Hi
Just wanted to ask how long it took people to work through the theory grades and how difficult they found the preparation for the 6,7,and 8 theory exams or the actual exams.
I have been working through past grade 6 theory papers and reading different theory books and my teacher marks the papers I do. But also to know how long it took people to reach grade 8 theory as I would like to reach that level to take the exam.
Any replies will be much appreciated.
Thanks

For grades 6-8 I took one grade a year.
This means I took about 9-10 months to complete each workbook and get to the satge where I was scoring at least 80 on past papers as I had to be capable of that before the exam entry went in.
The last couple of months were spent on doing more past papers and revising.

Grade 5 theory in 1957, Grade 6 in 2006, Grade 7 in 2007, and hopefully Grade 8 in 2007/8. So you might say that it's taken me 50 years to get from Grade 5 to Grade 8

Seriously, when I decided to go for the higher grades it took me about 6 months to get to Grade 6, then a year for Grade 7, although I wasn't working for it all the time, and I'll get going on Grade 8 stuff quite soon, to take it either at the end of this year or beginning of next.

Took a year for me, did 6 in the autumn and then in each consecutive term.

Couple of hours work a week and you should be able to get through the books and past papers. I did the past papers at the same time as the book as the format of the questions in the past papers seemed quite different to me than of the questions in the book.

Good luck!

I've tutored the upper grade theory exams with a number of students, and took them myself, just to keep myself honest.(Distinctions at all three grades, although it took me two attempts to achieve distinction at Grade 8--and I'm an experienced musician! These are challenging examinations.) If you are a student preparing for university, with your school and performing workload, budgeting about a year for each upper grade is apropriate. The workbooks are excellent, and working the specimen exams from previous years is very valuable. The Butterworth text available from ABRSM publishing is 'the Bible', in my opinion.

6, 7, and 8 call upon the candidate to be musically literate in a variety of musical genres. So, I encourage my students to listen to as many of the examples cited in the workbook as possible, with the score in hand wherever possible. This alone will radically expand your musical universe, and it is great fun!

It also requires the candidate to really 'connect the dots', to truly hear in his what he reads on the page. Listen, listen, listen, read scores, read scores, read scores, sing in a choir, and take the Practical Musicianship exams. When practicing piano, play one hand, sing the other. When reading scores, play the clarinet part, sing the horn part. Do a bit every day, and make an enjoyable game of it.

It's a great thing to prepare these exams--and best wishes as you continue on the journey.