ARGH! I know I've left it incredibly late. I'm doing my grade 2 on 7th November and there seems to be an awful lot in the syllabus - more than I expected and I can't get my brain round it. I did my grade 3 5 years ago without problem and stupidly thought it would be fine (famous last words) but having spent several hours on it today I must admit to feeling utterly

It occured to me that I cannot be the only idiot to have done this so else in /been in a similar position???? What did you do????

Help!!

Don't panic, Becca - you have a good 15 or 16 days to sort this out. I'm sure if you do a bit each day it will come back to you. Have you bought the relevant workbook? If not, find a music shop quickly and start working through it - it breaks everything down into manageable sections.

Best of luck with the exam. Why are you doing grade 2 if you've already got grade 3?

I opted for grade 2 because I knew there was no way I could do grade 4 from scratch - too much to revise all in one go. I'm on strong pain medications now compared to when I did it last and that makes studying hard - I hadn't realised how much they would effect me until going through music theory stuff today - might as well be in Chinese. Anyway I thought I'd do grade 2 to show I could and then use it as a step to grade 4. I have music theory in practice grade 2 - is that what you are referring to?

I am trying not to panic. Honest

By this stage hopefully working through some past papers will be a good plan.
If you can get them marked regularly they will soon show up any weak areas.

It's not too late like others have said. You're not an idiot!

Read a section of MTIP through and memorise three Italian words every day. Look through some of the music you've been playing recently and try to relate what you've read to what you've been playing. This should make it much easier to remember and understand.

Most of that should be in digestable chunks. If there is something you don't understand (even looking at the section on grouping notes/rests makes some people wonder what's it all about) ask on this forum or maybe a friend or teacher that lives near you.

...or if you can't get them marked, it's also possible to get hold of model answer books.
Good luck!

Hi Becca. As the others have said, do as many past papers as you can. I also found people such as Sbhoa very helpful, even when I was posting the night before my exam in June. Good luck.

Becca, I got the Music Theory in Practice workbook when I was doing Grade 2, and although it's good for sample questions, it doesn't explain everything in detail. For Grade 2 I found the "First Steps" (ABRSM) book really good - it tells you everything you need to know for each grade up to G5.

Make sure you know the relevant scales, key signatures and time signatures above all else.

In the exam itself, make sure you don't make any silly mistakes which could cost you marks, like writing an ascending scale when it should be descending, for instance. Read the questions carefully, and check check check everything. Even if you finish the paper with half an hour to spare, re-read the questions and re-check your answers right up to the last minute. Or try and improve upon your rhythm composition.

Try and do your past papers under exam conditions and see how long it takes you.


You've still got a couple of weeks to go. Plenty of time! You only need to get 66 out of 100 to pass. If you have any problems, ask on here and somebody's bound to be able to help you

Good luck!