For the next three weeks we are going to sit an official theory assessment. It is one of our proper theory ones and I'm hoping for a Distinction!
For week one of the assessment we sat a prelim paper just to get some practice and to know what to expect. And we also marked them as a class.
For week two of the assessment we sat the official paper. The exam covered everything I have learned up until now. So that's rhythmic dictation, Scales and most recently chords.
And for week three we looked over the paper and find out what grade we got. We also went over any bits anyone didn't understand.
THE EXAM - RHYTHMIC DICTATION:
For the first question of the exam I had to give the full value of rhythms as quavers, crotchets, dotted crotchets, minims or dotted minims.
This question was very easy to me. It would have something like a crotchet and two quavers, and I would have to basically simplify that into one note which would be a minim.
It's like music's equivalent to fractions. I get given six over eight and I have to simplify it into the easiest one possible so, three quarters.
For question two I had to add a correct time signatures to the beginning of five different extracts.
This also was relatively easy to me. I would say rhythmic dictation is probably my strongest topic in theory at the moment. I would look through the four bars in each piece and work out what the time signature was.
For question three I had to add bar-lines to five different extracts, and add rests to complete the last bar.
Again this was really easy. The first one was in 6/8, so all I done was count each note. The first was a dotted crotchet (3) and the next was three quavers tied together (3) so I put a bar after that.
SCALES:
For this section there was ten different scale questions. Each one was completely different. The questions would be like:
1.) "Using a key signature, write one octave of the F major scale descending
starting on F above Middle C, in the Alto clef."
2.) "Which scale has the following scale spelling 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 8?"
3.) "Using the correct key signature and appropriate accidentals, write one octave of the C harmonic minor scale in the treble clef. "
Before the exam I knew I couldn't go in and work out the answers to each scale question. So I memorised each scale spelling for every scale we have learnt. And that's how I coped with this section pretty well.
For my first question example, I knew that a Major scale spelling is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. And then I used our theory rhyme to figure out the key signature. Then I wrote the scale in semi-breves.
CHORDS:
For the first question I had to write out the chords using standard notation in the treble clef.
Chords was probably the hardest part to the exam (for me). We were given ten different chord names like E, BbSUS4, Cm, Em7b5, and we had to write them out in notation.
I used all my scale spellings to help me with this part.
The second question was like and inversion of the first. We got given the scale notations but we had to write the names.
We were also given ten different chords. And again I just used my scale spellings to help me with this section.
MUSIC IN CONTEXT:
This section was the part to distinguish if we would get a Merit or a Distinction. So if we completely the rest of the paper, the highest mark we could get was a pass. But if we completed this section as well then we could get either a Merit or Distinction.
For the first question I had to "Rewrite the following bars without changing the rhythm, so that the notes and the rests are grouped correctly."
This was very straight forward to me. And since I am best with rhythmic dictation, It didn't take me that long to rewrite correctly.
The second question just asked what key the first question was in. And since there was only one sharp (F#), I knew it was in G Major.
The third question was most tricky for me. I had to "Name the tonic triad, supertonic triad and dominant 7th chord that could be used to harmonise the melody in Q.1"
I wasn't too sure what to do here so I just picked the tonic note of G which in G. The supertonic note of G which is A, and the dominant which is D.
And for the final question which has the most marks I had to write out my own four-bar melody in 9/8. I had to use basically every note, dotted crotchets, crotchets, quavers, semiquavers and of course their equivalent rests.
This question was fine because it is mostly using rhythmic dictation. And I am making up my own thing.