**Please read all the below information before completing your entry form**
The exam entry forms for TCL practical and ABRSM theory exams are available as pdf files. You’ll find these below various guidelines and documents stating the exam board’s requirements and other useful information.
For your exam entry, please download the appropriate form. You can print it and send it to me by scanning and emailing, or by putting it in the post or bringing it to your lesson. If you have pdf-writer facilities, you may fill the form in on your computer or device. Then send it to me by email, text or WhatsApp.
Exam Fees
Exam fees are listed on each form, and should be paid into my account when you send me the form. Note that this is a different bank account from the one into which you pay your lesson fees.
Guidelines
Please read the guidelines, advice and exam board requirements carefully before committing to your exam entry.
Trinity College Practical Exams
Video Recording
If you are recording your Trinity College practical exam video yourself, in your own home, please be sure to read Trinity’s “Filming Requirements” and (if it’s a piano exam) their “Piano Requirements”. You should also make one or more Practice Videos so that I can make sure you are adhering to the Requirements and that the audio and video are of reasonable quality. Please see below for more information on the Practice Videos.
However, if I will be recording your video in my own gallery, you need not bother with the “Filming Requirements” or the “Piano Requirements”, as I am familiar with them and will handle all that for you.
Practice Videos for your Practical Exam
Generally speaking, pupils living in Norfolk who come to my gallery for their lessons, will have the exam performance recorded by me during their normal lesson time.
If, however, you have your lessons online, or you are making your own video of your exam performance for any reason, I recommend one or two practice videos be sent to me first so that I can make sure you are fulfilling all the requirements set by the exam board. I will also analyse your performance and send you a written report for each video. My fee for this is £40 per practice video, to be paid in advance.
Practice and Exam Videos should be uploaded by you to my website. I will email you a User Name and Password for the upload. You can expect the Analysis Report by email within five working days.
You may find that the upload pauses indefinitely on the first attempt. This could be because of a brief outage in your Internet supply. If this happens, abort the upload and try again later.
Please note that any videos uploaded to my website are securely held and are not available for anyone else to see. They are not displayed on my website; it acts merely as a platform for uploading large, secure files. Exam videos submitted to Trinity College are seen by their examiners only. Please see my own Privacy Policy here and Trinity’s Privacy and Data Collection Policy here.
Accompaniment
If you play an instrument which requires an accompaniment, I am available to accompany you in your recorded music exam. The recording will take place in my home, and I will enter you for your exam and submit your recording for assessment.
My fee for this is £60 including one practice session of 30 minutes, or £80 including two practice sessions of 30 minutes each. A 30-minute slot to make the recording is included in both rates. If the recording takes more than 30 minutes, then an extra charge will be made at the rate of £10 for up to ten minutes more.
Should you require further rehearsal before your exam, an additional 30-minute session costs £30, and this can be booked at any time.
For exams at a centre, the above fees apply, together with my travel expenses, which will be calculated according to the distance of the exam venue from my home.
Exam and Accompaniment fees should be paid by bank transfer. Please get in touch with me as soon as possible to book your rehearsal date(s) and time(s), and you will receive an invoice by email for the accompaniment fee.
Supporting Tests and Overall Performance Criteria
Instead of the traditional Sight Reading and Aural tests (known as “Supporting Tests”), Trinity have introduced “Overall Performance Criteria”, divided into two assessed categories, each worth 10 marks of the total exam. See “Twenty Extra Marks!“ for further information.
Results
Trinity College practical exam results take around two weeks to come through (though sometimes much less time than this).
Certificates
Provided you have passed your exam, a digital certificate will be issued. You can keep this digital certificate on your computer and/or on your phone to show anyone at any time. However, I will also print a certificate for you, and this will be presented at the next Showcase event. Most students appreciate a printed certificate which can be framed and mounted on the wall, or kept in a display folder.
Trinity College Filming Requirements
TCL_Filming_RequirementsTrinity College Piano Requirements
TCL_Piano_RequirementsTrinity College of Music Practical Exam Entry Form
Main_TCL_Practical_Exam_Form202324-3ABRSM Theory Exams
ABRSM Theory Exams Grades 1-5
ABRSM theory exams Grades 1 to 5 are taken digitally. You will need a computer. See below for minimum software requirements. You will complete at least four practice papers first, and finally an online practice paper.
The ABRSM online practice exam is available here. The link will open in a new window.
Once you have been entered for the exam, ABRSM will contact you directly with your User Name and Password. They will have created an account for you, which you can then use for all your ABRSM online theory exams.
ABRSM Theory Exams Grades 6-8
ABRSM theory exams Grades 6 to 8 are different. You sit these in a public venue, such as a school or church hall. These are pencil-and-paper exams. You will complete at least four practice papers first. Once you have been entered for the exam, ABRSM will confirm to me that you are booked in and will supply the date, time and venue for the exam. It is your responsibility to get to the exam venue. You will need to take with you pencils, ruler and clean rubber, and also photo ID. Rough paper is provided at the venue, please don’t take your own.
Results
Results take approximately four weeks to come through, and they will come to me first. If you have passed your exam, a certificate will then be issued by ABRSM.
Software Requirements for ABRSM Digital Theory Exams
ABRSM Music Theory Grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are now all taken online, in your own home and on your own device. There is particular software that ABRSM use for these exams, and you will need to install it (it’s free and completely secure). However, this software can only be used on certain devices and on certain operating systems, so please see below for a summary of these requirements. Your device will need a camera and a microphone, as the software uses both of these. The summary gives further information on the camera and microphone requirements and settings that you will need.
PSI_Bridge_Online_Proctoring