Exams

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Junior Music Exam Clarinet

The JME is a CMS exam and is the first exam you will take with us, usually in the 1st or 2nd year of lessons. Assessment takes place in school, with your instrumental teacher.

A1 Floral Dance

Introduction

With the clarinet

Just the piano

‘Floral dance’ reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977!

A2 Hornpipe Study

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Not this piece but the Hornpipe from the Fantasia on British Sea Songs by Henry Wood is traditionally performed at the last night of the proms. A Hornpipe is a dance traditionally performed by sailors.

B1 Camptown Races

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Camptown Races by Stephen Foster was published in February 1850 and relates to a famous horse race.

B2 Frankie and Johnny

With the clarinet

Just the piano

This version of Frankie and Johnny was recorded by American jazz vibraphonist Warren Wolf in 2013.

C1 Winter

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Not this piece, but here is another piece called ‘The Snow is Dancing by Debussy. He tries to capture the effect of snow swirling in the wind, do you think he managed it?

C2 Sarabande

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Here is a different Sarabande, by George Handel, written between 1703 and 1706. It is a type of slow dance.

Close

Scales/Arpeggios
All 1 octave

G major
F Major
A Minor

Aural Tests

Help available here

Sight Reading

Material available directly from your CMS teacher

Senior Music Exam Clarinet

The SME is a CMS exam and is the second exam you will take with us, usually in the 2nd or 3rd year of lessons. Exams usually take place at the Music Centre with a senior teacher from the music service.

A1 Sweet Betsy

With the clarinet

Just the piano

‘Sweet Betsy from Pike’ is an American song about the trials of a pioneer named Betsy and her partner Ike who travel from Missouri to California in the USA. Here it is sung by Johnny Cash

A2 Eastenders

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Eastenders has been on the TV since 1985. The theme song was released as a song in 1986 by EastEnders cast member Anita Dobson.

B1 Mountain Stream

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Not this piece but the most famous piece of music about a stream has to be ‘Vltava’ from ‘Má vlast’ meaning ‘My homeland’ in Czech. It was finished in 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, this movement follows the route of the Vltava River as it runs from the mountains through Prague.

B2 Waltz

With the clarinet

Just the piano

Benjamin Britten was a famous English composer.

C1 Greensleeves

With the clarinet

Just the piano

‘Greensleeves’ is a traditional English folk song that evokes the spirit of England. Although it is said that it was written by Henry VIII, this is probably not true!

Here is a version by famous English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’s – Fantasia on “Greensleeves”

Or something jazzy? The Manhattan Jazz Orchestra.

C2 The Archers

With the clarinet

Just the piano

‘The Archers’ is a British radio soap opera on BBC Radio 4 broadcast since 1951. The tune is actually called ‘Barwick Green’ and is a maypole dance from the suite ‘My Native Heath’, written in 1924 by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood.

Close

Scales/Arpeggios

G major 2 octaves
F major 2 octaves
D Minor 1 octaves
B♭ Major 1 octaves
A Minor 2 octaves

Aural Tests

Help available here

Sight Reading

Material available directly from your CMS teacher

ABRSM

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools offers a range of examinations all the way to university level and beyond. Exams take place 3 times a year and are held in various locations locally.

Syllabuses are available from the ABRSM here.

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 8