Associated_Board_of_the_Royal_Schools_of_Music

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or ABRSM is an educational body that provides examinations in music. Often referred to simply as the "Associated Board", or "the Royal Schools of Music", the organisation is based in London, but runs examination centres all over the world. In addition, the ABRSM is a publishing house for music that produces syllabuses, music pieces and exam papers that assist students in preparing for their exams. The Royal Schools of the title are:

• Royal Northern College of Music
• Royal Academy of Music
• Royal College of Music
• Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama

The students of the above mentioned institutions received prestigious university degrees, but not diplomas from the ABRSM, although as a guide to the technical standards expected for the expected level for those applying to undergraduate studies, students should consult the syllabuses for Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music examinations at grade 8 level.

Over 620,000 candidates take ABRSM examinations each year in over ninety countries. They offer graded exams as well as more advanced diploma qualifications.

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music is a registered charity^[1] and is one of the 200 largest UK charitable organizations ranked by annual expenditure.^[2] For the year ended 31 January 2008, income was £30.2 million and expenditure was £29.9 million. [1]

Graded Exams

Graded exams are not amateur qualifications in music. They are a natural progression from beginner to advanced, allowing the student to teach each grade once they have achieved a pass. Grades 1-5 are equivalent to GCSE level, grades 6-8 A-Level. They are (in most cases) offered from Grades 1-8 and have three standards of pass: a straight pass, a pass with merit and a pass with distinction. There is no requirement to have any previous grades before taking a new one. However, to encourage broad musical knowledge, the ABRSM require Grade 5 Theory, Practical Musicianship or Jazz to be passed before one can take Grades 6-8 Practical exams, which are known as 'Advanced' grades. Grades 4-5 are Intermediate, and Grades 1-3 are Beginner. There are three exam 'sessions' in a year, in and around March, June and November. Passes in Grades 6 to 8 in either theory or practical exams may be used as part of the UCAS tariff in obtaining a university place. The four types of graded exams are as follows:

Practical exams

These are by far the most commonly taken exams. Available for over 35 instruments, these exams consist of four different sections:

• Set Pieces. The student is required to play three pieces (four, known by heart, for singers doing Grades 6-8) prepared beforehand. These pieces are selected from the current syllabus for the instrument and grade, usually one piece from each of given groups. For most instruments, two of these pieces are played accompanied, with the third played solo. Each piece is marked out of 30. The passing mark is 20. (For Grades 6-8 singing, the pieces are out of 24/24/21/21 for each piece, the pass mark being 16/16/14/14 respectively.)
• Scales. Various scales, arpeggios and, for Grades 1-4 only, broken chords, are examined, according to the grade of difficulty. Scales are marked out of 21. The passing mark is 14.
• Sight Reading. The student is presented with an unseen piece, has up to 30 seconds to prepare, and then must play to the best of his or her ability. Sight reading is marked out of 21. The passing mark is 14.
• Aural Awareness. Various exercises are played by the examiner and the student is required to demonstrate skills in listening to music, for example clapping the rhythm or singing the melody. Aural is marked out of 18. The passing mark is 12.

The exams are marked out of 150: 100 or more is a pass; 120 or more is a pass with merit; 130 or more is a pass with distinction.

Theory Exams

These are written papers on the topic of musical theory. They are marked out of 100: 66 or more is a pass; 80 or more is a merit; 90 or more is a distinction. A Grade 5 theory pass is one option that allows candidates to continue beyond Grade 5 on any Associated Board musical instrument graded examinations.

Practical Musicianship

These exams are designed to test an understanding of rhythm, melody, key and notation together with the ability to sing and play from memory, and improvise and to recognise changes to and answer questions about a score. A Grade 5 Practical Musicianship pass is one option that allows candidates to continue beyond Grade 5 on any Associated Board musical instrument graded examinations.

Jazz Exams

These are the newest types of exams, with jazz piano first being offered in 1999. At present, they are only available for flute, piano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and trombone. They are also only available from Grades 1-5. They are marked in the same way as practical exams. However many of the pieces include large improvisational sections, where the instrumentalist is required to fill in the empty bars with their own melody to fit the standard chord progression listed above.

A Grade 5 Jazz exam pass is another option that allows candidates to continue beyond Grade 5 on any Associated Board musical instrument graded examinations.

