Piano · Organ · Harpsichord | The Music Lover’s Creativity Grades — Piano & Organ Improvisation Exams
What is The Maestro Online Grade 2 Improvisation Exam?
Qualification: TLM Level 1 Award in Musical Performance — Grade 2 (603/4576/7)
RQF level: RQF Level 1 (equivalent: GCSE D–G)
UCAS points: None
Pieces required: 3 pieces: 1 Bass-Up (List A) + 1 Melody-Down (List B) + 1 EDI or Creative Freedom (List C or D)
Duration per piece: 1.5 – 3 minutes per piece
Total exam time: Up to 9 minutes total
Price: £45
Results turnaround: Results in 1–5 working days
Eligible instruments: Piano, organ (pipe or digital), harpsichord, electronic keyboard (full-size, touch-sensitive, sustain pedal, 5+ octaves)
What’s in the Grade 2 Improvisation Exam?
The TMO Piano & Organ Improvisation Grade 2 Exam introduces the Romanesca, Faux Bourdon (parallel first inversions), first inversions, and minor chords. The Bass-Up pathway now includes pieces in a minor key: the Organist route draws on Buxtehude and Pachelbel Toccata style; the Ground Bass route introduces the Passamezzo Antico; the Familiar route features a Telemann-inspired Gigue; and the Jazz-Gospel route explores verse-chorus structures with blues-inflected pentatonic patterns. Melody-Down repertoire expands to include Trumpet Tune by Jeremiah Clarke, Spring from The Four Seasons, Fur Elise, and pop songs from Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and Lewis Capaldi.
Grade 2 is the first grade where the syllabus explicitly requires an introduction, main section, and ending — the candidate is now structuring a complete miniature piece, not just elaborating a pattern. The Chopin route at this level produces an Expressive Piano Aria in a minor key, drawing on Emile Durand’s Traite d’Accompagnement. The EDI list introduces Florence Price (Ticklin’ Toes), Amy Beach, Cécile Chaminade, and pieces representing Ugandan, Chinese, and Indian musical traditions. The breadth of this single grade is extraordinary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is Faux Bourdon at Grade 2?
A: Faux Bourdon is a technique of parallel first inversions — a characteristic sound of Renaissance and early Baroque keyboard music. At Grade 2 it appears in the Handel, Mozart, and Organist routes as a specific texture to be mastered and incorporated into improvisation.
Q2: What is the Romanesca schema?
A: The Romanesca is a recurring bass pattern alternating root position and first inversion chords, widely used from the Renaissance through the Classical era. At Grade 2 it is introduced as part of the Mozart partimento pathway.
Q3: Which organist route pieces are available at Grade 2?
A: The Organist route at Grade 2 asks candidates to improvise a 16-bar Germanic Flamboyant Prelude in a minor key, inspired by Pachelbel Toccata in E minor and Buxtehude’s Praeludium in C.
What’s in our Piano, Organ & Harpischord Improvisation Syllabus Lists and What Learning Resources are there?
→ List B (Melody-Down) Overview
→ Previous grade: Grade 1
→ Next grade: Grade 3
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