TCL Grade 3 Orchestral Percussion
General Info
Candidates taking a Orchestral Percussion exam are required to:
- play one piece for each of Snare Drum, Timpani and Tuned Percussion, must not include the study pieces
- play at least one accompanied piece
Snare Drum Song List
Timpani Song List
| Item | Works | Composer | Publication | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flight Past | Carol Barratt | Bravo! Percussion (Book 2) | Boosey & Hawkes |
| 2 | 6/8 Syncopate | Keith Bartlett | 50 Short Pieces for Timpani | United Music Publishing |
| 3 | Gimme Five! | Keith Bartlett | 50 Short Pieces for Timpani | United Music Publishing |
| 4 | Pocketful o' Paradiddles | Keith Bartlett | 50 Short Pieces for Timpani | United Music Publishing |
| 5 | Ronduet #2 | Gert Bomhof | Solo Pieces for Timpani | De Haske |
| 6 | Gopak | Jan Faulkner | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Timpani: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press |
| 7 | Hop-Scotch | Murray Houllif | Contest Solos for the Young Timpanist | Kendor Music |
| 8 | Nimble Stick | Jackie Kendle | Percussion World: Timpani | Trinity College London Press |
| 9 | Beat Four Hits the Floor | Brian Slawson | Dynamic Solos for Timpani | Alfred Music |
| 10 | Gut Buster | Brian Slawson | Dynamic Solos for Timpani | Alfred Music |
| 11 | Solo Study 1 | Garwood Whaley | Primary Handbook for Timpani | Meredith Music |
Tuned Percussion Song List
| Item | Works | Composer | Publications | Publisher | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newsflash | Mark Aldous | Tuned Percussion Solos | Mark Aldous | |
| 2 | Rosewood Tango | Carol Barratt | Bravo! Percussion (Book 2) | Boosey & Hawkes | |
| 3 | Flamenco | Jan Faulkner | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Tuned Percussion: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press | |
| 4 | On the Breeze | Jan Faulkner | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Tuned Percussion: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press | |
| 5 | Cleo | David Hext | Tuned In | Southern Music | |
| 6 | Freddy the Fish | David Hext | Tuned In | Southern Music | |
| 7 | The Old Clock | David Hext | Tuned In | Southern Music | |
| 8 | You've Got a Friend in Me | Randy Newman | Disney Solos for Mallet Percussion | Hal Leonard | |
| 9 | Etude #3 | Fons van Gorp | Big Swing Pop | De Haske | |
| 10 | Foxy... #3 & ...and Rocky #4 | Ivos Weijmans | Mallet Minded | De Haske |
Technical Works
One of the following options, chosen by the candidate
| Instrument | List | Publications | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snare Drum | Orchestral Figures Multiple Bounce Roll Study |
Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Snare Drum Book 1: Grades 1-5 | Nil |
| Timpani | Sticking Patterns Roll Development Dynamics |
Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Timpani: Grades 1-5 | Nil |
| Tuned Percussion | A / E♭ Major Scales and Arpeggios (One Octave) Chromatic Scale starting on A / E♭ F♮ / C Minor Scales and Arpeggios (One Octave) |
Tuned Percussion Scales & Arpeggios | All requirements should be played from memory. |
Study List
| Item | Works | Composer | Instrument | Publications | Publisher | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhythm & Roll | Lorne Pearcey | Snare Drum | Snare Drum Studies | Mark Aldous | |
| 2 | Grade 3 Rudimental Study | Michael Skinner | Snare Drum | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Snare Drum Book 1: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press | |
| 3 | Regal March | Lorne Pearcey | Timpani | Timpani Studies | Mark Aldous | |
| 4 | Grade 3 Study | Jan Faulkner & Jayne Obradovic | Timpani | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Timpani: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press | |
| 5 | Grade 3 Major Study | Jan Faulkner | Tuned Percussion | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Tuned Percussion: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press | |
| 6 | Grade 3 Minor Study | Jan Faulkner | Tuned Percussion | Percussion Exam Pieces & Studies Tuned Percussion: Grades 1-5 | Trinity College London Press |
Sight reading
This test assesses candidates’ ability to perform a previously unseen musical extract, at a level approximately two grades lower than the exam being taken.