Music Medals

Music Medals^[3] are QCA accredited music assessments and teaching resources aimed at younger, group-taught learners. Music Medals are distinct from Graded Music Exams in that there are no external examiners involved and the initial assessment is made by the teacher.

ABRSM Diploma, Licentiate Diploma and Fellowship

The ABRSM offer diplomas in three disciplines:

• Music Performance
• Music Direction
• Instrumental/Vocal Teaching

For each discipline there are three levels of award:

• DipABRSM (Diploma of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music)
• LRSM (Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music)
• FRSM (Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music)

These are professional qualifications, and entitle the recipient to append the letters after his or her name.

The content of the DipABRSM, LRSM and FRSM (Instrumental performance ONLY) are divided as follows: Section 1, Recital; and Section 2, Viva Voce and Quick Study. Candidates perform various pieces from a selected list and may select works other than those listed but should not exceed one third of the entire recital programme. Recital time for DipABRSM is 35 minutes, for LRSM is 40 minutes while for FRSM the time range is around 50 minutes.

Before the Viva Voce, the candidate must submit a written programme notes on the day of the exam (for FRSM, the written submission should be submitted with the application form, in the form of an essay with in-depth analysis and requires sophisticated knowledge of the history, context of the composer as well as the era in which the works were composed) which should include background information as well as sufficient information and analysis of the works that are performed. The examiner(s) would engage in a conversation with the candidate concerning the notes submitted as well as other related questions that would allow the candidate to demonstrate his or her knowledge as a professional musician.

The Quick Study would be a short piece with an equivalent difficulty of an ABRSM Grade 6 piece (for DipABRSM), an ABRSM Grade 7 piece (for LRSM) and an ABRSM Grade 8 piece (for FRSM).

Criticism

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The Graded Examination System has been criticised by many music teachers and professional musicians, since there are many who believe that music examinations are inherently a bad idea, just as there are many for whom they are a valuable tool in motivating and encouraging pupils, and measuring progress.

On the other hand, the fact that the examinations require the student to attend to skills such as sight-reading and scales, rather than simply learning graded pieces, can be of value. Sight-reading in particular is of huge importance if an amateur player is to participate in orchestras and other ensembles.

Each section of an examination is awarded marks, but convincing musical performance is qualitative rather than quantitative in nature.

Some consider that there are too many scales to learn too soon, and to be played too quickly, and that as a result, some pupils learn them only superficially, as a memory test, rather than as a means of promoting confidence with the instrument.

Success in Graded Examinations is rewarded in some instances as points for admission into a pupil's chosen secondary school, as well as for university entrance. They are therefore arguably a professional qualification, as these factors ultimately influence the professional success of the pupil, albeit in fields unrelated to music. This may lead to a shift in focus away from learning music for its own sake.

Concerns have also been raised that exams have got progressively easier over the past few decades such that Grade 8 with a distinction on its own is no longer good enough to get into music college. However, it has always been the case that an audition is required to attain a place at music college - but a Grade 8 (usually requested at Distinction level) is the standard required to gain an audition. Many universities quote ABRSM Grade 8 performance, sometimes at distinction level, as an entry requirement for music-related courses.

Another issue which is often debated is the cost of the materials necessary to be purchased to study properly for the exam, and, in addition, the cost of the examinations themselves. This means that not all can actually afford to participate in exams, which means that they are often considered not as skilled as others who have.

ABRSM Publishing

The ABRSM's publishing department was first set up in 1921 and was designed to provide suitable music for examinations, performance editions of popular works and new instructional compositions. One of the original editors was Sir Donald Tovey who wrote informative notes on the music which are still highly regarded today. The department grew, until 1985, when ABRSM (Publishing) Ltd. was established as a separate company.

It continues to produce copies of popular works, along with commentaries from distinguished editors. It publishes contemporary music in its "Spectrum" series of books, and also issues a variety of publications for beginners and younger instrumentalists.

References

External links

• Official ABRSM website
• Official ABRSM Music Medals website
• Official ABRSM Publishing website
• Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Registered Charity no. 292182 at the Charity Commission
• musictheoryguy at YouTube 'musictheoryguy' has produced a range of useful videos which tie-in with the ABRSM music theory exams