THE ABRSM GRADE 2 WORKBOOK

DiscoveringMusic TheoryTHE ABRSM GRADE 2 WORKBOOKDesign by Kate BenjaminMusic origination for workbook by Moira RoachMusic origination for practice exam paper by Pete ReadmanCover and inside illustration by Andy PottsFirst published in 2020 by ABRSM (Publishing) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABRSM 2020 by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of MusicISBN 978 1 78601 346 0AB 4011All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.Printed in England by Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd, on materials from sustainable sourcesP14811

CONTENTSIntroductionChapter 1: Pitch1Ledger lines; rewriting notes in the treble and bass clefsChapter 2: Rhythm (Part 1)6Time signatures with a minim beat and with a quaver beat;rewriting rhythms in different metresChapter 3: Rhythm (Part 2)15Triplets; dotted restsChapter 4: Rhythm (Part 3)19Grouping notes and rests; grouping notes across multiple beatsChapter 5: Keys & Scales (Part 1)24The keys and scales of A, B b and Eb majorChapter 6: Keys & Scales (Part 2)30Relative majors and minors; the harmonic minor scale;keys and scales of A, E and D harmonic minorChapter 7: Intervals35Intervals in A, B b and Eb major, and A, E and D minorChapter 8: Tonic Triads38The tonic triads of A, E and D minor, and A, Bb and Eb majorChapter 9: Terms & Signs40Chapter 10: Music in Context44Practice Exam Paper49Music examples are written by the author unless otherwise stated. Some music examples have been adapted to suit learning requirements.

In this chapter you will learn aboutPITCHLedger linesRewriting notes in thetreble and bass clefs1Exercise 2aLedger lines At Grade 1, we discovered that middle C is placed on its own line, called a ledger line,positioned below the stave in the treble clef and above the stave in the bass clef. You can think of ledger lines as little extensions of the stave lines. At Grade 2, you willmeet notes that use one or two ledger lines above or below the stave.Look at these notes in the treble clef.C is on the ledger line, and B is below it.&If you want to write A and G below middle C,you simply add a second ledger line, like this:&wwwwce&?&w w w&w w w wGAExercise 1a&wBCAi&& Cw w w wBDCDECDEdw w ww w w wTick (E&fb?fj?œwwcgk&&& œJœJd?œJwwww?&w w w w ite each named note on the stave provided using ledger lines.You can choose any time value for your notes.&2 Discovering Music Theory: Grade 2?&Db? gjœG#Chapter 1: Pitch 1w) the correct clef needed to make each of these named notes.beCww#wœJaF?Write the name of each note in the boxes. Remember to check the clefs carefully.AeB?bwExercise 3w w w wC A BwHere are the notes that use ledger lines at Grade 2:w w w wWrite the words spelt by the notes in these examples.FB?

Rewriting rhythms in different metresIt is possible to rewrite rhythms in different time signatures by changing the type of beat.For example, this rhythm, which has four crotchet beats in a bar 4&4 œ œœ œ œ œœœœœ œ Exercise 8a3&4 œ œœœ œ œ œ œ3&2 œ œ w b? b 42 œ œ œ œ ‰ œJ œ œ Œ?b C œ œ œ Œ can be rewritten like this, with four minim beats in a bar:4&2 w œ œ wœœœœœ œ wCan you see that in the rhythm, the time values have been doubled? Minims havebecome semibreves; crotchets have become minims; quavers have become crotchets;and semiquavers have become quavers.By doubling the time values œ wTheory in soundTry playing or clapping some of therhythms in Exercise 8 while someoneclaps the beat.By halving time values can be rewritten ascan be rewritten ascan be rewritten ascan be rewritten asChallenge!can be rewritten ascan be rewritten asRewrite each melody in the new time signature by using notes of twice the value.can be rewritten ascan be rewritten asExercise 7Smart tipMake sure you change the time values of the rests as well as the notes.For more advice on beaming in different time signatures, turn to pages 19–20.Complete these sentences by circling one word or symbol from the options provided.aTo rewrite arhythm in, crotchets become .bTo rewrite arhythm in, minims become .cTo rewrite arhythm in, all of the time values are .dTick ( ) or cross ( ) each box to show whether each melody has been correctlyor incorrectly rewritten using notes of twice the value.A quaver beat is used in the time signature of .eTo rewrite arhythm in,fTo rewrite arhythm in,becomes halveda? ## c œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œJ œ œ œœ œœ Œ? ## 42 œ œ œ doubledb#3& 4 œ#3& 2w œœ œ œŒbecomes .12 Discovering Music Theory: Grade 2Chapter 2: Rhythm (Part 1) 13

Exercise 4aWrite in the missing degrees of each major scale, using accidentals where necessary.The tonic note is given each time.bw& bwTonicd&bwb4thToniceTonic& bwc6thTonic?wThe first melody is in A major, so the notes F, C and G need to be sharpened– but remember that accidentals for each pitch last for the whole bar.Tonicf?3rdabw8thA majorTonicC# D#Db EbAll major scales follow the same pattern oftones and semitones between each degree.A semitone is the shortest distance betweentwo notes, so in the scale of A major, thedistance from G# to A is a semitone as thereare no other notes between them.Exercise 5cwwdwwwbb&b b w4&4 Œœ œ œœ œœœ œ œ œ œœ VierneTheory in soundwwPlay (or ask someone to play to you) any of the melodies in Exercise 6.First play them without the correct sharps and flats, and then listen tohow the melodies improve when you add these accidentals in.Challenge!wwwwwwwWrite out the scale of A, Bb or Eb major on the stave below, using accidentalsinstead of a key signature. Don’t forget to write the clef at the start.Key:E b major, ascendingcœ)B b major, ascending? bb w? 42 œœ E b majorC D E F G A B CA major, descendinga? 44 œj œ œ œ œ œ œœ ‰ œR œ œ œ œ œ œ œB b majorF# G# A#Gb Ab BbShow the semitones in each of these scales by drawing brackets (over two pairs of notes. The first bracket is given.###w&4 œ œ œ œ œ &4E b major2ndbRemember!Circle the notes that need an accidental to create a melody in each named key.Smart tip6th? bwExercise 6wwwwwwmajorwChapter 5: Keys & Scales (Part 1) 2728 Discovering Music Theory: Grade 2œ œ œ MendelssohnVerdiœ œ œ œ œ œ33œœ Wagner‰

Chapter 10: Music in Context 44 Practice Exam Paper 49 Music examples are written by the author unless otherwise stated. Some music examples have been adapted to suit learning requirements. Discovering Music Theory G2 pages.indd 3 17/07/2020 14:22