Grade 5 Music Theory Topics: Complete Syllabus Breakdown

Introduction

ABRSM Grade 5 Music Theory has a broad syllabus that covers everything from note values and key signatures to composition and orchestral instruments. Understanding exactly what is on the syllabus — and how much weight each topic carries — is essential for effective revision.

This guide breaks down every topic in the Grade 5 syllabus, rates its difficulty, and provides practical advice for mastering each area. Use it to plan your revision and identify which topics need the most attention.

Syllabus Overview

The Grade 5 Theory syllabus is cumulative — it includes everything from Grades 1 to 4 plus new material introduced at Grade 5. The topics can be grouped into nine main areas:

Topic 1: Rhythm and Time Signatures

What You Need to Know

• All simple time signatures: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 2/2, 3/2, 4/2, 3/8
• All compound time signatures: 6/4, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8
• Correct grouping of notes and rests in every time signature
• Duplets (in compound time) and triplets (in simple time)
• All note values from semibreve to demisemiquaver, including dotted and double-dotted notes
• Ties and their effect on note duration

What the Exam Tests

You may be asked to:

• Identify a time signature from a given passage
• Add bar lines to a passage in a given time signature
• Correct the grouping of notes in a bar
• Complete a bar with appropriate notes or rests

Revision Tips

The key to this topic is understanding the grouping rules. In simple time, beats are divided into two; in compound time, beats are divided into three. Once you understand this principle, the grouping rules follow logically.

Common mistake: Grouping quavers across the middle of a 4/4 bar. In 4/4, you should show the division between beats 2 and 3. Write two groups of two quavers rather than four quavers beamed together.

Topic 2: Scales and Keys

What You Need to Know

• All major scales up to six sharps (F sharp major) and six flats (G flat major)
• All minor scales (harmonic and melodic) up to six sharps and six flats
• The order of sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E, B
• The order of flats: B, E, A, D, G, C, F
• Technical names for scale degrees: tonic (1st), supertonic (2nd), mediant (3rd), subdominant (4th), dominant (5th), submediant (6th), leading note (7th)
• Relative major and minor keys
• Enharmonic equivalents (e.g., F sharp major = G flat major)

What the Exam Tests

You may be asked to:

• Write a scale in a given key using the correct key signature or accidentals
• Identify a key from a given key signature
• Name the technical name for a given degree of a scale
• Identify whether a passage is in a major or minor key

Revision Tips

Key signatures are the foundation of Grade 5 Theory. If you know them fluently, almost every other topic becomes easier. Learn them systematically using the circle of fifths or a mnemonic.

Remember: For harmonic minor, raise the 7th degree. For melodic minor, raise the 6th and 7th going up, and lower them back going down (natural minor descending).

Topic 3: Intervals

What You Need to Know

• How to identify intervals by number (unison, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, octave)
• How to identify intervals by quality (major, minor, perfect, augmented, diminished)
• Intervals above and below a given note
• Compound intervals (those larger than an octave) are not required at Grade 5

What the Exam Tests

You may be asked to:

• Name an interval between two given notes (e.g., "major 3rd")
• Write a note that is a specified interval above or below a given note
• Identify intervals within a melody

Revision Tips

The method for working out intervals:

1. Count the letter names from the lower note to the upper note (inclusive) to find the number
2. Check the quality by comparing the upper note to the major scale of the lower note:
   • If the upper note is in the major scale of the lower note, the interval is major (for 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, 7ths) or perfect (for unisons, 4ths, 5ths, octaves)
   • One semitone smaller than major = minor
   • One semitone smaller than minor or perfect = diminished
   • One semitone larger than major or perfect = augmented

Practice this method until it becomes second nature. Grade 5 practice questions will help you build speed and accuracy.

Topic 4: Chords

What You Need to Know

• Tonic (I), subdominant (IV), and dominant (V) triads in any key
• Root position and inversions (first and second)
• Roman numeral notation
• How to identify chords from notation
• The supertonic (ii) chord in the context of cadences

What the Exam Tests

You may be asked to:

• Write a specified chord in a given key
• Identify a chord from notation (including inversions)
• Name the key and chord from a given triad

Revision Tips

Build chords systematically: start from the root, add the note a third above, then another third above that. For major chords, the pattern is major third + minor third. For minor chords, it is minor third + major third.

Remember: The I chord uses the scale's tonic, the IV chord uses the subdominant, and the V chord uses the dominant. In a major key, I and IV are major, and V is major. In a minor key, i is minor, iv is minor, and V is major (because we use the harmonic minor with the raised 7th).

