Abrsm theory grade 6 or 8

Well done to your daughter, that sounds a great result for self-taught in a relatively short amount of time. If she is still enjoying it and wants to keep going I'd suggest she listens to a range of music with scores where she can - you tube and imslp could be useful for that - and keeps working on composition, and see where she gets to.

Surrey want Grade 5, somewhere else wants Grade 6, and yet another wants either Grade 7 distinction or Grade 8 merit!

My DS needed G8 for uni, as didn't have A level, just plodded through past papers and work books and if I recall, did 6,7,8 in consecutive terms, scraping through each one.

Ds wants to study music at university but because he will be doing a btec rather than A level some places require various theory grades. Our plan is for him to take Grade 5 in the autumn then he will have three years to get to whichever grade he can manage.

He won't take all the exams (they are expensive) , but will work through the stuff. He does a lot of composing and loves finding out about modes and harmoninsing but for hinm the formal grades are a piece of paper he will need.

Greenleave Many congratulations! In DS's JD, there is musicianship class, one hour each week, mainly teaches music of the different periods, different regions etc. Not only the theory, but music played and explained by experts. Unless a very exam obsessed student, all are suggested to take two years to take G6 after G5. G8 might be another three or more years. As a non-musical parent, no valuable suggestion I can make. I just feel that there is no need to pursue the high grade, especially theory one.

As people have alluded to above, grade 6 is a big jump up from grade 5 - really, the way the ABRSM grades are structured, (especially with recent changes), grades 1-5 are one subject, and grade 6-8 quite different.

My youngest is one of the boys Taggie alludes to above. They had an enthusiastic teacher when they were in year 6, who put a group of year 6-8s through grade 6 theory. The youngest ones had two lessons a week for a whole school year to do it. The two who then did grade 8 last summer (age 12) mostly prepared over about a term. But all the other music they'd done informed their "inner ear" and the styles of writing required for grade 8 came fairly naturally to them.

So far as workbooks are concerned, the ABRSM ones aren't the most useful at these grades, see what else you can find. She will need to work through structured harmony exercises and ideally play what she writes back on piano to help work out what works and what doesn't.

If you find she needs more teaching material than is in the suggestions people have given above, consider looking at workbooks from the Australian (AMEB) board. Unless it has changed, they structured theory rather differently and when I was young we used an excellent series of workbooks that stepped us through learning the principles of 4 part harmony writing. You'd need to start from about grade 3 in terms of where it diverges from ABRSM material I think.

Hope she has fun!

Some of the boys at DS2’s school did grade 8 theory in year 8. They had done grade 5 in year 4 and grade 6 a year or two after. All of them were seriously gifted both musically and academically, but it shows it can be done [very much doubt DS2 will follow that route though!]

Good luck to your DD! Sounds like she is doing so well

There is not a right way of enjoying music. Everybody is different. Your dd is doing fine. Let her study for the theory exams if she finds it interesting. I reckon you are getting those theory materials suggested here, so hopefully they'll get her out of boredom and she enjoys going through those books.

Ah, I see. Does she play for fun in any groups? My local music hub runs fun days for string players exploring pop and rock repertoire. Maybe there's something similar near you?

@Greenleave Does your DD's teacher encourage "playing for fun"? Exploring a wide range of different genres has been great for my DS and has encouraged him to "noodle" a lot more on his instruments. I think sometimes kids need permission to go off piste and realise that it is good for their overall musicality.
You could certainly investigate composition classes for her, maybe find a tutor who would combine composition with theory classes?

Greenleave, it sounds like you have someone who really enjoys systematic approach of learning, like some DCs I know. They all seem to have enjoyed learning grade 8 theory. Bet yours will have fun too.

For those who enjoy less rigid and more creative methods, there are plenty ways of learning theory. DS does lots of theory through composition and analysis (and of course together with practice study). It doesn't go with ABRSM exams so you don't feel like ticking a box diligently, but still learning enormously. Theory can be fun.

Phew!

When I said ds was going to skip to grade 8 I meant not do the grade 6 and 7 exams - but you still need to know and understand what goes before
Yup, mine is doing exactly the same. The cost of these flippin' Grade exams is eye watering never mind organising the logistics of time off school etc. So, yes, anything to minimise the number of exams taken!

No i think you’re right boyskeepswinging.
And I didn’t think it was a stealth boast - ds did well ( though not THAT well !) but I still don’t think he’ll find it easy
When I said ds was going to skip to grade 8 I meant not do the grade 6 and 7 exams - but you still need to know and understand what goes before .

Sorry, I didn't put the 99% thing in as a stealth boast, rather to emphasise that someone who found G5 straightforward is finding G6 a huge jump up and challenging

My DS got 99% in his G5 theory aged 13 so he is no slouch but he is finding G6 a huge jump up. It's in no way comparable to the difference between G4 and G5. He is going to work through all the books then take the G8 exam. He is finding it really interesting (which is why he wants to do it) but it is definitely challenging. Given this, I don't see how you could skip the G6 and 7 books and just take the G8 exam "cold". As Moomin says, theory post G5 is a completely different beast ... He is working through the G6 book quite happily on his own, though, using the AB Guide as mentioned above.

Yes I think I’ll definitely get ds to at least look through and do some examples from the earlier workbooks .

I wouldn't skip them ... a lot of what it done in G8 needs understanding of 6 and 7 so at least do the workbooks if not the exams. I have a PhD in music and I still think G8 theory is hard. It seems to appeal to the more mathematical/logical sort of musicians in my experience ...

There's no reason why she can't go straight for the Grade 8 exam, as there is no requirement to sit 6 and 7, but she will need to cover the work for the other grades in order to tackle Grade 8. It is possible to get 'model answers' to past papers, so she might find those helpful. Suggest:
The AB Guide to Music Theory - Books 1 and 2 (Eric Taylor) - broadly speaking, Book 1 covers Grades 1-5 and Book 2 Grades 6-8
and
Harmony in Practice (Butterworth) - answer book is also available for this one