Written & Online exams

AMEB offers graded written examinations in three subject areas: Theory of Music, Music Craft and Musicianship. These subjects cover the theoretical aspects of music, complementing and enriching students' practical studies. 

What's the difference?

Candidates can select from three syllabuses: Theory of Music, Music Craft and Musicianship. Music Craft includes an aural component throughout the syllabus while Musicianship includes an aural component from Fourth Grade onwards. Theory of Music does not include an aural component. For exam preparation, student workbooks are available for Music Craft here and the related teacher guides are avaialable for Music Craft here. Online courses are available for Theory of Music here. For more information, see the relevant syllabus in the Manual of Syllabuses.

Changes to Set Works in 2020

To find out about the changes to Set Works assigned for Grades 5 and Grade 6 Theory & Musicianship exams, please follow head to our Set Works page.

Online Exams

Candidates can now complete exams in Theory of Music, Musicianship and Music Craft online. Students can do a written exam at any time or place where there is a computer, an internet connection and appropriate supervision.

Exams available online:

* manually marked exams

More written exams will become available online over time.

Flexible and convenient

Private teachers can have students complete the exam at home or in the music studio. Students studying in a class can complete the exam individually in their own time or at the same time as the rest of the class.

Practice exams

Each exam comes with a practice exam for the student to complete at any time, as many times as they would like, up to a year after the exam is purchased. Candidates can use the practice exam to learn how to use the exam software before sitting the official exam online.

Immediate results

Results for Theory of Music Grade 1 and 2, Musicianship Grade 1 and 2 & Music Craft Preliminary Grade and Grade 1 online exams are available immediately. Higher-level exams are manually marked by an examiner with results available within 3-5 business days.

Online tutorials & support

The AMEB ONLINE has information and FAQs for students, teachers and parents to become more familiar with the online exam system. In addition, technical support is available to all users.

Certificates

As with all other AMEB exams, certificates are mailed out soon after the completion of the exams. Certificates for online exams are identical to those for exams completed on paper. In order to maintain the integrity of AMEB written exams all candidates under 18 must nominate an adult to supervise their written exam.

How to get started

1. Go to AMEB ONLINE Learning & Exams.

2. Click the blue button in the centre of the homepage that says 'Register & Buy Exams or Courses'.

3. Choose to buy Online Exams or Online Courses then choose your State or Territory.

4. NSW, ACT and VIC parents, teachers and adult learners will now be directed to AMEB Connect NSW or AMEB Connect VIC to login (if you already have an account) or register (if you don't have an account). Once you have an account, login to purchase your Online Exam. For Customer Support in making this purchase, you will contact your AMEB State Office in NSW or VIC. 

5. QLD, WA, SA, NT and TAS parents, teachers and adult learners will now register on this AMEB ONLINE site to create a new Account Holder account. Once you have registered, please visit the Login page, make sure you choose 'Account Holder' as your Account type, then enter your registered email address and new password for this site to login. Once you are in your account, click 'Buy exams or Courses' from the left-hand menu to make purchases. 

6. After purchase, you will be emailed an Exam Key and Exam PIN for the student to use to login.

7. Students will go to AMEB ONLINE Learning & Exams and login by clicking the 'Login' button in the top right-hand corner of the homepage (this is next to the three parallel lines). They then need to choose their Account Type as 'Exam Candidate,

and login with their Exam Key and Exam PIN.

Please note: Your login details for the Online Exam Centre will only work at http://exams.ameb.edu.au/

Traditional Written Exams

Candidates may complete written exams in the traditional format. These examinations are held throughout the year in many locations across Australia. Successful candidates will receive an official certificate recognising their achievement via mail. For more information on enrolment, exam dates and locations, contact your local AMEB State Office.

Online Courses

Candidates can now prepare for AMEB Theory of Music exams with AMEB interactive online courses. Students complete lessons and tests on a computer at their own pace and there are optional tools for teachers to support and manage their students' learning. At the end of a course students will have covered all the relevant material and be prepared to sit an AMEB Theory of Music exam. Online Courses for Theory of Music can now be purchased from AMEB ONLINE.

Past Exam papers

You can purchase past Theory of Music and Musicianship papers (traditional format) from our Online Music Shop. These are digital downloads and can be accessed immediately after purchase. The aural recordings that accompany Musicianship and Music Craft aural exams are available from digital music outlets such as iTunes, Amazon.

Examiners

Examinations conducted by highly trained examiners who are specialists in their field. Each candidate who completes a manually marked AMEB music theory exam receives a feedback report with comments from their examiner.

Additional Requirements

For practical examinations from Grade 6 upwards, an additional written examination is required to gain your certificate. For diploma level written exams, an additional practical examination is required. In the case of these examinations, the additional requirement need not be completed before the principal examination, but until both the principal examination and the additional requirement are passed, the examination is incomplete, and no certificate will be awarded. It is the responsibility of the candidate to give notification as to the date of passing this additional requirement, and the centre at which such examination was held. Learn more