The Music Aptitude Test is used by high performing state secondary schools in the UK to select a percentage of their intake on a music scholarship programme. The benefit of the test is that you do not have to live within the catchment area of your chosen school(s) thus opening up more opportunities for your child to attend a school with excellent results.
A Music Aptitude Test or specialist music entrance scholarship exam is designed to look for innate musicality in a student. This means measuring their aural awareness and ability to discern detail in pitch, rhythm and texture. To pass a Music Aptitude Test, you don’t actually need to play an instrument. However, to pass Round Two, you will need to have prepared a musical performance, whether it’s a short piece on an instrument or something that you will sing.
The standard test covers Pitch, Texture, Rhythm and Melody and is designed to test a candidate’s natural music aptitude. The MAT is used in the first round of assessment for entry. Our preparation also includes supplementary questions and graphic scores to cover the 7-section Music Aptitude Test in the style of the test used for certain London and Essex schools.
The test is in two parts for most schools. You have to pass the listening test that is known as a Music Aptitude Test. If you achieve a certain score, you will be invited back to audition. As a rule of thumb, we aim for a mark of 46 or above out of 60 in our practice sessions.