Grade 4 piano scales question

[roisin]

In the syllabus it states D flat major, C# minor and G# minor - scales and arps.

But in the book it has
D flat major = enharmonic C#
C# minor = enharmonic D flat
G# minor = enharmonic A flat

In the actual exam, is there any likelihood that the examiner will request the scales using these enharmonic names, or not?

Just wanting to prepare him for any eventualities.

I think this is unlikely, because in Grade 4 they are asking for scales up to five sharps and flats. Although the scales you listed are enharmonic, Db major has five flats, whereas C# major has 7 sharps, the next pair has 4#s and 8bs (because of the double flats that would be involved) and your last pair is 5#s/ 7bs. They should not be asking for 7 or 8 #s/bs at Grade 4. However, by Grade 4 it should be obvious to the candidate that Db=C# and so on, so it should be easy to adjust if an error WERE to be made on the part of the examiner. I have taken 30 exams myself and have never been asked for the enharmonic equivalent which wasn't listed in the syllabus. HTH.

Thank you, that's very helpful.