentals of music notation and theoretical representation of music performance demanded in each grade. Learners will be able to complete a set of written music theory tasks (the complexity and variety of which are determined by which qualification is being attempted), which allows them to demonstrate their understanding of the practical elements of music performance and the way they are represented in written form. These knowledge-based and analytical skills set a firm platform for further practical and artistic development by the learner.

Graded Popular Music exams are ‘banded’ into the following grade categories: pass, merit, distinction or unclassified. Grade indicators are as follows:

• Pass: a pass grade will be awarded where a candidate has produced work to the required standard overall within the examination. They will demonstrate a basic understanding of music notation and harmony and their application in a musicperformance context.
• Merit: a merit grade will be awarded where a candidate has produced work to a good standard overall within the examination. They will demonstrate a good understanding of music notation and harmony and their application in a music performance context.
• Distinction: a distinction grade will be awarded where a candidate has produced work to an excellent standard overall within the examination. They will demonstrate an excellent understanding of music notation and harmony and their application in a music performance context.
• Unclassified: an unclassified grade will be awarded where the candidate has produced work, which does not meet the tasks contained within the qualification. They will not demonstrate a basic understanding of music notation and harmony and their application in a music performance context.

Results and Certification

Candidates will be informed of their provisional results no later than four weeks of the completion of their examination. All certificates will be issued after the formal completion of all quality assurance processes.

Examination Content Graded Popular Music Theory Exams are available from Debut - Grade 8 and consist of the following elements:

•  Music Notation (20%): all questions in this section relate to music notation
•  Popular Music Harmony (25%): all questions in this section relate to music harmony
•  Band Knowledge (25%): this section is in two parts, with each part covering a range of instruments:

Part 1: Identification
Part 2: Notation and Techniques

• Band Analysis (30%): in this section the questions will include the identification of music notation, harmony, and the stylistic characteristics of Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keys, and Vocals in a multi-instrumental context