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Grade 6 Music Theory

Harmony: chords, figured bass and four-part writing.

First lesson free, then Brainlag Music

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17 units, 65 lessons

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Practise

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    Flashcards

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    Mixed practice

    10 questions across the course.

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    What you’ll be able to do

    • Say which voice sings each note of a four-part chord
    • Read and write accidentals in the figures
    • Realise a short figured bass for four voices
    • Tell cadential, passing and auxiliary six-fours apart
    • Say how the 7th and the leading note resolve
    • Find the chords that contain each melody note

    Units and lessons

    17 units, 65 lessons

    A look inside

    From Grade 5 to Grade 6: every degree

    You already know this from Grade 5

    A quick recap, so you can check nothing is rusty. At Grade 5 you learned:

    • Triads and their qualities: major, minor, diminished and augmented, measured by the 3rd and 5th above the root.
    • Chords I, II, IV and V in any key up to six sharps or flats, in root position and first and second inversion (b and c), with the figures 5 over 3, 6 over 3 and 6 over 4.
    • Perfect, plagal and imperfect cadences.
    • Every interval, including augmented and diminished ones.
    Grade 5: chords I, II, IV and V (here in G major)

    Grade 6 adds the other three degrees (III, VI and VII), the minor key in full, figures with accidentals, four-part writing and seventh chords. The first practice questions check the Grade 5 part.

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    About this grade

    Harmony from the ground up: chords on every degree, figured bass, four-part writing and moving between chords.

    Questions

    Which syllabus does it follow?

    It follows the ABRSM Music Theory syllabus for Grade 6 (the syllabus from 2020, checked against ABRSM on 8 October 2026). Brainlag is independent and not affiliated with ABRSM.

    What is free?

    1 of the 65 lessons is free, and the first screen of every other lesson. Brainlag Music (£14.99 a month) opens the rest and the topic tests.

    Do I need an account?

    Not for the free lesson. Brainlag Music needs one: sign in to open it, and your progress stays with your account on every device.

    How long does it take?

    About 14 hr 50 min of lessons in 17 units. Lessons take 10 to 25 minutes each.

    Brainlag Music opens every lesson and topic test in this grade: £14.99 a month or £149 a year. See plans