ABRSM Grade 5

[kghayesh]

I am entering grade 5 examination in June and i have a couple of questions concerning it.

1.The pieces that i will be supposed to sight read will be the same level as the pieces i am supposed to perform or easier or what??

2.What is the aural test and what will it be like??

[yamaha]

Hi 

The sight reading will be a piece approx 2 grades lower than your performance pieces.  The board publishes specimen tests but you could use a book of grade 3 pieces to prepare.

The aural.........

A.  To sing or play (at your choice) from memory a short melody that you will hear twice.  The examiner will state the key and the starting note.

B.  To sing six notes from a score in free time.  The range will be up to a fifth above or a fourth below the tonic.  There wont be any intervals greater than a third.

C1.  After listening to a piece played by the examiners, identify features such as dynamics, tempo changes, tonality, general info on texture, form, style and period, articulation.

C2.  To clap the rhythm of an extract of the piece you just heard.  It will be played twice.  You must then stae the time as 2,3 or 4.

The board publishes practice aural tests on tape for all the grades.

Hope this helps 

[chopinisque]

1. Easier... roughly one or two grades easier... just play slowly... they only penalise you if you make mistakes and lose rhythym as well as ignore all dynamics... at that level, speed isn't really taken into account... unless it sounds as if you're hesitating a lot of course...

2. The examiner will play phrases of music and ask you about them... for example, comparing two versions of the same phrase and identifying the difference... or clapping out and then identifying the rhythym...

Go here to read more: https://www.abrsm.org/resources/pianoGr5_0506.pdf

PS  I see that I posted too late... oh well, the link will still help... I hope...

[kghayesh]

I am sorry, but one more question....
Concerning the arpeggios, it is stated that i am supposed to play the major and minor common chords of all keys, in root position only for two octaves. How am i supposed to play them??

e.g: the C-major arpeggio, should i play in the form C1 E1 G1 C2 E2 G2 C3 G2 E2 C2 G1 E1 C1....

or the same as above but after that i should start from E1 G1 C2

[abell88]

"Root position only" means you only do it the first way (starting on the root, C).