ABRSM Theory Grades 1-8
Topics Part 1 / Part 2 / Brief notes
Part 1 / Notes to Part 2
The AB Guide to Music Theory:
Book (Part) 1: Grades 1-5: Topics
Chapter 1: The Basics of Rhythm and Tempo
1/1 Time values
1/2 Time signatures
1/3 Tempo
1/4 Rhythm
Chapter 2: Introduction to Pitch
2/1 Pitch names and notation
2/2 The major scale
2/3 Key signatures
2/4 Accidentals
Chapter 3: Continuing with Rhythm
3/1 Rests
3/2 Ties and Dots
3/3 Triplets and compound time
3/4 The basis of simple and compound time notation
Chapter 4: More Scales, Keys and Clefs
4/1 Major scales and the circle of fifths
4/2 Minor scales and keys
4/3 Relative major/minor keys
4/4 Names of scale degrees
4/5 Double sharps and double flats
4/6 The chromatic scale
4/7 C clefs
Chapter 5: The Grouping of Notes and Rests
5/1 Note groupings in simple and compound time
5/2 Rest groupings in simple and compound time
5/3 Groupings in other time signatures
5/4 Duplets
5/5 Other irregular time divisions
Chapter 6: Rhythm, Words, Syncopation
6/1 Rhythmic notation of words
6/2 Setting word rhythms to music
6/3 Syncopation
Chapter 7: Intervals and Transposition
7/1 Intervals within an octave
7/2 Transposition
7/3 Compound intervals
7/4 Inversion of intervals
7/5 Concords and discords
Chapter 8: Triads and Chords
8/1 Triads
8/2 Chords
8/3 Chord notation in jazz etc.
8/4 Figured bass
8/5 Chord layouts
Chapter 9: Phrases and Cadences
9/1 The phrase
9/2 Cadences
Chapter 10: Tempo, Dynamics and Mood
10/1 Tempo
10/2 Dynamics
10/3 Mood
Chapter 11: Articulation
11/1 Phrasing marks
11/2 The slur
11/3 Staccato signs
11/4 Double phrasing
11/5 Textual and stylistic problems
Chapter 12: Ornaments and Embellishments
12/1 Symbols still in regular use
12/2 Some earlier symbols
Chapter 13: Reiterations and repeats
13/1 Rests of more than one bar
31/2 Reiterated notes
13/3 Repetitions of groups and bars
13/4 Repeats of whole sections of music
Appendix A: Irregular Divisions of Compound Time Values
Appendix B: Notes and Keys in English, German, French,
Italian
Glossary: Foreign Words used for Performance Directions
The AB Guide to Music Theory:
Book (Part) 2: Grades 6-8: Topics
Chapter 14: Voices
14/1 Singers and Choirs
14/2 Voices in Score
Chapter 15: Non-harmony notes
15/1 Passing notes
15/2 Auxiliary notes
15/3 Anticipations
15/4 Changing notes
15/5 Appoggiaturas
15/6 Suspensions
15/7 Pedal Points
Chapter 16: More about tonal harmony
16/1 Counterpoint
16/2 Part-writing
16/3 Harmonic rhythm
16/4 Second-inversion chords
16/5 Extensions of the triad (7ths, 9ths etc.)
16/6 Modulation
Chapter 17: Chromatic chords
17/1 Borrowed chords
17/2 Altered chords
17/3 The Neapolitan sixth
17/4 The diminished seventh
17/5 The augmented sixth
17/6 Harmonic sequences
Chapter 18: Aspects of melody
18/1 Some definitions
18/2 Note relationships
18/3 Melodic sequences
18/4 Regular phrases
18/5 Design in melodies
18/6 Irregular phrases
18/7 Motifs
18/8 The bass line
18/9 Outlined melody
Chapter 19: String instruments
19/1 Orchestral strings
19/2 Bowing
19/3 Multiple stops
19/4 Harmonics
19/5 Vibrato
19/6 The guitar
19/7 The harp
Chapter 20: Woodwind and Brass instruments
20/1 Woodwind: flue instruments
20/2 Transposing instruments
20/3 Woodwind: reeds
20/4 Brass
20/5 Mutes in wind instruments
20/6 Tonguing
Chapter 21: Percussion and Keyboard instruments
21/1 Pitched percussion
22/2 Unpitched percussion
22/3 Keyboard instruments
Chapter 22: Instruments in combination
22/1 Chamber-music groups
22/2 Orchestras
22/3 Bands
Chapter 23: Before the tonal period
Traditional modes
Chapter 24: Some modern developments
24/1 The undermining of tonal harmony
24/2 Modern scales and modes
24/3 The twelve-note method
24/4 Rhythm
24/5 Notation
Appendix C: Names of orchestral instruments in English,
Italian, German & French.
Appendix D: Roman chord-indications
Appendix E: Pitch specifications
Appendix F: Clefs
The AB Guide to Music Theory:
Book (Part) 1: Grades 1-5: Topics & brief notes
Chapter 1: The Basics of Rhythm and Tempo
1/1 Time values (semibreve or whole
note/ minims or half notes/ crotchets or quarter notes/ quavers or eighth notes
– i.e. hemidemisemiquaver is a 64th note. Note parts = note head,
stem, tail (or flag) and beam. Mixed groups or groups of notes joined by a beam
are “beamed” together. Stems can go up or down.)
1/2 Time signatures (Bars or measures are
separated by vertical lines called bar-lines.2/4 means there are two crotchets
in a bar. The top figure in a time signature indicates how many beats there are
in a bar. The bottom signature is our unit of time / what kind of note is used
to represent a beat. Common time C / Alla Breve = 2/2.Double bar line ends a
piece of music).
1/3 Tempo (speed of a piece… how fast it
is. Mm=Maezel’s metronome. 60=1 beat a second.)
1/4 Rhythm (If you tap out the rhythm of a
piece… you could do it fast or slowly… changing the tempo does not change the
rhythm)
Chapter 2: Introduction to Pitch
2/1 Pitch names and notation (playing
a note on the piano produces a fixed sound. After G comes A. A distance from one
a to the next is called an octave. Music is written on a staff or stave made up
of lines and spaces. A clef, such as the Treble or G clef is placed at the
beginning of a stave to show which line represents a G. The Bass or F clef.
Additional lines are called ledger lines. Ottava (8va) can avoid many ledger
lines. Black notes; sharps or flats used to raise or lower a note by a semitone
are placed before the notes. Two semitones = one tone. C# is the enharmonic of D
flat. In German a B flat is written B and a B natural is written H.)
2/2 The major scale (Scale means a ladder.
The key of C major contains just “white” notes. Major scale=TTS TTTS. The
key-note in the first degree of the scale.)
2/3 Key signatures (G major has 1 sharp; D
has 2; F major has 1 flat; C major none. Changes of time signature come after
the bar line. New key signatures are written after a double bar line.)
2/4 Accidentals (sharps and flats in the
key signature of a piece can be cancelled with a natural sign. Such sharps and
flats placed before a note are called accidentals. Once an accidental has
appeared it remains in force until the end of the bar, but it only applies to
the line or space on which it is written.)
Chapter 3: Continuing with Rhythm
3/1 Rests (alternative sign for crotchet
rest. Semibreve rests can indicate a whole silent bar (except in 4/2 time). With
two melodic lines on the same staff, each one has its own rest. Preliminary
rests are optional if a piece starts with say the 4th beat of the
bar.)
3/2 Ties and Dots (You can’t draw a bar
line through the middle of a long note… so a tie joins two notes either side of
the bar line. Join together as many notes as you like to make a really long one.
You can tie notes within the same bar, as long as you are joining two notes of
the same pitch. You can also lengthen notes or rests by 50% with a dot. Some
notes are double-dotted.)
3/3 Triplets and compound time (You can
divide a beat into three equal parts to make a triplet. Indicate this with a 3
and a curved or square bracket. Sometimes 6/8 time signature is easier for lots
of triplets. If beats divide into two the music is in simple time. When beats
divide into threes it is in compound time. 2/4 is the equivalent of 6/8 and 3/4
is the equivalent of 9/8.)
3/4 The basis of simple and compound time notation
(Pattern of beats; strong and weak stress.)
Chapter 4: More Scales, Keys and Clefs
4/1 Major scales and the circle of fifths
(A major 3#(FCG), E major 4#(FCGD), B flat major 2 flats, E flat has 3 flats.
Each new sharp is always 5 notes higher than the last. The last sharp is always
the 7th degree of the scale. Flats progress downwards by 5ths too.
The last one is always the 4th degree of the scale. The key clock and
the circle of fifths. C# major has 7 sharps, but the simpler alternative of D
flat has only 5 flats.)
4/2 Minor scales and keys (Ascending minor
melodic scales sharpen the 6th and 7th degree of the
scale. The first steps, TSTT never change even from melodic to harmonic minor.
Harmonic minors, unlike melodic, are the same coming down as going up.)
4/3 Relative major/minor keys (G major’s
relative minor is E minor (go down a minor 3rd). C or C major is the
relative major of A minor but they have different key-notes.)
4/4 Names of scale degrees (Tonic,
Supertonic, Mediant, Subdominant, Dominant, Submediant, Leading note, Tonic)
4/5 Double sharps and double flats (Raise
F# another semitone and it becomes F double-sharp!)
4/6 The chromatic scale (Diatonic scales.
Chromatic scales include all the semitones…but too many can lead to atonal
music. Don’t use the same letter more than twice, as in A flat, A, A sharp)
4/7 C clefs (Alto and Tenor clefs can
avoid using too many ledger lines)
Chapter 5: The Grouping of Notes and Rests
5/1 Note groupings in simple and compound time
(Generally avoid too using ties. Beaming and grouping must suggest the
division of beats, such as 4/4 so the eye can easily pick out where the beats
occur.)
5/2 Rest groupings in simple and compound time
(Every beat has its rest, but use as few as possible.)
5/3 Groupings in other time signatures
(minim units such as 2/2, 3/2, 4/2 or quaver units 2/8, 3/8, 4/8 or compound
times like dotted-minim units 6/4, 9/4, 12/4 or dotted-quaver untis 6/16, 9/16,
12/16)
5/4 Duplets (Divide a compound time beat
into a group of two equal notes to make a duplet. This is an example of an
irregular rhythmic group.)
5/5 Other irregular time divisions
(Quintuplet, sextuplet, septuplet.)
Chapter 6: Rhythm, Words, Syncopation
6/1 Rhythmic notation of words (Elision,
when two vowels are elided or combined.)
6/2 Setting word rhythms to music
(Accents, musical accents coincide with verbal accents. “I will go” can be
stressed differently to give different emphasis. Agogic (long notes amidst short
ones) accents.)
6/3 Syncopation (Going against the regular
pattern of strong and weak beats using accents. Sf and sfz and > can be used.
Beethoven beams across the bar line.)
7/1 Intervals within an octave (An interval is the distance between any two notes. Together they are a harmonic interval, and one after the other they are a melodic interval. C to D is a 2nd. C to E is a 3rd. In C major you get a major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, major 6th, major 7th, perfect 8ve. Descending minor scales have a minor 7th, minor 6th, and certainly a minor 3rd. Perfect and majors are raised a semitone to become augmented, and perfect and minors lowered become diminished. An interval of a 1st is called a unison.)
7/2 Transposition (Transpose down an octave; move all the notes, each the same distance. Transpose up a tone or major 2nd, or transpose down a minor 3rd.)
7/3 Compound intervals (are intervals larger than an octave; an 8ve+5th=12th (not 13th). Two octaves is a 15th.)
7/4 Inversion of intervals (Invert an interval by playing one of the notes above or below the other by moving it up or down an octave. A minor 3rd inverted is a major 6th. A minor 7th inverted is a major 2nd. An augmented 4th becomes a diminished 5th. A diminished octave becomes and augmented unison. A perfect 5th becomes a perfect 4th.)
7/5 Concords and discords (Perfect concords are perfect 4ths, 5ths and 8ves. Imperfect concords are major and minor 3rds and 6ths. All other intervals are discords. The augmented 4th (a discord) is called a tritone (T+T+T) “diabolus in musica”. Discords and dissonant intervals want to resolve into a concord by moving one of the two notes up or down one degree.)
Chapter 8: Triads and
Chords
8/1 Triads (Triads are the simplest kind
of chord and they make up harmony. Triads are based on the root +3rd
+5th. Triads on the I, IV and V degree of the scale are called
primary triads. Triads are minor, major, diminished or augmented. The VII triad
is diminished. First and second inversions or root positions. Vb is the 1st
inversion of the dominant triad. IVc is the 2nd inversion of the
subdominant triad. Close and open position.)
8/2 Chords (Three or more notes sounded
together. Similar to triads, but you can add 7ths and 9ths. The Dominant 7th
chord is made up of 4 different notes. The third inversion is marked with a
letter d.)
8/3 Chord notation in jazz etc. (Only
point out the bare outlines of harmony. A performer can add to them. C6 is the
notes of the C major triad + an A. Cmaj7 adds a major 7th. A Dominant
7th is simply writted C7.)
8/4 Figured bass (Baroque music has a part
for a continuo instrument which produced chords. Figured bass 53 chords are in
root position, 63 (or just 6) chords are 1st inversion, and 64 chords
are 2nd inversion.)
8/5 Chord layouts (Broken chords need not be written out in full. This
includes the classical “Alberti” bass figuration. Arpeggios are chords with
notes arranged in ascending or descending order.
Chapter 9: Phrases and Cadences
9/1 The phrase (Phrase, sentence and
paragraph in music as well as speech. A phrase is a musical unit formed by a
short group of notes. Phrases are often 4 bars long. If a phrase starts on the 3rd
beat of the bar, it must end with the 2nd beat, so the next phrase
can also start on the 3rd beat. A phrase starting with a weak beat is
called an anacrusis.)
9/2 Cadences (Latin “fall” is the relaxation at the end of a phrase… a
breathing space. All tonal music concludes “home” with a tonic chord. Such an
ending is the perfect cadence, with a progression from dominant to tonic chord.
Plagal cadences (amen) move from IV to I, and imperfect cadences end on a
dominant. Interrupted cadences go V to VI (or V to anything but tonic). Another
cadence (rare) is VI-IV. When the 2nd chord is less strong than the
first we say the phrase has a feminine ending.
Chapter 10: Tempo, Dynamics
and Mood
10/1 Tempo (largo, adagio, andante,
allegro slowing down = rall. Short for rallentando, rit. Short for ritardando,
the opposite of accel. Short for accelerando. A tempo means back to the original
time. Dotted-crotchet=crotchet during time signature change. Fermata or general
pause (G.P.) sign. Ad lib. Short for ad libitum means a free tempo at the
performer’s discretion. Rubato or “robbed” time.)
10/2 Dynamics (f is forte, ff is fortissimo, p is piano and pp is
pianissimo. Accents > and pf or fp and sf or sfz mean sforzando or forced. Molto=much.
Poco = a little.
10/3 Mood (risoluto=resolute, mesto or triste=sad, giocoso=playfully &
tranquillo=peacefully.)
Chapter 11: Articulation
11/1 Phrasing marks (notes which are felt
to form a unit or phrase are marked with general performing phrase marks. This
may partly coincide with slurring on a stringed instrument.)
11/2 The slur (Articulation marks. A curved line called a slur
indicates that the notes are to be played smoothly or legato. Editors can add or
suggest dotted slurs or slurs in brackets.)
11/3 Staccato signs (staccato notes are marked with a dot (previously
a wedge-shaped sign) placed above or below the note head. Tenuto _ or a
lengthening mark is a straight line indicating hold or sustain the note. Both
can be found together on notes meaning hold the note, but separate the notes
from each other.)
11/4 Double phrasing (slurs, phrasing and
dots can all be combined together to show subtle shades of nuance and phrasing.)
11/5 Textual and stylistic problems (original phrasing is sometimes
not obvious despite all the markings in different editions of a work).
Chapter 12: Ornaments and Embellishments
12/1 Symbols still in regular use
(Grace notes like appoggiaturas are the ones you lean on… quite long; the
slashed or crossed small note is called an acciaccatura (crushed) note.
Sometimes grace notes (multiple grace notes are also sometimes called grupetti)
are performed before the beat, and sometimes on the beat. The trill (used to be
called the shake) is performed rapidly alternating the note with the note above
it. Trills sometimes use an end-formula called a resolution. Arpeggiation or
spread sign common for pianists.)
12/2 Some earlier symbols (Baroque notation for a trill looks like an
extended mordent, sometimes to be superceded be grace notes. Baroque trills can
be played like a mordent; these are called schneller (short). The upper and
lower (or inverted) Mordents. (Upper) Turns and inverted or lower turns are
sometimes written out in full to avoid confusion over the many types.)
Chapter 13: Reiterations and repeats
13/1 Rests of more than one bar (How to
write 10 bars rest.)
31/2 Reiterated notes (Short hand for notes played two or four times.
Alternating notes. Trem. = Tremolando.)
13/3 Repetitions of groups and bars (Repetition of a group of notes or
a whole bar. Horizontal line with a dot each side. Sometimes the word bis (twice
in latin) is used.)
13/4 Repeats of whole sections of music (Repeat signs; two (or four)
dots before a double bar line means go back to the start of the repeat (another
two dots) or back to the beginning if there is no start of repeat sign. Use of
first and second time bars. D.C.=Da Capo = from the beginning until the word
fine (means end). Dal Segno means go back to the sign and play until the “fine”.
Sometimes a Coda or ending is involved in the instructions. In a classical
Minuet and Trio, the Minuet’s repeats are not usually observed when returning
top the minuet after the Trio section.)
Appendix A: Irregular Divisions of Compound Time Values
Appendix B: Notes and Keys in English, German, French, Italian
Glossary: Foreign Words used for Performance Directions