Topic 5: Cadences

What You Need to Know

• Perfect cadence: V-I (sounds finished, conclusive)
• Imperfect cadence: any chord to V (sounds unfinished)
• Plagal cadence: IV-I (the "amen" cadence)
• Interrupted cadence: V-vi (the surprise — you expect I but get vi)

What the Exam Tests

You may be asked to:

• Identify a cadence from the last two chords of a passage
• Name the type of cadence and the chords involved
• Explain the effect of a cadence

Revision Tips

Cadences are one of the hardest Grade 5 topics because they require you to combine your knowledge of chords, keys, and musical context. The best approach is to learn the four types thoroughly and then practise identifying them in actual music.

Listen as well as read. If you can hear the difference between a perfect cadence (which sounds like a full stop) and an imperfect cadence (which sounds like a comma), you will find identification much easier.

Topic 6: Transposition

What You Need to Know

• Transposing a melody up or down by any interval
• Transposing from concert pitch to B flat instruments (clarinet, trumpet) — up a major 2nd
• Transposing from concert pitch to F instruments (French horn) — up a perfect 5th
• Transposing between different clefs
• Handling accidentals correctly during transposition

What the Exam Tests

You may be asked to:

• Rewrite a melody at a different pitch
• Transpose a passage for a transposing instrument
• Write out a transposition with the correct key signature and accidentals

Revision Tips

Transposition is methodical — follow a clear process for every question:

1. Work out the new key signature
2. Transpose each note by the required interval
3. Check all accidentals carefully
4. Verify by checking the first and last notes

The most common errors are with accidentals. If a note is sharpened in the original and you transpose up a major 2nd, the corresponding note in the new version may need a different accidental (or none at all). Always check against the new key signature.

Topic 7: Composition

What You Need to Know

• How to compose a melody to a given rhythm
• How to compose a melody to given words
• Phrase structure (typically 4 or 8 bars)
• Melodic shape and contour
• Ending a melody convincingly (usually on the tonic)
• Staying within the given key

What the Exam Tests

You will typically be asked to compose a short melody (usually 4 to 8 bars) either:

• To a given opening (continuing a melody)
• To a given rhythm
• To given words (text setting)

Revision Tips

Composition rewards practice. Write short melodies regularly, even if they are simple. Follow these principles:

• Stay in the key — use notes from the scale, with chromatic notes only if they make musical sense
• Create a shape — your melody should have a clear high point and a sense of direction
• Use a mix of steps and leaps — mostly stepwise movement with occasional leaps (especially to emphasise important notes)
• End on the tonic or dominant — this gives your melody a sense of completion
• Match the rhythm to the words — if setting text, stressed syllables should fall on strong beats

Topic 8: Musical Terms and Signs

What You Need to Know

• All Italian terms from Grades 1 to 5 (tempo, dynamics, expression, articulation)
• Common French terms (e.g., lent, vite, modere, douce)
• Common German terms (e.g., langsam, schnell, traurig, lebhaft)
• Standard musical signs and abbreviations (e.g., D.C., D.S., coda, segno)
• Ornament symbols (trill, turn, mordent, acciaccatura, appoggiatura)

Revision Tips

Musical terms are largely a memorisation task, which makes them one of the most predictable areas to revise for. Create flashcards, use a practice app, or test yourself regularly until you can recall them quickly.

Group them by category: learn all the tempo markings together, then dynamics, then expression marks. This makes them easier to remember and helps you make educated guesses in the exam if you encounter an unfamiliar term.

Topic 9: Instruments and Orchestral Knowledge

What You Need to Know

• The four families of the orchestra: strings, woodwind, brass, percussion
• Which instruments belong to each family
• Which clef each instrument reads (treble, bass, alto, tenor)
• Transposing instruments: B flat clarinet, B flat trumpet, F horn
• General knowledge of instrument ranges (highest to lowest within each family)
• Standard orchestral score order

Revision Tips

This topic tests general knowledge rather than deep technical understanding. Make sure you know the basics:

• Strings (high to low): violin, viola, cello, double bass. Viola uses alto clef.
• Woodwind (high to low): piccolo, flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bassoon. Clarinet is in B flat.
• Brass (high to low): trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba. Trumpet is in B flat; horn is in F.
• Percussion: timpani (pitched), snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, etc.

Planning Your Revision

Use this topic breakdown to create a revision plan that focuses on your weak areas. A suggested approach:

1. Assess your starting point — try free practice questions across all topics to see where you stand
2. Prioritise the harder topics — spend more time on cadences, transposition, and composition
3. Maintain your strengths — keep practising the easier topics to ensure you secure those marks
4. Build up to full practice papers — once you have revised all topics, practise under exam conditions

The most effective revision combines topic-specific study with regular question practice. Do not just read about cadences — answer cadence questions. Do not just learn about transposition — transpose passages. Active practice is the key to success.

Start practising Grade 5 topics now with questions designed to cover every area of the syllabus.