Grade 6, and chords on every degree

What Grade 6 asks

Grade 5 asked you to recognise: name the chord, the cadence, the interval. Grade 6 asks you to write: the harmony above a bass, the chords under a melody, a melody of your own.

The Grade 6 theory exam is a written paper of 3 hours with five questions:

• Question 1 (15 marks): realise a figured bass. You add the upper parts above a given bass, for four voices or in keyboard style.
• Question 2 (15 marks): choose chords for a melody, or write a bass with figures under it.
• Question 3 (20 marks): continue a given opening into a melody for a named instrument, moving to a related key, with performance directions.
• Questions 4 and 5 (25 marks each): questions on printed music, one of them a score for several instruments.

Harmony (questions 1 and 2) is where most marks are lost, so this course starts there. Everything from Grade 5 stays: it becomes your toolkit.

Follows the ABRSM syllabus. Check the current syllabus for the exam dates and any changes.