Keyboard for Trinity Grade 6 by Angel Nivetha Rajam C

This 48-hour advanced online course offers one class per week, led by our highly experienced and skilled instructors. Enhance your skills with personalized guidance and take the next step in your certification journey with confidence!

1. Music Notation & Theory

• Reading and interpreting complex musical notation with accidentals, advanced key signatures, and rhythmic patterns.
• Recognizing and executing ties, slurs, dotted rhythms, and syncopation effectively.
• Identifying dynamic markings, articulation symbols, and expressive terms.
• Analysing chord progressions, inversions, and harmonic structures.
• Understanding modal scales and their harmonic functions.

 

2. Keyboard Exercises

• Choose one of the following scale and arpeggio combinations, using one of the tonal/modal centres of: F , D , Db / C#

 

Combinations:

• Major scale followed by major 7th arpeggio
• Dorian scale followed by minor 7th arpeggio
• Mixolydian scale followed by major arpeggio with a lowered 7th
• (F7, D7, Db7)

 

3. Scales & Chord Knowledge

 

Scales (hands separately):

• Major scale followed by major 7th arpeggio in F, D, and Db/C#
• Dorian scale followed by minor 7th arpeggio in F, D, and Db/C#
• Mixolydian scale followed by major arpeggio with a lowered 7th in F7, D7, Db7

 

Pentatonic scales:

• Major pentatonic on F, D, and Db
• Minor pentatonic on F, D, and C# • Chromatic scales:
• In similar motion, starting on any white note

 

Blues scales:

• Blues scale on F, D, and C#

 

Chords in root position (LH bass note, RH remaining notes):

• F6, D6, Db6
• Fm6, Dm6, Dbm6
• F7, D7, Db7
• C7, A7, Ab7

 

Chords in root position and all inversions:

• F7, D7, Db7
• Fm7, Dm7, Dbm7

 

Diminished seventh chords:

• F°7, D°7, Db°7

 

4. Repertoire

• Perform three contrasting pieces from the Trinity Grade 6 syllabus, focusing on:
• Accurate rhythm, tempo, and articulation.
• Expressive phrasing with dynamics and musical sensitivity.
• Demonstrating appropriate style and character of each piece.
• Using advanced pedal techniques effectively.
• Incorporating rubato and expressive phrasing.
• Showcasing stylistic accuracy in different musical genres.

 

5. Sight Reading

• Candidates will be given 30 seconds of preparation time.
• Perform a previously unseen musical extract at a level approximately two grades lower than the exam being taken.
• Demonstrate: o Rhythmic accuracy and steady tempo.
• Correct notes, articulation, and dynamics.
• Smooth transitions and confident playing.

 

6. Aural Skills

• Candidates answer questions based on a single musical example played by the examiner.
• Identify:
• Changes in pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.
• Recognition of melodic and rhythmic patterns.
• Harmonic analysis, including major, minor, dominant seventh, and diminished seventh chords.
• Identify modulations and cadences. o Distinguish between phrasing styles and articulation patterns.

 

7. Hanon Exercises

• Hanon Exercise No. 11 or 12:
• Strengthen finger independence, agility, and control.
• Practice with both legato and staccato articulation.
• Improve velocity and evenness in both hands.
• Enhance dexterity and coordination with challenging patterns.

 

8. Practice Tips 

• Isolate technical passages and practice slowly before gradually increasing tempo.
• Focus on precise articulation and phrasing.
• Pay attention to dynamic contrast and expressive interpretation.
• Use a metronome for consistent timing and rhythm.
• Practice hands separately for difficult sections.

 

9. Assessment Methods

• Performance evaluation based on repertoire, sight-reading, and aural skills.
• Graded on technical accuracy, musicality, and stylistic interpretation.
• Assessed on fluency, expression, and confidence during the exam.
• Feedback on intonation, phrasing, and rhythmic precision.