THE ABRSM GRADE 1 WORKBOOK

DiscoveringMusic TheoryTHE ABRSM GRADE 1 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 345 3AB 4010All 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 sourcesP14810

CONTENTSIntroductionThe Basics: Rhythm & Pitch1Chapter 1: Rhythm (Part 1)2Time values (notes); bars and metre; time signaturesChapter 2: Pitch (Part 1)8Notes in the treble clef; notes in the bass clef;minims, crotchets and quavers on the staveChapter 3: Rhythm (Part 2)13The semiquaver; grouping notes; restsChapter 4: Pitch (Part 2)19Accidentals; semitones and tonesChapter 5: Rhythm (Part 3)24Ties; dotted notes; grouping dotted notesChapter 6: Scales29The scale of C major; the degrees of the scale;tones and semitones in scales; the scales of G, D and F majorChapter 7: Keys & Key Signatures35The keys of C, G, D and F major; key signaturesChapter 8: Intervals40Intervals in C, G, D and F majorChapter 9: Tonic Triads44The tonic triads of C, G, D and F majorChapter 10: Terms & Signs46Chapter 11: Music in Context51Practice Exam Paper55Music examples are written by the author unless otherwise stated. Some music examples have been adapted to suit learning requirements.

1RHYTHMIn this chapter you will learn aboutTime values (notes)Bars and metreTime signatures(PART 1)Time values Time values show how many counts anote lasts. Four common time values aresemibreves, minims, crotchets and quavers. Pairs of quavers add up to one count.They are joined together with a beam:Semibreve4 countsMinim2 countsCrotchet1 countQuaver½ a countbecomesExercise 1Complete this table.Name of noteLooks likeHow many counts?Semibreve4Exercise 3 b c d e fTry clappingdifferent timevalues while yourteacher or a friendtaps a steadypulse. Count thepulse out loud asyou clap.gf Smart tipUse this note tree tohelp you with yourmusical maths.aTheoryin soundCrotchetAnswer each musical ‘sum’ with one note.Smart tip Watch out for the subtractionsums in h and i . bh– bi– Bars and metre Rhythm is the arrangement of notes of different time values over a pulse.½ The pulse is organised into bars containing a certain number of counts, orbeats. This organisation is called metre. We use bar-lines to make it easy to see where each bar starts and ends.Exercise 2 At Grade 1, we will explore bars containing two, three and four beats.Circle the correct answer for each question.aWhich of these notes has the shortest duration?bWhich of these notes has the longest duration?cWhich of these lasts longer than a minim?dHow many counts iseHow many counts iscrotchetquaversemibreveworth?2 counts1 count4 countsworth?3 counts2 counts1 count2 Discovering Music Theory: Grade 1double bar-lineBarœœœœœœœœBeats: 12341234Did you know?Double bar-lines are used atthe end of sections of music.bar-lineChapter 1: Rhythm (Part 1) 3

Time signatures:Smart tipA time signature tells us how many beats there arein each bar. At Grade 1 we will encounter the timesignatures used for music containing two, three orfour beats in a bar.The following rhythms are made up of barscontaining two, three or four beats.Exercise 4aBeats: The top number of the time signature shows you thenumber of beats in each bar.Mark the beats in the following rhythms by adding numbers.œœ œ12œœœ œ œ The bottom number shows you what the time valueof the beat is. At Grade 1, this number is always ‘4’,which means that the beat is always measured incrotchets ( ). Exercise 5bœœœœœ œ œ œœœœœ œ œ œ œ œ234œœ144œ1œ2œ3œ23œ4Circle TRUE or FALSE for each of these statements about time signatures.aThe top number tells you how many beats there are in each bar.true falsebThe bottom number tells you how many bars there are in each piece.true falsecœ œ œ1wBeats:dœœBeats:c24œœ œ œ œ true falsetells you there are three crotchet beats in each bar.dThe time signature is written at the end of a piece of music.true falseeThe numbertrue falseat the bottom tells you to count in crotchet beats.Beats:Theory in soundCommon time:is sometimes called common time.Challenge!When you see at the start of apiece, this means there are fourbeats in a bar, just as there are inCan you change the order of the notes in Exercise 4 b to create your own three-bar rhythm?Write it down below, then see if you or your teacher can clap it while you count ‘1, 2, 3’ to the beat.cRhythm:Beats:Try clapping the rhythms inExercises 4 and 6 while youcount or tap the beat.124 Discovering Music Theory: Grade 13123123Chapter 1: Rhythm (Part 1) 5

8 INTERVALSIn this chapter you will learn aboutIntervals in C, G, D and F majorExercise 2D major? ## wIntervals We can use the degrees of the scale to measure the intervals between the tonic of a key andevery other note in that key. Here are the intervals above the tonic in C major: Degrees: 12Interval:2nd1313rd 44th 155th 1 616thw2nd An interval measures the difference in pitch between two notes.& Write one note after each tonic to form the named interval. The key is D major. 73rd7thaw w2ndw wwwwww5thw8veG major?#w ww ww w3rd4thw www6thwD major? wwwwcw& wbw3rd5th6th& www8ve4th3rdG majorww7thd? w2ndw3rdw8ve7thDid you know?Intervals can be written in two ways. Sometimes they will bewritten one note after the other, as in a melody, and sometimesthey will be written one note above the other, as a chord. In theGrade 1 exam, intervals are written one note after the other.w& w3rd40 Discovering Music Theory: Grade 18veWrite one note after each tonic to form the named interval.Remember to add accidentals where they are needed.F majorWrite the missing numbers to identify these intervals above the tonic.w w7thIn Exercises 2 and 3, yournote should be higher thanthe given note.C majorF major6thwSing or play (or ask someone to play) some of the intervalswritten above. Try to get used to how they sound – someintervals sound relaxing and others sound quite tense.6thb5thw188th/8veWe can use the term octave (8ve) or 8thto describe the interval from C to C.a4thwSmart tipDid you know?&b w wwTheory in soundExercise 3Exercise 1w&ww3rdChapter 8: Intervals 41

Discovering Music Theory G1 pages.indd 4 17/07/2020 14:51 Time signatures: A time signature tells us how many beats there are in each bar. At Grade 1 we will encounter the time signatures used for music containing two, three or four beats in a bar. The top number of the time signature shows you the number of beats in each bar.