Find an ABRSM Grade 5 Music tutor

For Grade 5 Piano under the 2025–2026 syllabus, the diminished seventh starting on B is played over two octaves, legato, hands separately and from memory. Legato means smoothly connected notes. This makes a useful example of how a lesson can move from knowing the notes to playing them reliably.

Illustrative practice task: start with B–D–F–A-flat–B. Each neighbouring pair is three semitones apart. If the learner plays A-natural, the last two gaps become too wide and then too narrow: F to A-natural is four semitones, and A-natural to B is two. Replacing A-natural with A-flat restores the equal spacing.

Name the correct notes first, then play slowly with each hand using consistent fingering. Repeat the pattern across the required two octaves and return, listening for a bump where the hand changes position. A useful improvement check is an accurate attempt from memory with connected notes and an even pulse through the octave join. Speed can follow once that remains secure.

Keep sight-reading and listening in the plan too. Grade 5 piano sight-reading can include simple syncopation, where emphasis falls away from the main beat, for example when a note starts between beats and is held across the next beat. Practise keeping the beat while clapping the written rhythm before adding pitches. In the exam, the candidate has 30 seconds to inspect and try the unseen test. Aural preparation also includes identifying musical style or period and singing six notes from a score.

A Performance Grade needs attention to the musical character of each piece and to the joins between them. Rehearsing isolated difficult bars is useful, but it does not show whether the learner can keep control through the whole programme.

Illustrative rehearsal: suppose an energetic piece is followed by a quieter, lyrical one. The learner finishes the first confidently but carries its fast pulse into the next opening. Practise just that join: finish the final phrase, allow its sound to settle, silently establish the next tempo and then begin the new phrase. Compare a recording with the intended tempo and character. The improvement is audible when the second piece has its own pace from the first bar, without an uncertain restart.

Then put the join back into a complete four-piece run-through. Listen for whether the final piece receives the same care over phrasing, balance and articulation as the opening one. If a slip prompts a restart, choose a later musical landmark and rehearse continuing towards it before reviewing the error afterwards. These are practice strategies for continuity, not a claim that mistakes do not affect assessment.

Agree the fourth piece with the tutor against ABRSM’s grade and programme requirements. Also plan a recording trial early enough to check the instrument, camera position and sound. For piano, a digital instrument must have suitable full-size, weighted, touch-sensitive keys and the pedals needed by the music.

Grade 5 Theory includes moving music to and from concert pitch for instruments in B-flat, A or F. Concert pitch means the pitch that is heard. ABRSM gives the required interval and direction; the task is to use that information accurately.

Illustrative example: a standard B-flat clarinet sounds a major second below the written note. A major second is a whole tone, or two semitones. What should the clarinettist read to sound concert C–D–E?

The written notes must be a whole tone higher, giving D–E–F-sharp. Moving the concert notes down again reverses the task. Writing F-natural is another possible mistake: E to F-natural is only a semitone, so the final note needs a sharp.

Check the result by going back to sound: written D sounds C, written E sounds D, and written F-sharp sounds E. If transposing a passage in concert C major, the written key is D major, with F-sharp and C-sharp in the key signature.

For a follow-up, find the written note needed for concert F. It is G: lowering written G by the clarinet’s whole tone gives F. Being able to explain that reverse check shows more understanding than remembering the first answer. Use the same approach with other syllabus tasks: identify the clef or key, show the reasoning, then check it on fresh material before moving to timed practice.

Each tutor sets an hourly rate, displayed on their profile, and Latimer uses pay-as-you-go lesson billing. Agree the length and frequency of lessons with the tutor so the cost matches the preparation you need. A learner correcting a specific theory gap may need a different pattern of support from someone preparing both pieces and Practical supporting tests.

Ask separately about exam entry, sheet music, accompaniment and any recording costs. Confirm who will make the booking, check the repertoire rules and organise an accompanist if one is needed. Put the responsibilities and any separate charges in writing before making an exam commitment.

Judge value by what the learner can do between lessons: a clearer explanation, a corrected technical habit or a more convincing complete performance. Use those observations when reviewing the plan.