Music examinations are a method of formally assessing the accomplishments of pupils learning

musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

. These are called grades. Although there are music examinations available to school and university students alongside other regular qualifications and assessments, there are also a number of independent bodies who solely provide assessment in musical ability which are open to all.

Overview

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

was the first organization to offer examinations in music to external students in 1877. As of 2018, Trinity College London conducts around 850,000 assessments worldwide per year, as does the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

. Other examination boards based in the UK include the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...

Victoria College of Music and Drama Victoria College of Music and Drama is an examinations board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers independent graded exams, medals and diplomas in music, speech and drama in the UK and selected other countries such as the Republic of Irelan ...

, the

National College of Music The National College of Music is an examination board established in 1894 and based in London, United Kingdom, offering external grade examinations in Music, Speech and Drama in the UK and overseas. History The National College of Music was ...

and Rockschool (RSL Awards). Many students who enter these exams have taken a course of music lessons with a private tutor, although some are self-taught. Often this is a way for children to receive music training over and above what is provided at their usual place of learning, although private lessons are also popular with adults who turn to music later in life. Music exams are set in both

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

and practical aspects. The theory examinations are taken by pupils of all instruments and typically cover areas such as

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

. The practical exams concentrate on the particular instrument favored by the pupil, for example piano, guitar or flute. Rockschool exams include electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, ukulele and keyboards. They cover elements such as playing set pieces, technical work including

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

sight reading In music, sight-reading, also called ''a prima vista'' (Italian meaning "at first sight"), is the practice of reading and performing of a piece in a music notation that the performer has not seen or learned before. Sight-singing is used to descri ...

, aural, musical knowledge and improvisation. In the United Kingdom the music exams are graded from 1 to 8, with Grade 1 being the entry level, and Grade 8 being the standard required for entry to higher study in a music college. Additionally, Trinity College London offers an Initial level qualification at Entry Level 3 of the UK Qualifications and Credit Framework, and ABRSM offer a Prep Test qualification as a useful preparation before the Grade 1 exam. LCM offers one Pre-preparatory and two Step exams at this level and VCM offers four Introductory grades aimed at those in the first 18 months of learning. Other reputable music examination boards offering examinations on musical instruments and music theory include: * Australian Guild of Music (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

) *

Australian Music Examinations Board The Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) is a federated, privately funded corporation which provides a program of examinations for music, speech and drama in Australia. The organisation had its beginnings at the Universities of Melbourne ...

The Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) *

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

- Directorate Music *

ANZCA Music Examinations ANZCA may refer to: * Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists * Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts {{Disambiguation ...

(

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

) *

New Zealand Music Examinations Board New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

* St.Cecilia School of Music *

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution which ...

Music Teachers' Board Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Different music examination boards may have different grade levels for instruments and music theory examination. Depending on how they are recognised by regulatory bodies such as Ofqual, examination results or credits may be transferable from one exam board to the other.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Examination School examinations Music education