Keyboard for Trinity Grade 5 by Arougya Thami

This 36-hour intermediate 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, key signatures, and rhythmic patterns.
• Understanding ties, slurs, dotted rhythms, and syncopation with intricate rhythmic variations.
• Recognizing dynamic markings, articulation symbols, and expressive terms.
• Identifying chord inversions, seventh chords, and harmonic progressions. 
• Understanding modal harmony and its application in performance.

 

2. Keyboard Exercises

• Students should choose one of the following scale and arpeggio combinations, using one of the tonal/modal centres of:
• F#, Eb, A
• 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
• (F#7, Eb7, A7

 

3. Scales & Chord Knowledge

 

Scales (hands separately):

• Major scale followed by major 7th arpeggio in F#, Eb, and A
• Dorian scale followed by minor 7th arpeggio in F#, Eb, and A
• Mixolydian scale followed by major arpeggio with a lowered 7th in F#7, Eb7, A7

 

Pentatonic scales:

• Major pentatonic on F#, Eb, and A
• Minor pentatonic on F#, Eb, and A

 

Chromatic scales:

• In similar motion, starting on any note

 

Blues scales:

• Blues scale on F#, Eb, and A

 

Chords in root position:

• F#6, Eb6, A6
• F#m6, Ebm6, Am6
• F#°7, Eb°7, A°7
• F#9, Eb9, A9
• F#+, Eb+, A+

 

Chords in root position and all inversions:

• Bass note in LH and remaining notes in RH
• F#7, Eb7, A7
• Db7, Bb7, E7
• F#m7, Ebm7, Am7

 

4. Repertoire

• Perform three contrasting pieces from the Trinity Grade 5 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. o Incorporating expressive techniques, such as rubato and subtle phrasing.

 

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.

 

6. Aural Skills

• 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.
• Basic harmonic and interval recognition.
• Distinguishing between major, minor, and dominant seventh chords.

 

7. Hanon Exercises

• Hanon Exercise No. 9 or 10:
• Develop finger strength, agility, and coordination.
• Practice with both legato and staccato articulation.
• Improve evenness and precision in playing.

 

8. Practice Tips

• Break larger passages into smaller sections and practice slowly with consistent fingering.
• Focus on smooth transitions between arpeggios and inversions.
• Pay attention to dynamics, articulation, and phrasing for expressive performance.
• Use a metronome to maintain steady tempo and rhythm.
• Practice hands separately for complex sections before combining.
• Develop pedal control for smoother harmonic blending.

 

9. Assessment Methods

• Performance evaluation based on repertoire, sight-reading, and aural skills.
• Graded on accuracy, musicality, and technical proficiency.
• Assessed on fluency, expression, and confidence during the exam.