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Good luck! Theory exams are difficult, but you’ll do great!

I'm still looking for hints/suggestions on how to improve in ear training! I have 5 weeks left before my exam to crank on ear training

I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing! There is SO MUCH great piano repertoire at the mid-late intermediate/early advanced level, I could just keep going for years and years. I have so much sheet music, compilations, etc. I probably don't need any more for about 5 years, LOL.

And ditto, I'm not crazy about Christmas music. The only piece I really like is "Oh, Holy Night," which, yes, I have the sheet music for. I played it the last couple years.

Good luck on your exam!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Goodness, this sounds like me, as well, LOL!!!

The issue I find with ear training is that improvement is slow, and does not respond to over practice, therefore cannot be rushed. Associating intervals with the start of songs is the only trick I know off, after that its lots of scale singing.

If students listen to lots of music (all kinds of good music, preferably classical) - which of course they do - and listen intently - they can easily practice their aural skills on them. No matter what level they are at.

For instance, rhythms and time signatures: try beating time to the music after ascertaining whether the music is in duple, triple or quadruple time (simple or compound). Then listen to the melody and figure out what the intervals are between the notes (afterwards, play the melody by ear on the piano to check to see whether you got them right). If you have to sing or whistle back the melody played by the examiner for your exam, practice doing the same with the music you just heard. And so on.

When I was a student in my new high school, I was having fun practicing this sort of stuff every morning, because at morning assembly, we sang hymns. All were initially unfamiliar to me, so I tried to keep them in my mind by 'singing' the melody repeatedly (mentally) until I could get the chance to write them down on paper: first the intervals, then eventually, the notes themselves on staves (which I drew on blank paper using a pencil and ruler). I usually used C major for them, no matter what the original keys were - which I didn't know, as I don't have perfect pitch.

As I learnt more harmony, I began to try to ascertain the harmonic progression of the hymns as I listened and sang, and later try to write down the whole hymn in SATB form, checking it out when I got to a piano after school finished.

For instance, try to ascertain the intervals between the notes of this famous aria. (And is it in duple, triple or quadruple time? - beat time to it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHAjOMp_2sg

(And is it in duple, triple or quadruple time? - beat time to it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHAjOMp_2sg[/quote]
Well, this is especially something that doesn't work for me. The RCM practice material gives me a short piece and then asks me to to determine the time signature. WTF. You'd have to be here to see my deer-in-the-headlights look.

And I am the opposite. Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday by far. Love the music and fun!!

(Guys, please correct me, if anything seems weird in this post. I don’t want to leave incorrect information in an exam thread.)

Hey Tyrone, I struggle with this stuff too, especially intervals. Rhythm is slightly easier for me, and here’s is what I try for time signatures. I tap something (fingers, toes, feet, or whatever) based on the pulse I feel. Based on that tapping, and the structure of the first few bars in this example, I eliminated triple time. So that left duple and quadraple. Anyways, I thought it was quadruple, when I listened. But after checking I found that it is in duple. Now I can’t remember why I thought quadruple at that time, as I was tapping in duple. I tap like that for quadraple also, so I'm forever confused between the two. Hopefully, someone will explain how they figure out the difference between the two, and also their thought process in general.

Also, is there any way of knowing the marking criteria within the aural tests in RCM? Sometime back, I came across a video on ABRSM aural tests. The instructor mentions at around 0:30 that for ABRSM, a distinction is given for “Confident” responses, while 12-14 marks for “Cautious” responses. He also mentions that an examinee will get 0 marks only if nothing is attempted, and 6-8 marks for just trying. There is no slot for 1-5 marks.

I don’t think you are taking these exams for marks. The idea I get is that its something that motivates you to learn better. Nevertheless, I think having some clarity on the inner mechanisms of their marking criteria can still help. Here’s the video I was thinking of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPRgx6ifWrY

Duple and quadruple can be easily confused, but if every other beat feels like a strong beat, it's more likely to be duple.

I basically just 'conduct' the piece using my right index finger (when my hand is just hanging by my side) while the music is playing, perhaps nodding my head in time with the beat at the same time (doesn't matter if the examiner notices - but don't do what these guys do at 1:48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thyJOnasHVE ) and if I'm not sure, try conducting in two-time, then switch to four-time to see which fits better.

Thank you for answering. Will keep this in mind! And also 1:48, haha

I did it. I signed up for my first RCM exam. It will be Preparatory B. Today was the last day to register. I had originally wanted to do the April sitting but realized I was putting it off for no good reason due to fear of failure, or more accurately, fear of not doing as well as I want to. I thought I was over that crap, but I guess a bad upbringing stays with you for life. Sigh.

congratulations for taking the big step WeakLeftHand.

Congrats! The first step is always the biggest!

Weaklefthand, the older you get, the less you will be the way your parents raised you and the more you willl be who you are. One of the perks of getting older!

Good for you Weaklefthand! Bad upbringing may not be the culprit. All humans have moments of irrational thought. A fear of failure is just one of those common ones. BUT you've stood up to that fear and will move beyond it. Will your exam be perfect??? Probably not perfect but you will do well. All my best,

Exactly. I've read of people who take the exam, don't do as well as they wanted, and then felt like quitting because they felt they were failing. Treat the exam as simply a milestone, and a source of "teacherly" feedback, rather than as gateway one must pass through. "I was here," rather than "Veni, vidi, vici."

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. While I know I’m not going to be a concert pianist EVER, and I’m not even doing exams for anything really, it’s still difficult to eliminate the natural tendency to need to excel.

Doing piano exams is actually therapy and a distraction to something else actually lol. So it’s supposed to be a good distraction. I won’t call it quits if I don’t do well. I might curse a bit but I’ll probably trudge on.

Congrats weakLeftHand. If you don't pass it is not the end, just take it again. I know adults who just don't do something because they say I won't do well. Other than you, how many people really would care if you pass or not. Your already the exception, because you are willing to do it.

I play with my instructor at the nursing home, used to stop half way through a song my hands shook so bad. I thought why do I do this to myself, its because I am not a quitter. A few years later, still nervous but play and don't stop anymore. I'm better than I was.

I just bought the online theory level 5 class. RCM gives you a year to complete the class and take the exam. The exam is online. Just did it for me, I will do my best, that is all I can do. Its a hobby. Look at all the people on this forum that are really doing something positive with their free time.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” - Denis Waitley

That is a wonderful quote! Thank you!

Please do let us know how you like or dislike the online theory exam. Some of us would much appreciate the feedback!