It was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of the initial selection committee for the 2021-2022 piano syllabus (grades 5-8), published last week. Along with two colleagues from the Piano Teachers’ Course UK, I spent a happy day or two browsing the library of scores in the ABRSM’s main London offices.
I also received a fair number of scores through the post from various publishing houses, and got to try out loads of music (familiar and unfamiliar). In addition to this, I went through my own substantial library of scores and from all of these sources and compiled my selection. There was a subsequent committee who made the final choices, so I was not sure of the final repertoire until the exam books arrived last week. On receiving them, it was very exciting to see some of my choices in the books!
I’m currently in the process of producing an extensive collection of resources for the syllabus on my Online Academy. These will include detailed video walk-throughs providing practice suggestions, tips on style and interpretation and other ideas for each of the main pieces (from initial to Grade 8), and a selection of alternative pieces.
I kick off this week with a very brief overview of the Grade 2 syllabus, choosing one example from each of the three lists (A, B, and C). This will give you a taster of the sort of content to expect in the very near future.
Overviews and preview videos for other grades are available via the following links: Initial Grade, Grade 1, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7 and Grade 8.
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The complete collection of video walk-throughs for ABRSM Grade 2 is now available on the Online Academy. Please click here to view if you are an Online Academy subscriber or click here if you’d like to to subscribe.
You can get further updates on resources for the ABRSM syllabus by signing up for our mailing list here and subscribing to our YouTube channel for additional video previews.
Existing resources for the Trinity and previous ABRSM syllabi can be viewed on the Online Academy here.
Please note that the Practising the Piano Online Academy is not an ABRSM product and is not endorsed by ABRSM. These materials and resources are intended to serve as a supplement to the ABRSM’s publications.