Popular Music Theory Grade 4

Popular Music Theory Grade 4

At Popular Music Theory Grade 4, you'll learn how to notate different rhythmic values, time signatures and how to indicate dynamics and articulation in a piece. You'll also work on scores with up to four instruments.

Key Skills at Grade 4

What you'll learn at Grade 4:

• Intricate music notation, time signatures and note values
• Intricate elements of popular music harmony
• Instrumental components and notation
• How to analyse, identify and modify music notation, harmony, stylistic traits and
• instrumental characteristics within a multi-instrumental score
• How to interpret a score to make appropriate harmony choices for improvised music and
• interpret improvisational directions

What You're Marked On

Your Popular Music Theory Grade 4 exam lasts 120 minutes and is split into four key sections.

At Grade 4 you will cover the following aspects of music notation:

• Understanding rhythm: halving and doubling rhythmic values, 6/8 and 12/8, half notes and triplets
• Understanding pitch: 8va and 8vb symbols, ledger lines
• Understanding dynamics and articulation
• Re-writing scores with a new time signature
• Understanding and recognising trills

At Grade 4 you will cover the following aspects of popular music harmony:

• Identifying intervals: major 6th and 7th
• Understanding scales: Pentatonic and variants
• Applying scale knowledge: Blues Scale
• Adding accidentals to scales
• Writing and understanding scales

At Grade 4 you will cover the following aspects of band knowledge:

• Identification of drum kit parts
• Identification of guitar and bass guitar parts
• Identification of keys: acoustic and electronic piano keyboards
• Understanding vocal pitch ranges
• Different techniques used across instrumental disciplines

At Grade 4 you will cover the following aspects of band analysis:

• Understanding scores with up to four different instruments
• Recognising keys
• Recognising chord symbols, including roman numerals
• Instrumental features and techniques across all disciplines
• Understanding tempo markings
• Recognising note values and duration

Your Grade 4 exam lasts 120 minutes. Candidates are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes before their exam starts.

Get Started Today!

You can start working towards your Grade 4 exam now! Simply buy or Debut – Grade 5 Guidebook and corresponding Grade 4 Workbook book below and start preparing alongside your music teacher.

If you don't have a music teacher that can help you with music theory, you can quickly find the perfect teacher nearest to you with our handy find a music teacher map.

---