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AuralRoom

AMEB · Preliminary

AMEB Preliminary aural tests: what happens and how to practise

Preliminary is AMEB's first graded exam, and its aural tests sit in Section III alongside general knowledge — piano candidates have no sight-reading yet. There are four short tasks: keeping the beat, copying a rhythm, echoing notes and telling higher from lower. They're the same for every instrument and for singing, and they count towards one overall grade rather than a separate mark.

Time

Clap the beats of a short passage and keep clapping steadily.

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The tests at Preliminary

Time

Clap the beats of a short passage and keep clapping steadily.

The examiner plays a short passage of chords in two-beat or three-beat time — slow, moderate or quick — and you clap the beat. When the music stops, you keep clapping steadily. In our trainer you clap along with a short piano piece, and the microphone checks how closely your claps follow the beat and whether the first beat of each bar is a little stronger. Practise the keep-going part at home too: clap along with a song, turn the sound off and carry on for a few bars.

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Rhythm

Tap or clap a short passage after hearing it twice.

A simple rhythm two bars long is played, and you copy its note values back. Clapping, tapping, humming and singing are all accepted. AMEB doesn't say how many times it's played at Preliminary; our trainer plays it twice, then listens to your claps and compares the pattern with the rhythm at your own speed. Copy the long and short notes, not the beat: a long note is one clap followed by a silence while you count.

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Pitch

Sing a short phrase back note by note as the examiner plays it.

This test is an echo, one note at a time. In the exam you hear a short phrase of five or six notes, each a beat long; then it's played again, and the examiner pauses after each note for you to sing or hum it. Our trainer focuses on the note-by-note part: it plays the key chord and starting note, then each note in turn, and checks every note you sing. Any comfortable octave is fine — a low voice doesn't need to match the piano.

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Higher or lower

Of two notes played one after the other, say whether the second is higher or lower.

Two separate notes are played, at least a third apart, and you say which is higher or lower — no singing needed, just the answer. It sounds easy, but young players sometimes mix up 'higher' with 'louder' or 'longer'. Our trainer plays the pair twice and asks whether the second note was higher or lower than the first. If you're unsure, hum both notes quietly and feel whether your voice moves up or down.

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Tips for Preliminary

  • Move to music at home: two-beat time feels like marching (left, right), three-beat time like a waltz (strong, light, light).
  • Play copy-me clapping games — a parent claps two bars, the child claps them back — a few times a day.
  • Hum before singing: a quiet hum helps a young voice find the note before singing it out.
  • Point up or down with a hand while listening to two notes; the movement makes 'higher' and 'lower' concrete.
  • Keep practice short: a few minutes on each task on most days suits Preliminary candidates better than long sessions.

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A full Preliminary 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 is the aural part marked at Preliminary?

AMEB gives one overall grade for the whole exam — A+, A, B+, B, C+, C or D — and doesn't publish separate marks for aural. Our mock therefore doesn't invent one: it shows your accuracy and an indicative descriptor (Secure, Sound, Developing or Needs work), which is a practice guide, not an AMEB result.

Are the aural tests the same for piano and other instruments?

Yes. AMEB uses one aural table for every instrument and for singing, so the four Preliminary tasks are the same whatever your child plays. For piano, Section III at Preliminary is aural tests and general knowledge only; sight-reading joins it from Grade 1.

How long is the Preliminary exam?

For piano, AMEB allows 12 minutes for the whole Preliminary exam — technical work, pieces, aural tests and general knowledge together. The aural tasks are short, so practising them at home until they feel routine is the best way to keep nerves away on the day.

Can children use the trainer without an account?

Yes. Free practice is available every day without signing up, and singing and clapping are analysed on your device rather than recorded. An adult can sign in by email link to keep progress across devices; full mocks are part of the paid plans described on the pricing page.

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.