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Discovering Music Theory, The ABRSM Grade 3 Workbook (Theory workbooks
Discovering Music Theory is a suite of workbooks and corresponding answer books that offers all-round preparation for the updated ABRSM Music Theory exams from 2020, including the new online papers. This full-colour workbook will equip students of all ages with the skills, knowledge and understanding required for the ABRSM Grade 3 Music Theory exam. Written to make theory engaging and relevant to developing musicians of all ages, it - straightforward explanations of all new concepts - progressive exercises to build skills and understanding, step by step - challenge questions to extend learning and develop music-writing skills - helpful tips for how to approach specific exercises - ideas for linking theory to music listening, performing and instrumental/singing lessons - clear signposting and progress reviews throughout - a sample practice exam paper showing you what to expect in the new style of exams from 2020 As well as fully supporting the ABRSM theory syllabus, Discovering Music Theory provides an excellent resource for anyone wishing to develop their music literacy skills, including GCSE and A-Level candidates, and adult learners.
- GenresNonfictionMusic
Sheet music
Published October 8, 2020
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About the author
ABRSM
981 books14 followersABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) was founded on October 1, 1889, by Sir Alexander Mackenzie (Royal Academy of Music) and Sir George Grove (Royal College of Music) to promote high standards in music education through standardized local examinations across the UK.
ABRSM also provides a publishing house for music which produces syllabus booklets, sheet music and exam papers and runs professional development courses and seminars for teachers
ABRSM also provides a publishing house for music which produces syllabus booklets, sheet music and exam papers and runs professional development courses and seminars for teachers
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 2, 2025
4 ⭐
This is the 3rd of 5 Workbooks which accompany ABRSM’s ‘The AB Guide to Music Theory – Part 1’ (The pink book).
Chapter focus hasn’t changed: Rhythm, Pitch, Keys and Scales, Intervals, Tonic Triads, Terms and Signs, ‘Music in Context’ and a Practice Exam for the Grade to wrap it up. Came closer to that ever-elusive perfect exam score here with 74/75… Forgot to flatten the 3rd when constructing a Gm chord. So simple it hurts!
Compound Time Signatures (6/8, 9/8 and 12/8) are added to the simple times examined earlier (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 2/2, 3/2, 4/2 and 3/8) and we learn to group notes and rests in these new signatures. Notes on 3 ledger lines and transposition of notes by an octave are practiced.
Two new Major keys, E and Ab are added to C, G, D, A, F, Bb and Eb previously learned and after a brief introduction to the melodic minor scale (where in book 2 we’d only discussed the Harmonic minor scale) we are exposed to a bunch of new minor keys (Fm, Cm, Gm, Bm, F#m and C#m) to add to Dm, Am and Em, already studied. All of these are relatives to the Majors mentioned above.
Intervals become slightly more difficult as, previously, we’d only had to number them but in book 3 we are also required to determine their quality, that is whether they are perfect, major or minor intervals. I thought I was pretty much all over this as it was covered in some video lessons I had done for the Grade 2 AMEB exam which I completed just prior to starting this book but I made a few errors, got frustrated and decided to sleep on it before coming back and having it click… Again. Even still, I think my method of working them out (that is by always referring to a note’s major scale to see if it contains a given note) isn’t particularly efficient and I would presume that the most desirable scenario is having all scales memorised to the point of instant recall and not just arduous mental deductions.
The fact that the answer book (sold separately) doesn’t include solutions to ‘Challenge’ questions still grinds my gears. I still give them a crack but it’s somewhat pointless as I’d never know if I was answering them incorrectly unless I was in some sort of classroom setting or had a tutor that could mark my work. Another issue with the Answer book (I should probably review that separately) is that some questions only require you to place a tick or a cross in a box beneath a staff to express whether a given note or rest is correct and the answer book only shows the tick or cross without also noting what the correct/note or rest would be. I would’ve thought, after making an error, it’d be beneficial to know what the correct answer is and not just that you were wrong. Although, thinking about it just now, the moments you have to force yourself to work out where you went wrong and why are usually the ones that most effectively reinforces key points so… I don’t know, I’m on the fence with that.
