Piano · Organ · Harpsichord | The Music Lover’s Creativity Grades — Piano & Organ Improvisation Exams
What is The Maestro Online Grade 3 Improvisation Exam?
Qualification: TLM Level 1 Award in Musical Performance — Grade 3 (603/4577/9)
RQF level: RQF Level 1
UCAS points: None
Pieces required: 4 pieces: 1 Bass-Up (List A) + 1 Melody-Down (List B) + 1 EDI (List C) + 1 Creative Freedom (List D)
Duration per piece: 1.5 – 3.5 minutes per piece
Total exam time: Up to 14 minutes total
Price: £29
Results turnaround: Results in 1–5 working days (often 24 hours)
Eligible instruments: Piano, organ (pipe or digital), harpsichord, electronic keyboard (full-size, touch-sensitive, sustain pedal, 5+ octaves)
What’s in the Grade 3 Improvisation Exam?
The TMO Piano & Organ Improvisation Grade 3 Exam is the first grade to require four pieces and the first to separate the EDI (List C) and Creative Freedom (List D) into distinct requirements. Suspensions — 7-6, 4-3, and 3-2-3 — are the new technical focus across all routes. The Organist route produces a lively Bach 2-part or an English Voluntary inspired by Maurice Green. The Ground Bass route tackles the Folia — one of the great recurring bass patterns of Western music history — with Corelli’s Violin Sonata as the key reference. The Popular and Jazz-Gospel routes add Sus4 chords and require an established melody with a significant sense of coherence.
Grade 3 is also the point where Binary Form enters the picture as a structural expectation. The Mozart route now produces a 32-bar Binary Form piece incorporating the Do-Re-Mi, Meyer, and Compound Cadence schemas. The Chopin route produces a Consolation in a major key — Liszt’s Consolations are the inspiration. The EDI list at Grade 3 includes Amy Beach, Mel Bonis, Harpsichord Sonata in C by Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-George), Indian Ragas Latangi and Madhuvanti, and Autumn Mists by Dr Susannah Self.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is Creative Freedom (List D) at Grade 3?
A: List D gives candidates complete creative autonomy. Options include free improvisation, programmatic improvisation inspired by poetry or visual art, silent film accompaniment, and multimedia performance. A 30-60 second spoken introduction explaining the creative concept is required.
Q2: What is the Folia at Grade 3?
A: La Folia is one of the oldest and most widely used harmonic ground basses in Western music history, appearing from the 16th century through to Rachmaninoff. At Grade 3 it is performed in a minor 3/4 setting with elaborations inspired by Corelli’s Violin Sonata in D minor Op. 5 No. 12.
Q3: What does the Organist route involve at Grade 3?
A: The Organist route at Grade 3 asks candidates to improvise a lively Bach 2-part or English Voluntary, working with suspensions and establishing a bass against which dissonances are prepared, sustained, and resolved.
What’s in our Piano, Organ & Harpischord Improvisation Syllabus Lists and What Learning Resources are there?
→ List B (Melody-Down) Overview
→ Previous grade: Grade 2
→ Next grade: Grade 4
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