I trying to learn Gd 5 theory over the summer. I know most of grade 1-4. Has anyone got any books that they could reccommend. Thanks!

Hi clarimadhi, and welcome to the forums

There are several books etc you could use for Grade 5. The ABRSM ones are:

Music Theory in Practice - this gives some brief explanations and lots of exercises to do. No answers though, so you could do with finding a teacher to make sure your answers are right. I found that even though I was confident I'd got the right answers, my confidence was sometimes misplaced when my teacher marked my answers!

First Steps in Music Theory - I find this an excellent little pocket book. It covers everything grade by grade from 1 to 5, so it's all in manageable chunks and you're not overwhelmed with more information than you need to know.

The AB Guide to Music Theory Part 1 (the pink book) - I find this book very offputting. There's a mass of information, presented very badly (in my opinion), and I probably would have been put off theory for life if I'd had to use this book. Only my opinion though, others may love it.

Past Papers - you can get sets of papers for each grade, and you can also get model answers as well. It's well worth while doing several sets to get used to the format of the questions. Sometimes they throw in what I would regard as a "trick" question, and it's useful to have come across these in the past.

There are quite a few non-ABRSM books which are also very useful, eg

Take 5 and Pass First Time - Christopher Dunn
Pass Grade 5 Theory - Dorothy Dingle

Some of the books have been discussed in more detail in previous threads - just click on the links below:

Take 5 (and other books)

Theory of Music books

Also I would recommend that you start learning theory terms - sometimes they are worth 10 marks which could make a big difference to your result. You might find these threads helpful:

Test Yourself Theory Terms

How do you learn Theory Terms

Have fun, theory's great!

Just raising my hand here - I love the pink book (and the blue one - Part 2, which has useful stuff in it as well, but is probably of more use for higher grades). I've not bothered with 'First Steps' simply because it seemed like the pink book in a different order to me, and I was happy with the pink book.

So get to a bookshop/musicshop and have a look and see what might suit you best.

I found the 'Take Five' book really useful to focus on the exam itself and what I needed to know for each of the sections. It had some useful exam passing tips in it.

Other than that I got a load of past papers and a music teacher friend of mine marked them for me.

I think it depends on what you want from a book.
The pink and Blue Guides to music Theory I think are of most use as reference books to be used with a workbook.
Theory Time (forgot who wrote it) has answers (except for compositon of course) for those working more independently. One potential problem with using either this or the model answers is that you may be able to correct your answers but not necessarily understand what caused you to get the wrong answer. For this the best resource is a good teacher.

I found the Take 5 and Pass First Time - Christopher Dunn was great, I had used Theory is Fun for the earlier grades but it wasn't so good for Grade 5. I still refer to the Take 5 and Pass First Time now, whilst I am studying for Grade 6.


I thought "Pass Grade 5 Theory - Dorothy Dingle" was quite good too and my friends daughter really found it helpful, she didn't have a teacher and worked through using that and Music and Theory in Practise and got herself a distinction.

I worked through the past papers. I would start with only getting about 60 something marks and ended up with marks always in the high 90's. I used to do at least 3 or 4 papers a week. I actually found it quite addictive.

ET

This is a little off-topic, but I was wondering about the same question but for Grade 6?

I have the AB Guide To Music Theory Parts I and II, a ABRSM workbook, and past papers. I've been told I need a book about Harmonies. I was also wondering whether there were any books on Compositon for Grade 6 aswell.

So, what Harmony and Composition books are most useful, and what other books would you recommend?

I'm going to do my Grade 6 partly independantly, so I would prefer books that are quite easy to understand, as for me, the AB guides are quite confusing at times, and don't really go through how to actually answer the questions.

Any help would be great!

Sam94.

Thanks skylark for all of your help. I should now hopefully pass grade 5.

You're welcome, and feel free to ask about anything you don't understand - I had to ask several questions because the books aren't always clear and and there are lots of theory enthusiasts here who'll be able to help you

Sam, I'll go over to the Grade 6 thread re your question!

Another thanks for all the help. It looks like I might have to get on with learning my theory to pass grade 5 as the spectre of a G7 or G8 oboe is looming. I've got the pink book, but I don't like it very much. I think that I'll go out and buy Take 5...and then get on with it!!!

I highly recommend the "Music Theory for Young Musicians" written by Ying Ying Ng, under the Poco Studio's Music Series. They have Grades 1 to 5.

I used the Grades 4 and 5 books. They are colourful, straightforward and simply a joy to work on. You don't even have to refer to the earlier books for the performance directions/terms, because all the terms from Grade 1 to Grade 5 are included in the Grade 5 book, with those newly introduced highlighted in red. The instruments section is very good too, as it shows pictures of the instruments in the different families.

I am not a child, but I really felt motivated to complete the exercises. All the pretty cartoons.. they make me so happy doing theory! OK... I am so childish

Hi All,

I have a couple of past papers and in some cases model answers for Grade 5 that haven't been touched - they are as new. Don't think the shop will take them back now - if anyone here would like them (free of charge) please pm me with your address and I'll send them on!

Orla

I think that your doing loads of past papers and getting them marked by a teacher friend is a good one - especially if the friend can mark them and explain their process of marking in your presence.

Reading about theory without doing plenty of it can be a bit like reading about computing without doing it - it only really makes sense when you've already had a go on a computer, and got really frustrated because you just can't work out how to do something you want to. 'Windows', for all its faults, is so successful because it is based on intuitive learning - you have a go, get it wrong, get frustrated, and get addicted to finding out how to get it right. On the whole people only turn to books or help forums once they've tried to do something on the computer and can't discover it themselves using their existing framework of knowledge and skills. If you can harness this sort of model, it can be quite an efficient way of learning music theory.

I'd really appreciate those Orla, if they are still on offer I'll go and figure out how to send a PM

I have a person to take my Grade 4papers guys!!

So no need to send anymore PMs!!

Thanks
Orla

YES - I recommended these on a thread the other day (Music Theory for Young Children in the Teacher's Forum). I am very impressed with the books I have seen so far. I have asked a London music shop to order them in for me and I am hoping they will be available on a permanent basis.

Hi BusyBee,

I am glad there are people who know about this Poco series, because it probably isn't very popular in the rest of world, since it is written and published in Malaysia. Even in Singapore, not many stores carry it. And yes, the "Music Theory for Young Children" range is simply sweet!

Don't forget to introduce it to adult students too! Adults may be shy to admit, but most of us love colourful stuff. My teacher said she also felt like working on the books once she opened it! Afterall, there is a child in every adult