AMEB, ABRSM, Trinity, ANZCA, Rockschool and six more, side by side. How to pick the right piano exam for each student, and a free tool that does the comparing for you.
There are more piano exam boards to choose from than ever.
This article is part of our complete guide to how to teach piano.
For a long time, most Australian teachers used AMEB without thinking twice. Now you can choose from AMEB, ABRSM, Trinity, ANZCA, Rockschool, St. Cecilia, AGMS, MTB, UME, LCME and Con Brio – and that’s just the ones teachers ask me about most. Some are classical, some are pop and rock, some let students play anything they like, and some you sit by sending in a video from your own studio.
That choice is a great thing. Not all students should sit the same kind of exam. A student with a packed week of sport and school, who loves pop music and wants to improvise, needs a very different exam from the student who’s heading for a diploma.
But comparing syllabuses is hard work. They’re long, they all use different names for the same things and they change every few years. This guide will help you work out which board suits which student, and show you a free tool that does the comparing for you.
We built the Exam Selection Wizard because no blog post can keep up with eleven exam boards.
Pick your student’s level, tick the syllabuses you’re curious about and you get a side-by-side table for that grade:
We check it against each board’s current syllabus, so it stays up to date long after this post would have dated. It’s free and there’s nothing to sign up for.
Before you open a syllabus, think about the student in front of you. These six questions will narrow it down quickly, and each one matches a row in the wizard:
Years ago I wrote that the most important thing for me was that students could choose pieces they enjoy playing. I still feel that way! Repertoire choice is what keeps students practising, and it varies more between boards than almost anything else.
Here’s what makes each board different. Use the wizard for the exact requirements at your student’s grade.
Still the best known in Australia, with an office in every state. The Piano syllabus is classical, with the widest choice of set pieces of any board, extra list pieces from Grade 2, and solid technical work, sight reading, aural and general knowledge. From Grade 6 a theory pass is needed too. New grade books come out every few years and older series stay valid.
Piano for Leisure is the lighter option: three pieces, one of which can be the student’s own choice or composition, backing tracks allowed, and a choice between aural and sight reading. Just don’t expect the pieces to be technically easier! There are fewer of them, but they’re every bit as demanding.
I should own up here – I created the Piano for Leisure Series 4 collection for AMEB, so I have a real soft spot for this syllabus. I wanted it to be full of music students actually want to play, from the classics to jazz, film and pop. If you’d like to see how a collection like that comes together, here’s how I put Series 4 together.
Pop, rock, blues, funk, film and jazz, delivered through AMEB in Australia. Students play with backing tracks, up to two pieces can be free choice, and they can choose between sight reading and improvising over an unseen chord chart. The Performance Certificates are five pieces and nothing else – great for students who just want to play.
Strongest in New Zealand, with reps around Australia. Modern Pianoforte covers pop, rock, blues, jazz and boogie, and from Grade 3 students must embellish at least one piece with something of their own, like an introduction or coda. Classical Pianoforte has a free choice piece in every grade. From Grade 2 students choose sight reading or improvisation. If you want your students to become better modern pianists – playing from lead sheets, embellishing and making up their own accompaniments – ANZCA is well worth a look.
Big in the UK and New Zealand, smaller in Australia. Three pieces from one list that covers a wide mix of styles, and one can be the student’s own composition. Up to Grade 5, students choose two of sight reading, aural, improvisation and musical knowledge, which is a great way to play to a student’s strengths. You can sit it in person or by video.
Still the standard in the UK, and used around the world. Three pieces from three lists running from Baroque to film and pop arrangements, plus sight reading and aural. There’s no general knowledge, but from Grade 6 students need to have passed Grade 5 Theory, Practical Musicianship or a Grade 5 jazz exam first. New lists come out every two years. The Performance Grades (four pieces, one own choice, no scales or tests) are a good option for students who freeze in the aural.
Australian, and known for its gentle start for young students, with three levels below Grade 1. Classical Pianoforte has four pieces from different periods from Grade 1. Contemporary Piano lets students choose most of their pieces themselves, with backing tracks. From Grade 1 there’s no sight reading or aural in either – instead students talk about their pieces in the Program Notes section.
Contemporary and Light Classical Piano syllabuses, built on the Piano Odyssey albums with plenty of Australian composers. One piece is always own choice (more in the higher grades), backing tracks are allowed and students choose sight reading or ear tests. Exams can be in person, by video or online.
Recorded exams only, which is why teachers all over the world use it. All three pieces can be free choice at the standard of the grade, and there’s no sight reading or general knowledge. The aural tests are prepared in advance, or students can play a duet instead. Great for nervous students and for families who can’t get to an exam centre.
Another recorded-only board, and every exam is repertoire only: three pieces, with no scales or tests at any grade. Students choose from a database of over 30,000 pieces, from classical to film and chart music, and you can enter any time of year. A lovely option for students who simply want to perform.
A newer Australian board, run by a teacher, going up to Grade 6. The set pieces are free downloads, students can bring free choice pieces from any method or publisher, and from Grade 5 there are no set pieces at all. Instead of sight reading and aural, students choose one “Essential Skill”: a quick study, improvisation, transposition or composition.
Classical lists with a Popular Piano list students can swap pieces in from. Students choose between sight reading and a keyboard harmony test, where they make up an accompaniment to a melody the examiner plays. Strong in England, parts of Asia and New Zealand, but there’s no Australian rep.
If you teach in Canada or the US, the RCM Certificate Program is the one most of your families will know. It runs from Preparatory to Level 10, with études at every level, a Teacher’s Choice and a Popular Selection List option, and marks for memory. Listen to my chat with Elaine Rusk about RCM exams or see the RCM website for the current syllabus.
The wizard stops at Grade 8. If a student is heading for a diploma like the AMusA, start with these:
Teaching students at this level can feel daunting, even for experienced teachers. That’s exactly why we made the Advancing Pianists Course with Janna Williamson.
Over 20 lessons, Janna shows you how to teach the big early-advanced pieces – a Bach Prelude and Fugue, sonatas by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and a Chopin Nocturne – along with advanced technique, practice tips and what makes an expressive 19th and 20th century performance. The skills transfer to any piece in a similar style, and you’ll probably polish your own playing along the way too!
Find out more about the Advancing Pianists Course
Most of these boards examine voice, strings, woodwind, brass, guitar and drums too. The thinking in this post works for any instrument, but you’ll need to check each board’s own syllabus for the requirements.
Before you choose a board, it’s worth asking whether this student should be sitting an exam right now.
Exams can be a fantastic goal for the right student. But entering students for exams should be an active choice for each one, not the default after a year or two of lessons. Students who spend the whole year on three exam pieces miss out on the improvising, chords, composing and popular music that keep them playing.
Once you know which board you’re using, the Tech Work Finder shows every scale, chord, arpeggio and exercise for your student’s grade, straight from the board’s syllabus, with a spinner to practise them. It covers nine boards so far, and it’s free too.
If you’re a TopMusicPro member, the Student Tracker gives you a sheet for each student from eight exam boards. Tick off every scale, hand and speed as you teach it, and spin only what they haven’t played yet. See what’s included in TopMusicPro.
I’ve interviewed many of the people behind these exams on the podcast:
Which exam board do you use most in your studio, and have you ever switched a student to a different one? Tell me how it went in the comments – I’d love to hear what’s working for you.
Omri Shimron says:
HI —
What a wonderful and timely article! Thank you. One of my parents was wondering why I prefer RCM vs. ABRSM and this article could come in handy. I was however, looking for the summary spreadsheet and couldn’t find it. Could you advise?
Many thanks,
Omri
(Oakland, California)
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Dorothy Scott says:
I do not find the AGM (Australian Guild of Music ) syllabus confusing, but I have worked with it for over 30 years. We often use a Kerin Bailey or Supersonic piece etc. as own choice. I have worked with Yamaha, Trinity, AMEB & AGM. In a country town it is limited as not all exams can be held without travelling. My studio is an AGM Centre.
I like the step exams. Introducing exams early before nerves set in can be very positive motivation for 6/7 year olds.
Their philosophy is self esteem of the individual.
There is a price advantage. Teachers pay an annual membership but this is more than recovered in lower exam prices.
Correspondence courses. Teacher assistance is always available.
Variety of Syllabii. I like the three exam piece requirement. We also do carols, hobby, Supersonics, duets etc.
Exam entry dates are closer to exam dates.
There are theory pre-requisites, but I like this as the students with an understanding is easier to teach. Helps convince parents that theory is necessary.
More relaxed examination day. Where there is pressing need times may be ‘shuffled”.
Typed exam reports with marks and detailed comments.
Examiners are always friendly.
Australian.
I do not believe there is a difference in the standards of the various systems. I have had students achieve in HSC and go on the music at university after the AGM system.
Dorothy Scott