How to pass the aural test: a practical plan

Start with your exact tests

Every board and grade has its own set of tests, and the details matter: how many times the examiner plays, whether you sing or only clap and speak, and which musical features you may be asked about. Before you practise anything, write down the tests for your grade. Our pages for ABRSM, RCM, AMEB and Trinity list them grade by grade.

It also helps to know how the section is marked. ABRSM gives one mark out of 18 for the whole aural section and Trinity one mark out of 10, each judged as a whole rather than test by test. The RCM splits its 10 ear-test marks between the individual tests, and AMEB folds aural into a single grading for the whole exam.

The weeks before the exam

Aim to start at least eight weeks before the exam. If you have less time, shorten each stage rather than skipping one.

• Eight to six weeks out: learn each test properly, one or two per session. Take a baseline mock to find your weakest test, and write it down.
• Five to three weeks out: practise every day, mixing all the tests and giving the most time to your two weakest. Take one full mock a week in exam conditions.
• The last two weeks: take a mock every two or three days, with no replays and every answer spoken aloud. Short daily drills keep everything fresh.
• The last few days: keep sessions short and positive. Revise the words you use to describe music, and stop adding new material.

A ten-minute daily routine

Ten focused minutes a day, five or six days a week, is enough for most grades. Tie it to your instrument practice so it becomes a habit: aural first, while your ears are fresh, then your pieces. Rotate the recognition and talking tasks across the week so that every test gets attention.

• Two minutes of singing: echoes, a melody from memory or a few notes from notation, depending on your grade.
• Two minutes of clapping: the pulse of a piece or the rhythm of a short phrase.
• Three minutes of recognition: changes, cadences, intervals, chords or modulations.
• Three minutes of talking about music: listen to a short piece and describe it out loud in full sentences.

Advice for each type of test

• Clapping the pulse: find the strong beat before you join in, then clap small and steady. Make the strong beats a little louder, and if you are asked for the time, count the beats from one strong beat to the next.
• Clapping a rhythm: clap the notes, not the beat. A long note is one clap followed by silence, so keep counting in your head.
• Singing back: hum the starting note before the phrase begins, then catch the overall shape first and the details second. Pick a comfortable vowel; ABRSM, for example, also lets you hum, whistle or sing in a different octave.
• Singing from notation: find the key note and the notes of the key chord first, then step from them. Use any preparation time you are given; at ABRSM Grades 6–8 you may try the melody out loud first.
• Spotting a change: decide whether it was the pitch or the rhythm, then where it came. On the first playing, fix the rhythm in your mind by tapping it lightly.
• Musical features: name the feature and say where it happens. Plain English is fine, and Italian terms are a bonus if you are sure of them.
• Cadences, modulations, intervals and chords: learn each as a sound with its own character, then check your answer against the bass. Our guides to cadences and modulation go into detail.

What a good spoken answer sounds like

Examiners can only mark what they hear, so make your answers specific. Here are some answers of the kind that work, all describing the same short piano piece. Our page on Grade 5 musical features has more.

Use mocks as a diagnosis

A mock is most useful as a diagnosis rather than a score. Take it in exam conditions, without stopping to repeat anything, and then look at which tests cost you most instead of dwelling on the total. Spend the following week on those tests, then take another mock to see whether the work has paid off.

Don't chase a perfect run. At ABRSM and Trinity the aural is judged as a whole, so steady, confident answers across every test count for more than one flawless test and two shaky ones. If your results are holding steady and your weak spots are shrinking, you are on track.

Where marks usually slip

Marks often slip through a few habits that are easy to fix once you notice them. Watch out for these in your practice and mocks.

• Answering a different question from the one asked, such as describing the tempo when the examiner wanted the dynamics.
• Giving one-word answers to questions about the music, with no sense of where things happen.
• Clapping the beat when the rhythm was wanted, or the other way round.
• Losing the key note before singing, so that the whole phrase drifts.
• Hesitating for so long that the answer, even when right, sounds unsure.

On the day

• Warm up your voice and ears. Hum gently on the way, and listen to a little music actively, naming what you hear.
• Choose your moment. ABRSM and Trinity let you choose the order of the exam sections, so take the aural first or last, whichever suits your nerves. In RCM exams the ear tests come after your pieces and technical work.
• Use the key chord. When the examiner plays it, fix its root in your mind before the test begins.
• Answer promptly and clearly. A short, confident answer beats a long hesitation, and Trinity's examiners take promptness into account.
• Ask if you need to. If you really didn't catch something, say so: some ABRSM tests allow an extra playing or a second attempt, although that may affect the mark.
• Let mistakes go. ABRSM and Trinity mark the aural as a whole, so one wrong answer matters far less than staying calm for the next test.

Where our trainer fits in

Our trainer gives you an examiner on demand. It plays every test of your board and grade on a sampled grand piano, listens to your singing and clapping on your device and marks your spoken answers about the music. Use a free mini-mock as your baseline, follow the daily routine with free practice items, and take full mocks as the exam gets closer; each one ends with an estimated mark and a list of where marks slipped. See pricing for the options.

How to pass a music exam aural test

1. Check your exact tests. Write down the aural tests for your board and grade, how many times each one is played and how the section is marked.
2. Take a baseline mock. Do a mock in exam conditions to find your weakest tests before you plan your practice.
3. Practise ten minutes a day. Sing, clap, recognise and describe music for ten minutes, five or six days a week, alongside your instrument practice.
4. Sing out loud every day. Sing echoes, melodies or notes from notation aloud, starting each one from the note or key chord you are given.
5. Answer in full sentences. Describe the dynamics, articulation, tempo and other features out loud, saying what happens and where.
6. Target your weakest tests. Give your two weakest tests extra time each week until they feel as secure as the rest.
7. Rehearse in exam conditions. Take a full mock every week, then every two or three days in the last fortnight, with no extra replays.
8. Prepare for the day. Warm up your voice, decide when to take the aural, listen closely to the key chord and answer promptly and clearly.

Questions people ask

Related

• ABRSM aural tests
• RCM aural tests
• AMEB aural tests
• Trinity aural tests
• ABRSM Grade 5: musical features answers
• Aural test tips for adults
• Perfect or imperfect cadence? How to hear every cadence in an aural test
• Prices