Graded Music Exams: Instruments and Subjects, Grades 1–8
LCM's graded music exams run from Grade 1 to Grade 8 across piano, singing, guitar and ukulele, strings and harp, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard/organ/accordion, jazz, traditional music, musical theatre, drama, communication, ensemble, conducting, composition and thesis, music in worship, creative media, early learning and Stave House. The subject changes the repertoire list and the technical work; the architecture of the exam barely changes.
The shared component map
- Technical work: scales, arpeggios, broken chords and, at upper grades, dominant and diminished sevenths, played from memory to a marked minimum tempo.
- A study or etude, plus three pieces (some suites list two set pieces and one own-choice item).
- Sight reading - or sight singing, unprepared reading, or improvisation in the jazz and traditional suites.
- Aural tests: pulse, pitch, intervals, cadences, singing back.
- A viva voce discussion of the performed pieces: composer, period, form, and the candidate’s own interpretive decisions.
Marks are reported as a percentage; the published bands are Pass 65, Merit 75 and Distinction 85, so every component contributes to the final grade.
Worked example
A Grade 5 pianist plays three pieces cleanly but answers “I don’t know” to “what key does this end in, and how can you tell?”. The pieces cannot rescue the discussion, which is separately marked: the candidate should be able to name the key, the form (ternary, rondo, sonata), the period, and one deliberate choice - tempo, pedalling, dynamics - in each piece.
Traps
Treating technical work as a warm-up and playing below the marked tempo; choosing repertoire above the grade; ignoring ornaments, repeats and rests; leaving the viva unprepared. The viva is the cheapest source of marks in the exam and the most commonly neglected.