One last little side note for comparative purposes. I noticed that if you question Google on how closely correlated ABRSM and AMEB theory grades are, it suggests that AMEB grades are roughly 2 grades ahead of the equivalent ABRSM grade. I have not found this to be true at this stage, although they could still become further separated in later entries. I did note that identifying interval qualities rather than just numbering them was addressed in Grade 2 AMEB and only just now, in book 3 of ABRSM and I’m sure there were other subjects too but, on the other hand, ABRSM covered, at the very least, more time signatures and major keys in Grade 2 than AMEB so I’d say they advance at roughly the same pace but with a slightly different arrangement of topics.
As you’d hope, the series is becoming increasingly challenging but at a very manageable pace. This was a rewarding entry that forced me to consolidate some weaknesses that I wasn’t previously aware of. Looking forward to tackling Book 4 and taking a swing at the Grade 3 AMEB exam!
This is the 3rd of 5 Workbooks which accompany ABRSM’s ‘The AB Guide to Music Theory – Part 1’ (The pink book).
Chapter focus hasn’t changed: Rhythm, Pitch, Keys and Scales, Intervals, Tonic Triads, Terms and Signs, ‘Music in Context’ and a Practice Exam for the Grade to wrap it up. Came closer to that ever-elusive perfect exam score here with 74/75… Forgot to flatten the 3rd when constructing a Gm chord. So simple it hurts!
Compound Time Signatures (6/8, 9/8 and 12/8) are added to the simple times examined earlier (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 2/2, 3/2, 4/2 and 3/8) and we learn to group notes and rests in these new signatures. Notes on 3 ledger lines and transposition of notes by an octave are practiced.
Two new Major keys, E and Ab are added to C, G, D, A, F, Bb and Eb previously learned and after a brief introduction to the melodic minor scale (where in book 2 we’d only discussed the Harmonic minor scale) we are exposed to a bunch of new minor keys (Fm, Cm, Gm, Bm, F#m and C#m) to add to Dm, Am and Em, already studied. All of these are relatives to the Majors mentioned above.
Intervals become slightly more difficult as, previously, we’d only had to number them but in book 3 we are also required to determine their quality, that is whether they are perfect, major or minor intervals. I thought I was pretty much all over this as it was covered in some video lessons I had done for the Grade 2 AMEB exam which I completed just prior to starting this book but I made a few errors, got frustrated and decided to sleep on it before coming back and having it click… Again. Even still, I think my method of working them out (that is by always referring to a note’s major scale to see if it contains a given note) isn’t particularly efficient and I would presume that the most desirable scenario is having all scales memorised to the point of instant recall and not just arduous mental deductions.
The fact that the answer book (sold separately) doesn’t include solutions to ‘Challenge’ questions still grinds my gears. I still give them a crack but it’s somewhat pointless as I’d never know if I was answering them incorrectly unless I was in some sort of classroom setting or had a tutor that could mark my work. Another issue with the Answer book (I should probably review that separately) is that some questions only require you to place a tick or a cross in a box beneath a staff to express whether a given note or rest is correct and the answer book only shows the tick or cross without also noting what the correct/note or rest would be. I would’ve thought, after making an error, it’d be beneficial to know what the correct answer is and not just that you were wrong. Although, thinking about it just now, the moments you have to force yourself to work out where you went wrong and why are usually the ones that most effectively reinforces key points so… I don’t know, I’m on the fence with that.
One last little side note for comparative purposes. I noticed that if you question Google on how closely correlated ABRSM and AMEB theory grades are, it suggests that AMEB grades are roughly 2 grades ahead of the equivalent ABRSM grade. I have not found this to be true at this stage, although they could still become further separated in later entries. I did note that identifying interval qualities rather than just numbering them was addressed in Grade 2 AMEB and only just now, in book 3 of ABRSM and I’m sure there were other subjects too but, on the other hand, ABRSM covered, at the very least, more time signatures and major keys in Grade 2 than AMEB so I’d say they advance at roughly the same pace but with a slightly different arrangement of topics.
As you’d hope, the series is becoming increasingly challenging but at a very manageable pace. This was a rewarding entry that forced me to consolidate some weaknesses that I wasn’t previously aware of. Looking forward to tackling Book 4 and taking a swing at the Grade 3 AMEB exam!
November 19, 2022
Another cracking instalment in this gripping series. I found the new characters of major and minor 6ths and 7ths a bit troublesome, so I'll probably re-read it a few times before going onto book four in the series.
November 23, 2025
waste of my time
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews