Grade 1 Aural Test
From 1972 green booklet "Issued for the guidance of teachers and candidates preparing for the examinations of the Royal Schools of Music"
A
Sing a note between middle C and treble C played by the examiner. Purpose : Elementary response to pitch.
Click below on the examples, and sing the 10 notes you hear. You will not be given 10 notes in quick succession in the exam... we have done it here for training only. Each line will end with a chord. For practice, examples have been included beyond the range of the examination.
Play and sing examples 1-10 Play and sing examples 11-20
Play and sing examples 21-30 Play and sing examples 31-40
Play and sin examples 41-50 Play an sing examples 51-60
If you can sing all of them straight away you're doing fine... if not, ask your teacher for some practice. You can improve your pitch response with regular practice sessions.
B
Intervals : state whether a note is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th of a major scale ( or give its sol-fa name ). You will first hear the key chord, and then the key-note or the first note of that key. State the degree of scale of the note immediately following. Each example you click on actually has 3 questions. Purpose : The foundation of key sense - elementary pitch recognition.
Test 01 Test 02 Test 03 Test 04 Test 05 Test 06 Test 07 Test 08 Test 09 Test 10 Test 11 Test 12 Test 13
Remember : A guess has a 25% of being right ; a good guess has every chance of being right ; don't be silent and shy... go for it !
C1
Rhythm : Clap the rhythm pattern of a short melody played twice.. ( don't clap until you have heard it two times ). Purpose : The memorising of rhythmical figures.
Rhythm 01 Rhythm 02 Rhythm 03 Rhythm 04 Rhythm 05 Rhythm 06 Rhythm 07 Rhythm 08 Rhythm 09 Rhythm 10 Rhythm 11 Rhythm 12 Rhythm 13 Rhythm 14 Rhythm 15 Rhythm 16 Rhythm 17 Rhythm 18
Think of the melody, or hum it as you clap the rhythm. Don't clap too loudly by opening your hands too wide ; that might slow down the faster notes and distort the rhythm.
C2
Pulse : Listen to these harmonised passages in 2 or 3 time and beat time whilst the same music is being played a second time. Note ; you will have to click on the same passage again to hear it a second time ! Purpose : Response to pulse and recognition of accent.
Passage 01 Passage 02 Passage 03 Passage 04 Passage 05 Passage 06 Passage 07 Passage 08 Passage 09 Passage 10 Passage 11 Passage 12
Tip : For 2 time beat with your arm down-up. For 3 time beat down-left-up if you are right handed ( and down-right-up if you are left handed ).
Results & Conclusion : So am I good enough for this / am I getting it right ? Well, I'd say that if you are pretty sure your answers are right then they probably are. Get someone experienced to go through the test with you a second time. If you're not at all sure about your answers you may need some training. Go to a specialized teacher ; your Violin or Cello teacher may cover some of these aspects from time to time, but, especially for the later Grades, you may want extra tuition that doesn't take up your precious instrumental lesson time. Ask your teacher if in any doubt ! Lastly, you may ask yourself if this test is up to date .... well no it's not . . . get the official ABRSM aural Cds for the latest up-to-date tests. Having said that, the format for the aural section hasn't changed much, so this page is still an excellent guide, and gives you a good idea of what to expect. Have fun !