Where to find sheet music
Many retailers are continuing to provide sheet music, books, instruments and accessories through online or mail order services. View our shops list here.
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Update 12 August 2020 – Music Exams
Unfortunately, there is still uncertainty around how and when we can begin to offer face-to-face Practical Grade exams, including Grades 1-8, ARSM and Diplomas. We recognise that the worldwide response to the coronavirus pandemic will continue to disrupt travel and large gatherings of candidates. We are monitoring the situation and doing all we can to get these exams up and running again. However, everything we do must be in line with guidance from both your government and the UK government to ensure the safety of learners, teachers, examiners and staff.
We’ve now published further information about our remotely-assessed Performance Grades. We will be gradually rolling out Performance Grades internationally, starting before the end of 2020, following their initial launch in the UK. We’ll let you know more about future exam dates as soon as we can. In the meantime, you can find out more about these exams here.
Introducing online Music Theory at Grades 1 to 5 – the headlines
What’s changing and at which grades?
We will be moving the assessment of Music Theory at Grades 1 to 5 to an online exam. We are confident that the online format will provide a more learner-friendly experience for candidates. We have been working on these developments for some time, but in response to the Covid-19 pandemic we have accelerated this work.
As part of our developments we have updated some of the Grade 1 to 5 questions to bring them in line with a style of assessment commonly used across the education sector. In addition, there are a few minor changes to the syllabus itself. These changes apply to online Music Theory exams this year, and all Grade 1 to 5 Music Theory exams from January 2021. They will not affect any paper-based Music Theory exams taken this year.
Please see this page for further details, including a useful syllabus summary.
We have recently shared additional resources to help teachers and learners become familiar with the new exams. These include:
- Example Grade 5 exam questions in the online format
- A step by step guide, taking you through the exam process
- Video demos of how to set up the new exam, and what the new questions will look like
These new materials can be found on this page.
Please be aware that Music Theory exams at Grades 6 to 8 will continue as paper-based assessments for everyone worldwide. There are no changes to the questions or syllabus for these grades. We will offer these exams when we can do this safely and in line with government guidance.
When is it happening?
The first opportunity to take an online Music Theory exam varies across markets. All of the webpages have been updated with the relevant information, so please refer to our website for specific information for each country.
In the UK, there will be a Grade 5 live pilot online Music Theory exam on 26 August 2020 (the booking period will be 27 to 31 July). The following markets will have online Music Theory exams for Grades 1 to 5 in November:
- UK, Republic of Ireland, Singapore, India, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, Malta
See here for dates of online Music Theory exams in 2020.
The international roll-out of the new online Music Theory exams for all other markets will take place during 2021, with preparations being made during the rest of 2020. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to ensure paper-based Music Theory exams for Grades 1 to 8 go ahead in all international markets this year where they can do so safely.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work out the best options for the safe delivery of our assessments. We will provide updates on the availability of all our exams and assessments as soon as we can.
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