Music theory lessons — Grade 5 theory and beyond
Most people who come to me for theory come because ABRSM will not let them sit Grade 6 practical without a Grade 5 theory pass. That is a bad reason to learn something genuinely interesting, and I try to fix that on the way through.
Who these lessons are for
- Students blocked at Grade 5 theory who need it passed, ideally without hating it.
- Anyone preparing aural tests, which candidates almost always leave until last.
- Players who can read but have never understood why the music does what it does.
- Composers and songwriters who want the vocabulary — and, if you want it, help writing.
What a lesson looks like
Half an hour is usually enough for theory alongside an instrument; an hour if it is the only thing we are doing. I teach it at the keyboard wherever possible, because a rule you have heard is a rule you remember and a rule on paper is one you revise twice and forget. Past papers come in near the end, once the material is actually understood — not as the method.
Levels and exams
Grades 1 to 8 theory, ABRSM or Trinity, plus aural and sight-reading at any grade. Also, gladly, theory with no exam attached at all. And composition, which is where theory stops being a subject and starts being a set of tools — it is the fastest way I know to make the rest of it stick.
In Tom’s words
Theory has an undeserved reputation, and I blame the order it usually gets taught in. Nobody needs to know what a perfect fourth is called before they have noticed that it is the leap that opens Amazing Grace, and the gap between almost every pair of strings on a guitar. Names last; the sound is what you build them on. Get that order right and Grade 5 theory stops being a hurdle and becomes about a fortnight of tidying up.
What it costs
Prices are being confirmed — please ask and Tom will tell you straight away.
Common questions
Why do I need Grade 5 theory?
ABRSM requires a pass at Grade 5 theory, practical musicianship or a solo jazz instrument before you can enter Grade 6, 7 or 8 practical. It catches a lot of people by surprise at exactly the wrong moment.
How long does Grade 5 theory take?
For a student already playing at around that level, usually a term of weekly half-hours. Less if we can attach it to an instrument lesson you are already having.
Can theory be taught online?
Yes — it is the easiest thing on this site to teach remotely, since we are both looking at the same page.
Do you teach Trinity theory as well as ABRSM?
Yes. They test the same understanding in noticeably different ways, and for some students one is a much fairer fight than the other.
A free tool that helps
Interval Ear Trainer — built for exactly the aural interval questions the exams ask. Free, no signup, works on a phone.
To print: Manuscript paper — blank staves with a treble, bass or no clef, and piano systems, for the written work .
Worth reading next
Ready to start?
Tell Tom what you would like to play and roughly where you are, and he will come back to you with times.
Get in touch