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© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com

Grade 5 Music Theory – Extra Resources

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Grade Five Music Theory

Extra Resources

Cadences – Transposition – Composition – Score-reading

(ABRSM Syllabus)

PREVIEW

MyMusicTheory.com

BY VICTORIA WILLIAMS BA MUSIC

© www.mymusictheory.com

Published: 6th March 2015



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This is a preview document and does not contain the whole

music theory course, but a selection of lessons and

exercises for your perusal.

If you have any questions prior to purchasing, please email

[email protected]



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CADENCES

INSTRUCTIONS

Suggest suitable chord progressions for the cadences in the following melodies by indicating ONLY ONE chord

(I, II, IV or V) at each of the places marked. You do not have to indicate the position of the chords, or to state

which note is in the bass.

Show the chords (a) by writing I, II etc. or

(b) by writing notes on the staves.

TIPS

1. Work out what key the melody is in first. (Look for accidentals in a minor key).

2. Write out the notes which make up chords I, II, IV and V in the key of the piece e.g. in C major the

chords are I: C-E-G, II: D-F-A, IV: F-A-C and V: G-B-D

3. The first note in each bracketed group must be in the chord.

4. A note which is a scale step away from the last chord note is normally a non-chord note. E.g with the

notes C-D, C is a chord note, but D is not in the chord.

5. A note which is a third or more away from the last chord is normally a chord note. E.g. with the notes

C-D-E, the E must also be in the chord.

6. Each question contains two cadences. The last chord in each of those two cadences can only be I or V.

7. If the last chord is I, the chord before it can only be V or IV, never II.

8. Never use the same chord twice in a row, even if it seems to fit. E.g. never write V-V.

9. We recommend using method (a) above – write the Roman numerals, not the notes on the stave.



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1. Chord A: Chord B:

2. Chord C: Chord D: Chord E:

3. Chord A: Chord B:

4. Chord C: Chord D:



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SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO CADENCES

1 & 2

3 & 4



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TRANSPOSITION

The following exercises are designed to help you practise transposing a melody into a new key.

TIPS

Look carefully at the direction (up or down) and the interval (major 2nd or perfect 5th) that you have to

transpose by.

Notice whether you need to add a new key signature or not.

Make sure you write your answers neatly – use a ruler and an eraser, and don’t forget to add all the details like

dynamics, phrasing and articulation.

The questions normally ask you to transpose a piece for clarinet, trumpet, French horn or cor Anglais.

• The clarinet and trumpet are pitched in Bb. This means you have to transpose up/down by a major 2nd

(a tone or whole step).

• The French horn and cor Anglais are pitched in F. This means you have to transpose up/down by a

perfect 5th.

• The clarinet can also be pitched in A. This means you have to transpose up/down by a minor 3rd (three

semitones/half steps).

Each question is worth 10 points – lose one point for each mistake.

• Enharmonic equivalents of notes are not penalised (e.g. writing Ab instead of G#).

• If the transposition is at the wrong interval but otherwise correct, 6 points are awarded.

• A maximum of 2 points are deducted for incorrect copying of non-note elements such as ties or time

signatures.

The answers follow the questions.



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1. The following melody is written for clarinet in A. Transpose it down a minor 3rd, as it will sound at concert

pitch. Remember to put in the new key signature and add any necessary accidentals. (10 points)

TRANSPOSITION ANSWERS

1.



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COMPOSING FOR AN INSTRUMENT

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

• Compose a complete melody for an unaccompanied instrument, using the given openings.

• Indicate the tempo and other performance directions, including any that might be particularly required

for the instrument chosen.

• The complete melody should be eight bars long.

• Indicate which instrument you have chosen.

• The first 10 melodies are in treble clef, and the last 10 are in bass clef.

• The composition question is marked out of 15.

• If you would like mymusictheory.com to mark your work, please email us at [email protected]

TIPS

• Re-use ideas from the given opening to create the rest of the piece. Look at the intervals that were

used to construct the given opening and use mostly the same kinds of intervals. Look at the rhythms in

the given opening and use similar rhythms.

• If there is an up beat bar, count the first complete bar as bar 1. Bar 8 will be slightly shorter, to take

into account how long the up beat was.

• Add a tempo above the first note and a dynamic below it.

• Add other dynamics, but make sure they are accurately placed, logical and musical.

• If you aren’t sure of the range of the instrument, don’t go below middle C and don’t go higher than two

ledger lines.

