Why choose Trinity Guildhall Music Examinations?

Trinity Guildhall’s greatest overall strength is our policy of providing an exam which works with the way individual pupils learn rather than providing a rigid format into which they must learn to fit.

This philosophy is seen in our wide and varied repertoire lists, in flexibility of supporting tests and in the choices available for a candidate to demonstrate their technical skill.

There is also the approach of our examiners - a relaxed, friendly manner draws candidates out of themselves and gets the best from them in the exam, allowing them to show what they can do.

In January 2007 we launched our new range of syllabuses, put together after several years of consultation to find out what teachers and candidates really wanted. This means our syllabuses are the most up-to-date available, closely reflecting the needs of teachers and candidates as well as the very latest findings on learning and assessment practices.

Practical exams

Our choice of repertoire is extensive, which allows for classic choices as well as more popular, experimental or modern pieces - this means all candidates can find music they actually want to play. The struggle of getting candidates interested in exam material ceases to exist when they can sing songs from the shows along with Mozart arias, or play Joplin along with Bach.

There is also no prerequisite for Grade 5 Theory in any Trinity Guildhall practical examination. Many candidates choose to take our world-class theory exams, but we believe that performance exams are just that – qualifications in performance, and so any theoretical understanding is only relevant in so far as it is expressed through how someone plays.

Trinity Guildhall also commits to choice in the supporting tests section. We allow candidates to play to their strengths by allowing any two of the four available tests to be offered up to and including Grade 5. However, we continue to support the learning of relevant and essential musical skills, with Sight Reading becoming compulsory from Grade 6. (Musical Knowledge is not available above Grade 5.)

The supporting tests in themselves are thought out to reflect the candidate’s genuine musical understanding rather than learned responses -

1) Trinity Guildhall Sight Reading tests read like real pieces of music. This means that candidates can demonstrate their ability with actual melodies, rather than deliberately non-intuitive atonal exercises.

2) Based around one piece of music, our Aural Tests encourage candidates to build a deeper understanding of the music. We have also revised areas of the test where memory or singing ability was being more tested than musical perception. They are now true aural and not oral tests.

3) Improvisation – Trinity Guildhall is pioneering the incorporation of this test in assessment; it is not offered by any other music exam board. It is a rapidly growing area of interest in the musical world which develops musical confidence and creativity and fosters a deep understanding of the instrument.

4) Musical Knowledge is an opportunity for interaction between candidate and examiner, and is another test unique to Trinity Guildhall. In a conversational discussion, the candidate answers questions on the pieces which they have played, demonstrating a specific, theoretical and factual understanding of the music. The test encourages understanding specifically relevant to the candidate’s instrument and musical interests.

There is also choice in the technical work section of many of the exams. Candidates who are not comfortable with the memorising aspect of the scales, or find the regular scale pattern less interesting to play, can often opt instead to play a technical exercise. This is of the same level of complexity as the scales and focuses on a particular technical skill, such as staccato playing, or diction for singers, does not need to be performed from memory. Pianists play a selection of scales and some short technical exercises.

While for the most part, music examination boards offer exams in a similar range of instruments, there is one discipline where Trinity Guildhall is unique - Drum Kit. Trinity Guildhall’s Drum Kit syllabus, and the books we publish to support it, provides the benefits of the exam structure for an instrumental area where this is rarely offered.

Trinity Guildhall also offers examinations in Musical Theatre (offered through our Drama & Speech syllabus) which can be taken by individuals, pairs, groups, and we can even assess entire productions.

Theory exams

Trinity Guildhall has offered Theory examinations for over 125 years. We have recently published a new syllabus and set of workbooks for Grades 1-5, with a reworked set for Grades 6-8 due out in 2009. The syllabus retains most, if not all, of the expected areas at each grade, but the books move significantly away from previous presentations of the material.

The new books have been hailed as a highly invigorating and attractive method for teaching Theory, which is often viewed as a dry, technical subject with only dry, technical books. These workbooks make the essential concepts of music theory straightforward and approachable, and integrate the different areas of knowledge. They encourage students to see the relevance of theory to them as musicians, with a greater emphasis on composition, music analysis and clarity and accuracy in writing music.

As well as the material itself being accessibly laid out and structured, the workbooks are linguistically clear and attractively designed with two-tone colour. They have an approachable visual impact which makes them useable with pupils from all age groups, from children to adults.

Worked examples are used to demonstrate how the tasks in the books should be completed, and an information box at the start of each section allows students to study between lessons without needing any other textbooks.

Please note that a pass at Trinity Guildhall’s Grade 5 Theory is accepted by other boards requiring this as a prerequisite for the higher grades of practical exams.

Summary

Trinity Guildhall’s exams offer candidates the flexibility to enjoy their exam experience by playing to their strengths at their assessment while ensuring that all the vital areas of musical competence are developed.

The exams prepare candidates for the reality of life as a musician, whether in an amateur or professional setting, by encouraging intuitive musicality and providing a structure in which assessment integrates the real skills needed by all those who play an instrument.

The above summary concentrates on Trinity Guildhall’s Grade and Theory exams, but we also do a range of certificate examinations for groups and ensembles and some solo instruments, as well as a full diploma syllabus. For any information on the above please speak to either your local representative or contact our head office on + 44 (0) 20 7820 6100 or music@trinityguildhall.co.uk. Information is also available on our website, including useful resources and a forum. www.trinityguildhall.co.uk/music