Based on my own students' work and practice tests, there are a bunch of mistakes that students make time and time again. Try these questions and see whether you fall into these common traps!
1. What is the letter name of the note in the box?
Common Mistake: Forgetting to look at the clef.
This note is G. Don't fall into the trap of thinking everything is in treble clef. For grade 1 you need to be able to read treble and bass clefs, so it's sensible to expect there will be roughly the same number of questions in each clef on the paper. Train yourself to look at the clef first, so that you start off on the right foot! It's tempting to look straight at the note and say E, without noticing the bass clef at the beginning of the stave, which makes this note G!
2. What is the letter name of this note?
Common Mistake: Forgetting to look at the key signature.
This note is F sharp. A key signature at the beginning of the stave tells you to flatten/sharpen certain notes all the time. This means it's really important to check the key signature before you attempt to answer any question, especially if you have to name or write a specific note! The key signature here is a sharp written on the line for F, so all the F's must be F#.
3. What's wrong with this scale? Q.Write one octave of the scale of F major descending, using a key signature, and writing in semibreves (whole notes).
Common Mistake: Writing scales in the wrong direction.
This scale is ascending, or going upwards, but the question asks for a scale which is descending, or doing downwards. You won't get zero points for an answer like this, but you won't be able to score full marks for it.
4. Have a go at answering this yourself. Q. Beam the notes together correctly in this melody.
Common Mistakes: Using wrong stem direction, beaming across the bar, or changing note values.
Here is the correct answer:
And here are some common mistakes!
a) Wrong stem direction (B and A, bar 2). When notes are joined with a beam, use the stem direction that fits the note furthest from the middle line. Notes below the middle line should have their stems pointing up, and notes above the middle line have their stems pointing down. With B and A, the note furthest from the middle line is A, so the stems need to point upwards.
b) Beaming across the bar (bars 1-2). Beams should never cross bar lines.
c) Changing the note values. In this answer, the dotted quaver (8th note) B in bar 2 has been given two beams when it joins to the semiquaver (16th note).
And in this answer, the student has attempted to beam the crotchets (quarter notes) together - the only notes which can be beamed are those that have "flags" on their stems: quavers (8th notes) or faster notes.
5. Can you name the two curved lines marked a and b?
Common Mistake: Mixing up ties and slurs.
(a) is a tie, and (b) is a slur. Although they look pretty much the same, ties and slurs are different things.
A tie joins together two identical notes, to make one, single, longer note. The tie in (a) makes a B which lasts for 2 beats.
A slur is an instruction to play the notes smoothly, or "legato" - with no gap between them. Slurs are never written over identical notes - they join together notes of different pitches. On a wind instrument this means playing the notes with the same stream of breath, and on a string instrument it means without changing the direction (up or down) of the bow. On a piano, the notes need to be played very smoothly with no gaps. The notes from E to A in (b) are slurred.
