Grade 6 aural test D: texture, structure and musical features answers
Grade 6 brings the features questions back to test D. In D(i) the first question is always about texture or structure — both new at this grade — and the second can be any other feature, including style and period. D(ii) then asks you to clap the rhythm of an extract from the same piece.
Which features are asked at Grade 6
- First question: texture or structure — how the sounds are layered, or how the piece is built from sections.
- Second question: one more feature — dynamics, articulation, tempo, tonality, character, style and period, or whichever of texture and structure was not asked first.
How the examiner asks
The two features are named before the piece is played. Expect open prompts such as 'Tell me about the texture' or 'How was the piece put together?' These invite a description, so aim for two or three sentences rather than a single term. If the second feature is one you met at earlier grades, answer it the same way: what you heard, and where.
What makes an answer complete
Name the texture, form or period and say where and how you heard it.
- Texture — melody and accompaniment, chordal (homophonic) or independent lines (contrapuntal, sometimes with imitation); thin or thick; and where it changes.
- Structure — the sections and how they relate: two sections (binary, AB), the opening returning after a contrast (ternary, ABA), a recurring theme (rondo), repeats, question-and-answer phrases.
- Style and period — the era plus audible reasons: ornaments and counterpoint (Baroque), Alberti bass and balanced phrases (Classical), rich harmony and rubato (Romantic), unusual harmony or jazzy rhythms (20th century).
Example answers: texture
Imagine a piece in which a right-hand tune is accompanied by broken chords, and the middle section changes to full chords in both hands. The full answer names both textures and where the change comes. The partly right answer is accurate for the opening only. 'Lots of notes' says nothing about how the parts relate.
Full answer
“It was mostly a melody with a broken-chord accompaniment, but in the middle it changed to full chords in both hands, which made the texture much thicker.”
Partly right
“Melody and accompaniment.”
Not enough
“There were lots of notes.”
Example answers: structure
Now a piece with a cheerful opening section, a quieter minor middle and the opening tune returning at the end. The full answer names the form and gives the evidence. The partly right answer notices the return but not the contrasting middle. 'A beginning, a middle and an end' is true of every piece.
Full answer
“It was in ternary form, ABA: a cheerful major section, a quieter middle section in a minor key, and then the opening tune came back at the end.”
Partly right
“The first tune came back at the end.”
Not enough
“It had a beginning, a middle and an end.”
Example answers: style and period
If the second question is style and period, the Grade 5 rule still applies: period plus evidence. For a piece with a clear tune over an Alberti bass, the first answer below is complete, the second names the period without support, and the third gives no period at all.
Full answer
“Classical — the tune was clear and elegant over an Alberti bass, with balanced question-and-answer phrases.”
Partly right
“Classical, I think.”
Not enough
“Quite old-fashioned.”
Practise with your own pieces
For every piece you play, decide its texture and form, and say where they change. Then do the same with unfamiliar recordings, sketching the form as letters while you listen — A, B, A — and noting where each new section starts and what made it sound new. For the whole exam see the Grade 6 aural guide; at Grade 7 any two features can be asked (Grade 7 features answers).
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Answer out loud — get marked
Hear a piece, tell the examiner about it, and see what you got right and what the examiner hopes to hear.
Try Grade 6 test DQuestions people ask
What is the difference between texture and structure?
Texture is about the layers you hear at any moment — a tune with accompaniment, chords moving together, or several independent lines. Structure is about the order of sections over time — whether the opening returns, whether there are repeats or a contrasting middle.
Which textures should I know for Grade 6?
Melody and accompaniment, chordal or hymn-like (homophonic), and contrapuntal or polyphonic (independent lines, often with imitation). Add thin and thick, unison or octaves, and be ready to say where the texture changes during the piece.
What if I can't name the form?
Describe what happened: 'the opening tune came back after a contrasting minor section'. That is accurate and shows understanding even without the word 'ternary'. Learn the common names — binary, ternary, rondo — so you can add them when you are sure.
Is D(ii) about the same piece?
Yes. The examiner plays an extract from the same piece twice, without harmony; you clap the rhythm, then say whether it is in two, three or four time. Keeping a sense of the beat during D(i) gives you a head start.
Independent practice. We are not affiliated with ABRSM; the tests here are generated by our engine from the published format, not taken from the board's books. Mock marks are estimates — the examiner's judgement is final.