Your guide to ABRSM exams

ABRSM exams motivate achievement and support progression. They lay good foundations for music making while encouraging students to reach their full potential.

We have designed our graded music exams to motivate instrumental and singing students of all ages and a wide range of abilities.

Most of our graded music exams assess pieces, scales & arpeggios, sight-reading and aural tests.

Our marking criteria show what we expect for the three levels of pass – Pass, Merit and Distinction – in each element of the exam. They are designed to maximise consistency in our marking and to make our approach to assessment clear for everyone.

An ABRSM exam is an exciting challenge for candidates and we do everything we can to make the experience positive and rewarding. Our examiners aim to put every candidate at ease and to create an atmosphere in which they can give their best performance.

ABRSM examiners are all highly qualified, experienced musicians. They might be teachers, performers or conductors.