Music Notation

At Grade 5 you will cover the following aspects of music notation:

• Understanding rhythm: halving and doubling rhythmic values, 6/8 and 12/8, half notes and triplets

• Understanding pitch: 15ma and 15mb symbols, ledger lines

• Understanding dynamics and articulation: fp, and spf

• Re-writing scores with a new time signature

• Understanding the use of key signatures and accidentals in major and minor scales

• Recognising pitches across different types of scores

Popular Music Harmony

At Grade 5 you will cover the following aspects of popular music harmony:

• Identifying intervals: minor 6th and 7ths

• Scale identification: harmonic minor scale

• Applying scale knowledge

• Adding accidentals to scales: major and minor

• Writing scales with the correct clef, key signature, and accidentals (where appropriate)

• Chords: naming chords and their inversions (1st and 2nd)

• Identifying chords: transposing roman numeral charts

• Applying chord knowledge

• Recognising melodic and harmonic intervals

• Understanding chord sequences

• Understanding slash chord notation, and the natural minor with V chord

• Understanding the transposition of chord symbols

• Identifying key signatures: up to 5 sharps and flats

Band Knowledge

At Grade 5 you will cover the following aspects of band knowledge:

• Identification of Drum kit parts

• Recognising genre-specific techniques applied to all instrumental disciplines

• Identification of Guitar and Bass Guitar parts

• Understanding the use of technology with band instruments

• Identification of keys: acoustic and electronic piano keyboards

• Understanding vocal pitch ranges

• Understanding of varied music notation and clefs

• Recognition of pitch ranges across SATB vocal ranges

Band Analysis

At Grade 5 you will cover the following aspects of band analysis:

• Understanding scores with up to five different instruments

• Recognising keys

• Understanding instrument-specific techniques

• Chord analysis, including inversions

• Scale identification

• Understanding various types of notation

• Recognising rhythms

• Recognising musical devices

• Recognising musical styles

• Understanding the parts, and functions, of band instruments

• Knowing, and applying, articulation and dynamics across varied scores

• Recognising scales: major and minor

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.

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.