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Piano
About LCME Piano exams
The new 2026 LCME Piano syllabus is here, built around what teachers and pianists told us they needed.
Designed to develop well-rounded musicians with a genuine love of music, our exams offer a clear, supportive pathway from your very first Steps through to FLCM. Whether you're a teacher planning lessons, a candidate working towards your next grade, or a parent supporting a young pianist, the 2026 Piano syllabus is pedagogically aligned, student-centred, and shaped in collaboration with the people who use it every day.
It's the pianist's syllabus – and every grade is structured to inspire confidence, reward progress and celebrate achievement.
Make sure you join one of our upcoming webinars to find out more.
The 2026 Piano syllabus is open for entries from 1 September 2026. Meanwhile, you can use the 2021 syllabus, which remain valid until 31 July 2027.
2026 Piano – Steps and Graded exams
Exam levels (Steps and Graded exams)
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Pre-grade 1: Steps 1 & 2
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Grades 1–8
Grades 6, 7 and 8 attract UCAS Tariff points, helping to open doors to university courses in the UK. Find out more about LCME qualifications and UCAS points.
Exam options (Steps and Graded exams)
We offer two assessment options, both available as in-person or digital exams, to suit different learning styles:
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Graded exam – Performance of three pieces (one from List A, one from List B, and one from List C), technical work, a discussion, your choice of sight reading or keyboard harmony, and aural tests.
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Recital Grade – A performance-focused alternative. Candidates perform four pieces, then choose either a fifth piece or two supporting tests (selected from discussion, sight reading, keyboard harmony or aural).
Download the 2026 syllabus (PDF)
Each exam is marked out of a total of 100. Here's how the marks are allocated across the components for each exam type.
Steps 1 & 2
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Scales and four exercises – 25 marks
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Two Group A pieces – 20 marks
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Two Group B pieces – 40 marks
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Questions – 15 marks
Graded exam (Grades 1–8)
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Technical work – 15 marks
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List A piece – 20 marks
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List B piece – 20 marks
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List C piece – 20 marks
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Discussion – 7 marks
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Sight reading or keyboard harmony – 8 marks
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Aural test – 10 marks
Recital Grade (Grades 1–8) - pieces only
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Piece 1 – 20 marks
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Piece 2 – 20 marks
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Piece 3 – 20 marks
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Piece 4 – 20 marks
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Piece 5 – 20 marks
Recital Grade (Grades 1–8) - four pieces and supporting tests
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Piece 1 – 22 marks
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Piece 2 – 22 marks
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Piece 3 – 22 marks
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Piece 4 – 22 marks
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Supporting tests* – 12 marks
*Supporting tests are chosen from discussion, sight reading, keyboard harmony or aural.
What's new in the 2026 syllabus
The 2026 Piano syllabus (PDF) launched on 13 May 2026, with a host of enhancements designed to give candidates more choice, clearer progression and stronger support:
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Three themed repertoire lists – Lists A, B and C are organised around musical character and skill, not historical period:
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List A – Voices and conversations (technique and precision)
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List B – Poetry and drama (expression and musicality)
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List C – Games and dances (rhythm and flair).
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Popular Piano – a brand-new graded repertoire list packed with familiar favourites across genres and styles. Graded exam candidates can replace up to two pieces with Popular Piano selections; Recital Grade candidates can choose any number from this list.
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Keyboard harmony test – a new alternative to sight reading. Candidates harmonise a simple melody with the right chords, building practical skills for accompanying, ensemble playing and improvisation. It's a feature you won't find with any other UK performance exam board.
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Digital and hard-copy handbooks – for the first time, all required repertoire is available in both digital and printed formats, so you can prepare in the way that works best for you.
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Free specimen materials – downloadable booklets covering technical work, aural tests and sight reading, free to access.
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Streamlined exam pathways – Leisure Play has been removed from the Piano syllabus; the Recital Grade remains as the dedicated performance-focused option. The Preparatory level has also been removed, with Steps 1 & 2 continuing as a supportive introduction to graded exams.
More support material – including webinars with walkthroughs, teaching tips and live Q&A – will follow from summer 2026.
The LCME 2021 Piano syllabus and accompanying handbooks remain valid until 31 July 2027, giving candidates and teachers a full 12-month overlap period to plan a smooth transition to the 2026 syllabus.
The 2021–2024 handbooks are packed with all the material you need for each exam component and can be purchased from our online shop. Candidates must perform at least one piece from the handbook in their exam.
Extended repertoire options (2021 syllabus)
We expanded options for candidates working from the 2021 syllabus in two ways:
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Using 2018 handbook pieces: Candidates may perform studies and up to two pieces from the 2018 series of handbooks, maintaining the original grading and list groupings. Performances can be from original books or alternative editions.
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Leisure Play options: Any List C piece may be replaced by a piece from the Leisure Play list for the same grade.
These extensions can be combined, but at least one piece must be taken from the 2021 handbooks. Both extensions remain available until the 2021 syllabus expires on 31 July 2027.
List of errata (2021 syllabus)
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In the LCME 2021 Piano Handbook Grade 4, page 30, the mark for the left hand indicating 2nd time 8va (an octave higher) should say 2nd time 8vb (an octave lower) instead.
Piano diploma exams
Our diploma qualifications offer formal recognition of advanced piano skills. We offer university-awarded Piano performance and teaching diplomas at DipLCM, ALCM, LLCM and FLCM levels.
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