Grade 6 theory ABRSM

MandyH · May 14, 2015

I am in need of another personal challenge!

At the moment, I am thinking that learning enough theory to take the grade 6 exam would be a good idea. (I might change that view...)

I think my inherent knowledge is up to grade 5 (I took and passed it a few years ago, with only a little brushing up on my knowledge) but I think grade 6 will require some real learning.

Knowing that some of you are that way inclined, do you have any books or web-site or apps etc that you can suggest?

My sax teacher is willing to help me fill in the gaps, but I think I want to try to teach myself as much as possible.

thanks

Ivan · May 14, 2015

@tenorviol done it last year I seem to remember

I enjoyed learning for and taking Gd V this year (one mark off distinction dang and blast)

Good luck at VI

Tenor Viol · May 15, 2015

Yep, did G6 last autumn.

Everything you need is in the Eric Taylor books I and II. It's worth tackling a past paper and getting it marked to see where the tricky bits are....

MandyH · May 15, 2015

I have the pink book and the blue book - I've never dared open the blue book....yet!

Tenor Viol · May 16, 2015

Happy to chat with you about it tomorrow - I'll bring some stuff I have with me.

MandyH · May 27, 2015

I have now read the first couple of chapters of "the blue book".

I have read them several times!

At first it made no sense at all, then I had a light bulb moment! So far so good! - I haven't dared to look at the past papers yet, though!

Jeanette · May 27, 2015

Good for you, keep going 🙂

Jx

Ivan · May 28, 2015

MandyH said:
I have now read the first couple of chapters of "the blue book".
At first it made no sense at all, then I had a light bulb moment!

It made no sense....

...until you switched on the light?

Tenor Viol · May 28, 2015

Do get in touch if you want to chat...

MandyH · May 30, 2015

Ivan said:
It made no sense....

...until you switched on the light?

I read better that way :tongue-out:

Chris · May 30, 2015

@MandyH you might find this website useful http://www.mymusictheory.com/grade-6-music-theory-resources good luck with the exam

Chris..

davidk · May 30, 2015

Chris said:
@MandyH you might find this website useful http://www.mymusictheory.com/grade-6-music-theory-resources good luck with the exam

Chris..

I looked at a site like that when doing grade 5. Possibly that same site, but I can't remember. The name rings a bell, which is why I feel I should give this warning. Not all of the syllabus was covered and some of the answers given were wrong. They would have got me an exam pass but no higher grade. ABRSM have provided two books as well as past papers and answers. I'd use these in preference to a third party free website. I read the two books from cover to cover before taking grade 5. It wasn't such a big chore once I'd got started.

It was great of Chris to find and link to the resource but ABRSM materials are the best source for their exams.

Good luck.

MandyH · Jun 17, 2015

So, I need some help......

I am reading the "blue book" - the AB guide to music theory; on page 138 is this example. The chapter is on "extensions of the triad (7ths, 9ths etc)"

So the first chord is given as a V13. Seeing that it contains Ab (in the bass), Gb, C and F, and the key is Db, I can see that it is a V13.... If Db is the tonic, then Ab is the dominant (5 or V) and F is the 13th.

But my question is this: if I write the chord as F, Ab, C, Gb, why isn't it some sort of iii9b (a 9th chord on the 3rd degree in the second inversion).....

The only answer I can currently find is that sentence further up the page says "the 5th from the root is the most likely note to be omitted"
Or does a chord always need the 7th?

Or maybe I'm missing something blindingly obvious!

Thanks

Nick Wyver · Jun 17, 2015

7ths are rather important in dominant 7th chords. Is that the blindingly obvious bit? 🙂

The same group of notes can have a number of different names, eg. is A C E an Am chord or a C6? What you call it depends on its function in the music and, if you're talking to guitarists especially, whether The person reading is going to able to make sense of you've written.

MandyH · Jun 17, 2015

You could be right @Nick Wyver

It was suggested on another thread that the 3rd and 7th were important in a dominant chord.

I guess that in throwing in the 13th, I may have lost track of the fact it was still a dominant 7th chord!

I'll go and contemplate and cogitate for a bit longer....

fibracell · Jun 17, 2015

I'm not sure what the official classical, 4 part choral, William Lovelock harmony book , stance would be on this issue. There are all kinds of rules to get round musical problems.Form a pure musical standpoint the strength of the tritone wants to resolve inwards or outwards. So the chord F Ab C Gb wants to resolve to a Db or G totality. A common arranger practise is to 'drop 2' on a 4 note chord which can lead to some interesting chord inversions.

I can't imagine that the traditional harmony book would ever consider lllm chord with 9b, unless the 9b was just a passing tone.

jbtsax · Jun 17, 2015

MandyH said:
So the first chord is given as a V13. Seeing that it contains Ab (in the bass), Gb, C and F, and the key is Db, I can see that it is a V13.... If Db is the tonic, then Ab is the dominant (5 or V) and F is the 13th.

That's correct. You could think of the V13 as a V7 with an added 13th (6th).

MandyH said:
But my question is this: if I write the chord as F, Ab, C, Gb, why isn't it some sort of iii9b (a 9th chord on the 3rd degree in the second inversion).....

You could look at it that way, but the "harmonic role" of the chord is that of the dominant 7th which leads strongly to the I (i) or the vi (deceptive cadence if in a major key).

MandyH said:
The only answer I can currently find is that sentence further up the page says "the 5th from the root is the most likely note to be omitted". Or does a chord always need the 7th? Or maybe I'm missing something blindingly obvious!

The 5th of the chord is optional or expendible. The 3rd is essential to define whether the chord is major or minor. A chord doesn't need a 7th even when it is a V chord. However if the chord does have a 7th, it is as important as the 3rd to define whether the chord is at rest, or if it is "pulling" toward another chord. For example a C maj 7 is at rest. A C7 is pulling toward F or Dm. A Cm7 is pulling toward an F7 and so on. The key is to not only analyze the notes of a chord to determine its tonal quality, but also to identify its harmonic role or purpose in the music.

In your musical example Grieg gives only the essential notes to give the chord its role and tonal color: the root, 3rd, 7th, and 13th. In this case a 5th would have muddied the sound as it would have created a dissonance with the 13th.

Tenor Viol · Jun 17, 2015

I think the good news is that at G6 you don't really need to know too much about 9th, 11th or 13th chords.

MandyH · Oct 3, 2015

I have decided to employ a tutor! And am now having music theory lessons at the local "Elgar School of Music". Currently we are working through "Harmony in Practice" by Anna Butterworth.
I don't yet really know whether I am making progress.

A problem which I had already identified is that up to grade 5, I learnt my music theory as a set of very definite rules (with only one possible answer) But harmony isn't so clear cut, there is more than one answer, more than one way to write one chord, let alone a progression of chords. And that is where I feel a little afraid to put pen to paper. So far my tutor assures me that my answers to the exercises in the book have been correct. Indeed this week, I spotted an error in the answer book!

Anyway, my plan is to take the grade 6 exam in the spring.
I am hoping for more lightbulb moments before then.