• Put slurs over groups of quick notes, and do it the same way all the way through. Add them to the

given opening as well.

• Make sure you finish on the tonic note, and put it on the first beat of bar 8. Use a long note value (at

least a crotchet (quarter note).

• Avoid writing any intervals which are augmented or diminished. Avoid leaps of a 7th too, and leaps

greater than one octave, unless they exist in the given opening.

• Add the key signature on to the second/third stave, but don’t repeat the time signature.



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1) Violin or Oboe



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COMPOSING FOR VOICES

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Compose a complete melody to the following words for a solo voice. Write each syllable under the note or

notes to which it is to be sung. Also indicate the tempo and other performance directions as appropriate.

The question is marked out of 15.

Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to use our marking services.

TIPS

• Write a balanced melody. There will be two lines of text – write the same number of bars for each line.

Make the melody 2+2 bars, or 4+4, making 4 or 8 bars in total.

• Put the clef and key signature on each stave. The time signature only goes at the start.

• The words and syllables which are stressed when the words are spoken should fall on the strong beat

of the bar. The first beat of each bar is the strongest. (In 4/4 time, the 3rd beat is also quite strong.) The

other beats are weak, and “sub-beats” are the weakest (e.g. when you split the beat into

quavers/eighth notes)

• Add a tempo above the first note, and a starting dynamic. Add further dynamics to suit the melody.

Dynamics should be written above the stave, so they don’t get mixed up with the words.

• Write the words below the stave, matching each syllable to a word. Words with two syllables should be

split with a hyphen, e.g. “peo-ple”.

• If one syllable is sung to two or more notes, put a slur on the notes and a dash after the syllable to

show this.

• Finish on the tonic, on a strong beat, and with a long note.

• Make the melody fit the meaning of the words. Use a minor key for sad words, and a major key for

happy words. If the words reflect something high (“rising”, “air”, “sky” etc.) then make the melody go

high, and vice versa.

• Don’t use exactly the same rhythm all the way through, but try to keep the character the same. Don’t

stick to crotchets and minims (quarter and half notes). You will be expected to write something a bit

more interesting than that rhythmically.

• Keep with the comfortable range for one voice – soprano, alto, tenor or bass.

VOICE RANGES



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1. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls (Tennyson)



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SCORE-READING

These worksheets are designed to give you extra practice exercises for your Grade 5 Theory of Music Exam.

The Grade 5 Theory of Music Exam tests you on many aspects of music theory. You need to know about scales,

cadences, intervals, foreign terms and much more.

In each Grade 5 Theory of Music Exam, there is an exercise which is a set of questions based on a musical score.

You need to be able to read this score and understand everything about it; its melodies, harmonies,

performance directions and notation.

In this sections you will find 10 musical extracts, each with 10 questions related to it. These questions will test

you on a wide range of skills.

You will find the answers to each question at the end of the book.

If you get stuck, or need some more guidance, take a look at our website www.mymusictheory.com. You’ll find

free lessons on everything you need to know for Grade 5 Theory, with lots of free exercises you can do online

to test yourself as you go along.

We welcome any feedback you might have. You can email us at [email protected].

Good luck and happy studying!



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SCORE 4

The following extract is from a piece for piano, The Trio from the Divertimento in C, by Haydn. Look at it then

answer the questions that follow.

1. Is the time signature Simple or Compound?

2. Is the time signature Duple, Triple or Quadruple?

3. Draw a bracket over three successive notes that form part of a chromatic scale.

4. What key does the piece start in?

5. Name one similarity and one difference between bars 1-4 and bars 5-8.

6. Rewrite the right hand part of bar 5 using the alto C clef. Remember to put in the clef and key

signature.

7. Which instrument could play the left hand piano part so that it sounds at the same pitch?

Bassoon Trumpet Violin Horn

8. Now name the family of standard orchestral instruments to which the instrument you chose in q.37

belongs.

Describe fully each of the bracketed melodic intervals marked “a” and “b” (e.g. major 2nd).

9. Interval a:

10. Interval b:

© Victoria Williams – www.mymusictheory.com 14

SCORE 4

1. Simple

2. Triple

3.

4. C minor

5. The melodic pattern is the same. The dynamics are different. The end cadences are

different.

6.

7. Bassoon

8. Woodwind

9. Major second

10. Major third

BY VICTORIA WILLIAMS BA HONS

© www.mymusictheory.com

Published: 28th February 2015

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