Help aural tests :s

[jessieloo]

hi im self taught and wanting to take my grade 1 piano practical but i've just seen something about aural tests. can some one please tell me what these's are. thanks

[Gill the Piano]

Go to the ABRSM website and look under 'Aural Tests' for Grade I and it'll tell you. They're fairly straightforward, but if you're seriously considering taking the exam, it'd be worth your while to pay for a lesson with a friendly teacher who will help you negotiate your way through them. There are little tests like the examiner playing a short phrase and you sing an echo of it back, there's another where s/he plays a piece and asks you whether it was in a major or minor key (ie, happy or sad, very roughly speaking). I can't remember any more, but I think there might be a list of requirements in the front cover/first page of your exam book. It's possible that you can get a CD of them to listen to and that will tell you exactly what they want, but there's no substitute for a real teacher. S/he'll also listen to your pieces and scales and give you some constructive criticism, and you will experience playing to a stranger, which is what an exam is!
Good luck!

[Colin Nicholson]

Hi there - is it Jessie?

You will need a piano teacher to do the aural tests with you. (I am a piano teacher!)
The Grade 1 aural tests come in four parts:-
a. Clap in time to a piece of music in 2 or 3 time; then state the time.
b. Sing as an echo 3 short phrases - without a pause inbetween.
c. To recognise a rhythm change to a 2-bar phrase, with the change being made in the 2nd playing.
[i.e. a straight rhythm changing to a dotted rhythm/ or a rhythm being swapped]
d. To identify certain features of a piece of music. They are: Dynamics (loud/soft or forte/piano);
Gradation of Tone (crescendo/diminuendo); and Articulation (staccato/legato). You will be advised which one or two to listen out for before playing starts, then afterwards, questions will follow.

The aural tests also give a couple of marks for response time, and they are marked out of 18 - pass mark being 12...... this the AB syllabus. The CD's are good (as Gill suggests), but only really useful for extra practise - you need a teacher for them.

Cheers

Colin.

PS The syllabus slightly changes in 2011 for part b, so check out the new requirements.

[Joani]

Hi
You must have taken your exam by now - how did you get on? I'm just posting this because I've found a good aural test website at last so I'm letting everyone know about it. It helps you to understand what to do and gives you lots of practice. Here's where to find it http://www.e-musicmaestro.com/auraltests
Joani