Knowing what type of exam you would want to do is important but first of all, why are music exams important? They can provide benefits to aid you in your musical journey such as:
- Earn up to 75 UCAS points past grade 6 which help with University applications
- Provide goals to work towards and overcome
- Help properly monitor skill level and understand if you are performing at the right level
- Achievements and certificates to celebrate improvement
- Qualifications for a career in music
There are a wide variety of different exams and syllabuses you can take with some that might be more appealing depending on what type of musician you are. if you play a classical instrument then the ABRSM syllabus may be right for you. They specialise in classical music and cover a massive range of classical instruments, they have 3 main types of exams being:
- Practical Grades where your all-round musical knowledge and skill are tested including performance, this includes sight reading, aural tests and listening exams
- Performance Grades in which you are assessed by exam pieces only with no technical exercises required. These can be both video recordings and face to face exams
- Music Theory Exams where your music theory knowledge is tested (note that these exams are required in order to do grade 6 practical exams and above)
If you don't play a classical instrument and instead are more interested in rock and pop music then the Trinity or Rockschool syllabus may be right for you as they specialise in those genres of music. They only offer 2 types of exams which are face to face and digital exams, these are similar to the ABRSM practical grades but don't have aural test and offer different tests such as general musicianship and improvisation.
The Trinity syllabus specialises in rock, jazz and classical music and they feature songs from lesser known composers and have a wider variety of genres and their exams function mostly the same as Rockschool. If you're interested in music not available in the ABRSM or Rockschool syllabus then Trinity may be right for you
The type of exam and exam syllabus you choose can have a massive impact on developing your style and skill in your musical journey but another thing to consider is that passing a music grade is hard work and takes months of practice in order to do so. It may seem daunting to walk into an exam room or virtually perform in front of an examiner to be graded but as long as you work hard and are truly passionate then there is nothing to worry about. Even if you fail, you would've gained important knowledge you didn't know before which it's always worth a shot just to try an exam for the experience.