How to get a Distinction at ABRSM - Scales

How to get a Distinction at ABRSM - Aural

E-Book - "How to get a Distinction at ABRSM" music-online.org.uk/2019/01/how-to-get-distinct…

Scale flashcards and a video link to any scale you'll ever need, Grades 1-8 ABRSM or Trinity here music-online.org.uk/p/scales.html

Many students find learning scales rather tedious and as such may neglect preparing them well for an ABRSM exam. However, they are possibly one of the easiest parts of the exam to get full marks in. In fact it was ONLY in the scales section of the exam that I always got full marks, many years ago as a teenager. I would recommend starting your practice with scales, it not only gets them out of the way if they are not your favourite thing to practise, (a bit like eating your least favourite vegetable first on your dinner plate) but also it acts as a good warm-up for your pieces.

Added to this I would recommend that you take time to learn your fingerings accurately. In order to play scales securely you need to develop muscle memory, so that your fingers “automatically know where they are going”. Muscle memory is only developed by repeating the same action over and over again, and this in turn can only be achieved if you use the same finger pattern every time. By the time you get to the higher grades, the scales will be going so fast you need to be on autopilot, you won’t have time to think!!

Next I would recommend that you think of the scales in groups of 4. This is how they are written out in the ABRSM scale books, and by doing so it will help you develop an even tone.

Finally, mix up the order you play your scales. If you always play them in the same order, when the examiner asks you for a random scale on the day this might put you off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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