About the Test
After 30 seconds’ preparation time, candidates perform a previously unseen musical extract at a level lower than the exam being taken. Candidates choose whether to perform the test on keyboard percussion, snare drum or timpani.
Supporting Publications
For practice purposes, sample Sight-reading tests are published by Trinity College London Press in Graded Percussion Sight-Reading, Grades 1-8. Purchasing the book is not a requirement.
Aural
This test supports the development of candidates’ abilities in musical perception and understanding by requiring them to recognize musical features by ear (for example meter and pulse, pitch, performance characteristics). All questions are based on a single musical example played at the piano by the examiner. Candidates are asked to describe various features of the music such as dynamics, articulation, texture and style. Candidates are not required to sing.
1. Listen to the melody twice times, clap the pulse on the second playing and stressing the strong beat
2. Listen to the melody once, identify the tonality as major or minor
3. Listen to the first two notes of the melody once and identify the interval by number only (2nd / 3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th)
4. Study a copy of the melody and listen to it once as written and once with a change of rhythm or pitch.
Improvisation
This test assesses candidates’ ability to improvise fluently, coherently and creatively in response to a musical stimulus. Candidates perform an improvisation based on a stimulus chosen from the following options:
- Stylistic, motivic or harmonic for tuned percussion
- Rhythmic for snare drum or timpani
Stylistic stimulus
This option requires candidates to improvise on their instrument over a notated accompaniment played by the examiner at the piano.
- Candidates are given a stimulus which includes the notated piano part and chord symbols. The stimulus begins with a two-bar introduction played by the examiner alone, followed by a further section over which candidates must improvise for a specified number of repeats.
- The examiner plays the stimulus twice for candidates’ reference, without repeats.
- Candidates are then given 30 seconds’ preparation time, during which they may prepare for their improvisation aloud.
- The test then follows. The examiner plays the stimulus again, and candidates join in after the introduction, improvising for the specified number of repeats. Candidates should aim to improvise in a way that complements the musical style of the stimulus.
Motivic stimulus
This option requires candidates to improvise solo in response to a short melodic fragment.
- Candidates are given a notated melodic fragment, which the examiner plays twice on the piano for candidates’ reference.
- Candidates are then given 30 seconds’ preparation time, during which they may prepare for their improvisation aloud.
- The test then follows. Candidates should aim to improvise within the specified duration range and may begin by quoting the stimulus directly, developing their improvisation from there. However, they are not required to quote the stimulus directly, and may instead develop their improvisation from ideas taken from the stimulus such as a small group of notes or an interval. Responses must use the given time signature.
Harmonic stimulus
This option requires candidates to improvise solo in response to a chord sequence.
- Candidates are given a notated chord sequence, including chord symbols, which the examiner plays twice on the piano for candidates’ reference.
- Candidates are then given 30 seconds’ preparation time, during which they may prepare for their improvisation aloud.
- The test then follows. Candidates should improvise for the specified number of repeats, following the chord sequence. Responses should contain melodic / rhythmic interest.
Musical Knowledge
This test encourages learners to understand the wider musical context of the pieces they play, as well as their knowledge of notation and their instrument. Examiners ask carefully graded questions based on candidates’ chosen pieces. Questions refer to the solo line only, and not the accompaniment. In the exam, candidates choose which piece they would like to be asked about first. Examiners then choose a second piece for the remaining questions. Candidates’ musical scores should be free of annotations which might aid their responses. Examiners usually point to the relevant part of the score when asking questions. Candidates can use American terms (eighth note, half note, etc) as an alternative to English terms (quaver, minim, etc).