Popular Music Theory Grade 3

Popular Music Theory Grade 3

The Popular Music Theory Grade 3 exam will test your increasingly sophisticated understanding of music notation and theory with a thorough look at time signatures, scale intervals, and working with different tempos.

Key Skills at Grade 3

What you'll learn at Grade 3:

• Sophisticated music notation, time signatures and note values
• Sophisticated elements of popular music harmony
• Instrumental components and notation
• Music notation modification, harmony, stylistic traits and instrumental characteristics
• Score interpretation to make appropriate harmony choices for improvised music and interpret improvisational directions

What You're Marked On

Your Popular Music Theory Grade 3 exam lasts 90 minutes and is split into four key sections.

At Grade 3 you will cover the following aspects of music notation:

• Understanding note lengths, and adding barlines
• Recognising note values
• Beaming notes correctly
• Understanding and adding time signatures: 3/8, 6/8, 12/8
• Understanding how to beam notes of different values, and adding missing notes where applicable

At Grade 3 you will cover the following aspects of popular music harmony:

• Identifying intervals: perfect 4th and 5th
• Applying interval knowledge
• Identifying scale intervals
• Recognising tones and semitones
• Understanding, and writing, scales with accidentals

At Grade 3 you will cover the following aspects of band knowledge:

• Identification of drum kit parts
• Identification of guitar and bass guitar parts
• Identification of keys on acoustic and electronic piano keyboards
• Understanding vocal pitch ranges
• Understanding and identifying varied instrumental notation

At Grade 3 you will cover the following aspects of band analysis:

• Understanding scores with up to three different instruments
• Identification of tempo including an understanding of BPM
• Understanding time signature
• Recognising chord symbols
• Instrument-specific techniques
• Understanding pitches

Your Grade 3 exam lasts 90 minutes. Candidates are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes before their exam starts.

Get Started Today!

You can start working towards your Grade 3 exam now! Simply buy or Debut – Grade 5 Guidebook and corresponding Grade 3 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.

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