Your clarinet grade 5 ABRSM exam will be marked out of 150 and you will need a total of 100 marks to Pass, 120 marks for a Merit and 130 marks for a Distinction.  The exam comprises of four main areas:

    Pieces

    In your exam you are required to play three pieces (worth up to 30 marks each), one from each of the three lists, A, B and C below:

    LIST A

    1. Delibes Andante quasi allegretto Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    2. Lefèvre Allegro moderato: 1st movt from Sonata No. 6 in Bb Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    3. Loewe Der Schottenclan: No. 3 from Schottische Bilder, Op. 112 Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    4. Brahms Allegretto grazioso: 3rd movt from Sonata in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1 (Wiener Urtext UT 50015) or Brahms Sonatas, Op. 120 (Henle HN 274)
    5. C. H. Lloyd Minuet: 3rd movt from Suite in the Old Style (Lazarus Edition)
    6. Mendelssohn Song without Words (Op. 30 No. 4). No. 6 from Mendelssohn for the Clarinet, arr. King and Frank (ABRSM)
    7. Mozart Minuet and Trio or Adagio: 2nd or 3rd movt from Divertimento No. 3 (from K. 439b), arr. Dobrée (Chester CH55336)
    8. Reger Fast zu keck. Time Pieces for Clarinet, Vol. 3, arr. Denley (ABRSM)
    9. C. Stamitz Romanze: 2nd movt from Concerto No. 3 in Bb (Peters EP 4859 or Dowani)

    LIST B

    1. M. Arnold Andantino: 2nd movt from Sonatina, Op. 29 Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    2. Glick Circle Dance: No. 6 from Suite hébraïque No. 1 Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    3. Piazzolla Duo I (incl. quasi cadenza): from El sueño de una noche de verano, arr. Davies Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    4. Christopher Ball Over the Hills and Far Away: No. 4 from Four Folksongs (Emerson E550)
    5. P. M. Dubois Romance (Leduc AL 21376)
    6. Paul Harris Allegro vigoroso: 4th movt from Sonatina (Fentone F436-401)
    7. Cecilia McDowall Hornpipe or Music Hall: from Three Pastiches (Hunt Edition HE22)
    8. Errollyn Wallen Skip. Spectrum for Clarinet (ABRSM)
    9. Andrew Wilson Bebop or Up Beat: from Bebop and More! for Clarinet (Spartan Press SP414)

    LIST C

    1. Colin Cowles The Heron Glides: No. 4 from Somerset Scenes for Solo Clarinet Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    2. Klosé Exercise in C Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    3. Colin Radford Samba Diablo: No. 19 from 21st-Century Clarinet Studies Clarinet Exam Pieces, Grade 5 (ABRSM)
    4. Paula Crasborn-Mooren Study No. 17: from 21 Intermediate Studies for Clarinet (De Haske Hal Leonard)
    5. Roger Purcell Going Straight or Man About Town: No. 33 or No. 35 from Scaling the Heights (Astute Music)
    6. James Rae Talkin’ the Talk: No. 29 from 38 More Modern Studies for Solo Clarinet (Universal UE 21554)
    7. C. Rose Study in A. No. 86 from Mauz Step by Step for Clarinet (Schott ED 20622)

    Scales & Arpeggios

    As part of your exam you are also required to play scales & arpeggios from memory (worth up to 21 marks) - please see the ABRSM Clarinet Grades 1-8 Scale Book

    Sight-Reading Test

    You will also be required to sight-read some music that you have not seen before (worth up to 21 marks) - to prepare for this part of your exam please see the ABRSM Clarinet Grades 1-5 Sight-Reading Book which has a selection of specimen sight-reading pieces.

    Aural Tests

    In another part of your exam you will be required to complete a set of aural tests challenging your musicianship (worth up to 18 marks). To help prepare for this please see the ABRSM Aural Training in Practice Grades 4-5 Book (a guide with tests) and/or ABRSM Specimen Sight-Reading Tests Grades 4-5 Book (specimen tests).

     

    *Information correct at time of publishing 14.03.16


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