Music Theory – updates and changes
Grades 1 to 5 from 2020 onwards
We are pleased to announce that we have brought forward our plans to move the assessment of Music Theory at Grades 1 to 5 to an online exam. We have been working on the development of online exams for some time, but in response to the COVID-19 pandemic we have accelerated this work. We are confident that the online format will provide a more learner-friendly experience for candidates.
- The first online Music Theory exam will be a live pilot for Grade 5 taking place on 26 August 2020. This exam is open to candidates in the UK.
- We will offer further online exams at Grades 1 to 5 in the UK and selected territories in November, before rolling out online Music Theory exams at these grades worldwide during 2021.
- We will make further announcements very soon to tell you when our online Music Theory exams will be available to you.
We have also updated some questions at Grades 1 to 5 and made some small changes to the syllabus. These changes apply to online exams from 2020 in all territories where they are available. In territories where online exams are not yet available and we are still offering paper-based exams, these updated question and syllabus changes will apply from 2021.
You can find full details on these pages, along with supporting materials and news of further resources to follow.
Music Theory exams at Grades 6 to 8 will continue as paper-based assessments for everyone worldwide. There are no changes to the questions or syllabus for these grades. We will offer these exams when we can do this safely and in line with government guidance.