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Grade 5 Music Theory - some common mistakes - Intervals

142 views · Published 15 November 2016 · 2:26 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: MusicOnline UK · 2016 · Education

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Want a DISTINCTION in YOUR next ABRSM Exam? https://www.music-online.org.uk/2019/01/how-to-get-distinction-in-abrsm-exams.html Grade 5 Music Theory - some common mistakes - Intervals

Today I will go over some examples of  real life common mistakes made by my students in the “intervals” section of a Grade 5 music theory exam. Take a look at this example and see if you can spot any incorrect answers. You may want to pause the video for a moment while you have a look.

The 1st interval - A to F sharp has been answered correctly as a major 6th
The 2nd interval is an 11th but it is not major. In fact there is no such thing as a major 11th, they can be only perfect, diminished or augmented, just like 4ths, 5ths and octaves.  If you consider the major scale of the lower note F, the 11th note would be B flat, but this is a B natural in other words the interval is a semitone bigger and so the answer is an augmented 11th.

Again the 3rd interval cannot be a major 5th since it doesn’t exist. A perfect 5th would be E to B (B is the 5th note of E major) but the B flat makes this interval a semitone smaller i.e. a diminished 5th

The 4th interval is not any kind of 6th, but rather a 7th. Now the 7th note of the major scale of the  lowest note C is B which would be a major 7th, but here we have a B flat making it a semitone smaller and hence a minor 7th

And finally the 5th interval G flat to B is not a diminished 3rd, since the 3rd note of G flat major is B flat, and B natural is a semitone bigger, making the interval an Augmented 3rd

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