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Aural is the ability to listen to music with understanding. It is an important part of musical development and as such features in practical examinations. An examiner will test a pupils ability in aural by playing a piece of music and either ask questions or ask the pupil to participate by singing or clapping. Obviously the higher the grade, the more demanding the aural will be. At grade-one for example, questions will be limited to dynamics and tempo where as grade-five questions will be more involved. For more information on Grade-five aural, click on the link. The following is an outline of the requirements for the various grades. The pass mark for aural is 12/18.

Grades one – three are identical in format but progressive in difficulty. At these levels, there are four parts to the test; tapping test where the candidate finds the pulse of a piece by clapping while accenting the first beat of the bar and then stating how many beats there are per bar. Echo singing which is singing in time three short phrases the examiner has played. Recognising changes or as I call it, spot the difference which is telling the examiner where a note is longer/shorter or for grade-two and three whether a pitch of a note is higher or lower. Recognising features or as I call it questions and answers where the examiner plays a piece of music and the candidate answers questions on it.

Grade-four is in my opinion a little easier because there are three parts consisting of memorising melodies which is singing back a melody played by the examiner, sight singing which is singing some notes in free time without the aid of the piano and recognising features which is the same as grade-three but includes clapping the rhythm of a phrase featured in the piece which is again played by the examiner.

Grade-five is the same as grade-four but a little harder. The questions and answers section is a little more involved and a separate chapter on grade-five aural is featured on this web site.

Grades six-eight are advanced grades and as such will take considerable preparation because they are more in depth and require knowledge in the theory of music. The understanding of form, cadences and modulation are examples of what are required here.

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