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AuralRoom

AMEB · Grade 4

AMEB Grade 4 aural tests: practice for each test

AMEB Grade 4 brings three new skills: naming intervals by their full names, singing one line of a short two-part progression, and finding the middle note of a triad. The rhythm test continues with the duple-or-triple question. Everything is played twice, and the aural tests form part of your single overall grade.

Rhythm

Tap or clap a passage after hearing it twice, then say whether it is in duple or triple time.

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The tests at Grade 4

Rhythm

Tap or clap a passage after hearing it twice, then say whether it is in duple or triple time.

As at Grade 3: tap or clap the passage after two hearings, then say whether it's duple or triple. AMEB pitches each passage to the grade, so expect a little more to remember than before. Our trainer plays four-bar passages in 2/4 or 3/4 and asks the time question after you clap. A reliable check: count '1-2, 1-2' and then '1-2-3' over the music in your head, and keep whichever lines up with the strong beats.

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Interval

After the keynote, sing the note an interval above it, then name the interval (major scale).

The examiner sounds the keynote and then another note of the major scale; you sing it and name the interval in full — major second, major third, perfect fourth and so on. Our trainer plays the keynote and a note above it, up to the octave, listens to the note you sing, then asks for the name. Measuring up from the keynote is the most likely reading of AMEB's wording, and it's what we practise. Compared with Grade 3, the major sixth, major seventh and octave are new.

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Two-part

Hum or sing from memory the higher or lower part of a two-part progression (heard twice).

Two parts move together, note against note, near middle C — at this grade a progression of two intervals in succession. After two hearings you sing either the upper or the lower part from memory. Our trainer gives the key chord and your starting note, plays the two parts twice, then asks for one of them. Treat the part you need as a tiny tune: does it go up, down or stay put at each step?

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Triad

Hum or sing the middle note of a major or minor triad.

A major or minor triad is played twice — in root position or an inversion, within about an octave — and you hum or sing its middle note. Inversions are the catch: the middle note isn't always the third of the chord. Our trainer mixes root position, first and second inversions. Sing the chord upwards in your head, bottom to top, and the second note you reach is your answer, whatever the position.

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Tips for Grade 4

  • Learn intervals from the keynote as a set: sing doh up to each scale note and say its full name as you go — major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th…
  • For two-part progressions, follow the upper part on the first hearing and the lower part on the second, so you're ready for either.
  • Sing triads bottom–middle–top after you hear them; it also prepares you for Grade 5, where you sing all three notes.
  • Major 7th: sing up to the octave, then come back down a semitone.
  • Count beats aloud as you clap for the first week, then drop the counting.

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A full Grade 4 mock, marked

The examiner runs every test in order, plays as many times as the board does and gives an estimated result, with where you lose marks.

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Questions people ask

How do I name intervals at Grade 4?

With their full names: for example major second, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, major sixth, major seventh and octave, measured up from the keynote. At Grade 3 the number alone was enough; from Grade 4 the quality — major or perfect — is part of the answer.

What does 'middle note' mean if the triad is inverted?

The middle of the three sounding notes, counted from the bottom — not necessarily the third of the chord. In root position it is the third; in first inversion it's the fifth; in second inversion it's the root. So sing what you hear rather than working it out from theory.

What is a two-part progression?

Two lines played together, note against note, which you hear twice before singing one of them from memory. The length grows each grade: two successive intervals at Grade 4, three at Grade 5 and four at Grade 6, then a two-part phrase of up to six notes at Grade 7.

How long is the Grade 4 exam?

For piano, AMEB allows 20 minutes for the whole Grade 4 exam, the same as Grade 3. The aural tests are only a small part of that time, but they're one of the easiest areas to improve with a few minutes of practice on most days.

Independent practice. We are not affiliated with AMEB; 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.