The ABRSM Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 syllabus provides carefully selected repertoire at each grade, offering candidates a balanced programme of styles, periods, and technical challenges. Each grade book contains nine pieces — three from each of Lists A, B, and C — chosen to develop a wide range of pianistic skills and musical expression. The selections below show the official pieces included in the published ABRSM books for Grades 1 to 8.
Grade 1 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) Handel: Fireworks Minuet (from Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351), arr. Bullard
- (A2) L. Köhler: Melody in F, Op. 190 No. 27
- (A3) Trad. German: Muss i denn, arr. Blackwell
List B
- (B1) Dunhill: A Song of Erin (No. 8 from First Year Pieces)
- (B2) Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez: Remember Me (from Coco), arr. L’Estrange
- (B3) Bernadette Marmion: Winter (from Allsorts)
List C
- (C1) Amit Anand: Cyberspace Detective
- (C2) Chee-Hwa Tan: The Wind (from A Child’s Garden of Verses)
- (C3) Nikki Yeoh: Berry’s Smoothie
Grade 2 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) Barbara Arens: Sparkling Splashes & Smooth Water (from The Mermaid Challenge)
- (A2) attrib. Beethoven: Moderato (1st movt from Sonatina in G, WoO Anh. 5)
- (A3) Daquin: Suite de la réjouissance (Gavotte en rondeau from Premier livre de pièces de clavecin)
List B
- (B1) Alexis Ffrench: The Singing Swan
- (B2) Kabalevsky: A Little Song (No. 2 from 30 Children’s Pieces, Op. 27)
- (B3) Christopher Norton: Cloudy Day (No. 9 from Microjazz Collection 2)
List C
- (C1) Heather Hammond: Spooky Wood Hollow (No. 5 from Grooves for Piano Dudes, Book 3: Halloween)
- (C2) Pete Letanka: Way Out West
- (C3) Loudová: Šípková Růženka (No. 7 from Pohádky na dobrou noc)
Grade 3 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) L. Köhler: Allegro moderato (1st movt from Sonatina in G, Op. 300 No. 93)
- (A2) Mozart: Allegro in F (from London Sketchbook, K. 15a)
- (A3) Victoria Proudler: Tarantella Twist (from Piano Grades Are Go!, Grades 2–3)
List B
- (B1) Lionel Bart: Where Is Love? (from Oliver!), arr. Iles
- (B2) Mel Bonis: Douce amis (from Album pour les tout-petits, Op. 103)
- (B3) Youmi Kimura: Always with Me (from Spirited Away)
List C
- (C1) Bartók: Allegretto (No. 3 from For Children, Vol. 2)
- (C2) Henson & Pottle: The Muppet Show Theme, arr. Blackwell
- (C3) Shruthi Rajasekar: The Quiet of the Night
Grade 4 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) Benda: Allegro assai (3rd movt from Sonata in G)
- (A2) Cimarosa: Sonata in G, C. 34
- (A3) Haydn: Menuet and Trio (3rd movt from Sonata in C, Hob. XVI:1)
List B
- (B1) Grieg: Waltz (No. 2 from Lyriske småstykker, Op. 12)
- (B2) Randall Hartsell: Sunsets in Savannah (from Portraits of the Sky)
- (B3) Ailbhe McDonagh: Cloudscapes (No. 4 from It’s a Piano Thing, Book 2)
List C
- (C1) Ibert: Danse du cocher (No. 15 from Petite suite en 15 images)
- (C2) Julian Nott: Wallace and Gromit Theme, arr. L’Estrange
- (C3) Raymond Yiu: Canzonetta
Grade 5 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) J. F. F. Burgmüller: La tarantelle (No. 20 from 25 études faciles et progressives, Op. 100)
- (A2) Clementi: Spiritoso (1st movt from Sonatina in C, Op. 36 No. 3)
- (A3) Nikki Iles: Hook's Hornpipe (from Piano Tales for Peter Pan)
List B
- (B1) Capaldi, Kohn, Kelleher, Barnes & Roman: Someone You Loved, arr. Iles
- (B2) Naoko Ikeda: Foggy Blues (from Naoko Ikeda: The Graded Collection)
- (B3) Schubert: Waltz in B minor, D. 145 No. 6
List C
- (C1) Joe Hisaishi: The Village in May (from My Neighbour Totoro), arr. Kawaura
- (C2) Martha Mier: Jackson Street Blues (from Jazz, Rags & Blues, Book 4)
- (C3) Prokofiev: La pluie et l'arc-en-ciel (No. 8 from Musiques d'enfants, Op. 65)
Grade 6 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) J. S. Bach: Invention No. 14 in B flat, BWV 785
- (A2) Tailleferre: Sonata alla Scarlatti
- (A3) C. Nielsen: Spilleværket (No. 6 from Humoreske-Bagateller, Op. 11)
List B
- (B1) Hensel: Bagatelle in F (No. 1 from Two Bagatelles)
- (B2) Glière: Esquisse in D (No. 9 from 12 esquisses, Op. 47)
- (B3) Alexis Ffrench: Last Song (from The Secret Piano)
List C
- (C1) Bartók: Stamping Dance (No. 128 from Mikrokosmos, Vol. 5)
- (C2) Zoe Rahman: The Bounce
- (C3) Komitas Vardapet: Shushiki, (No. 4 from Dances)
Grade 7 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) Beethoven: Scherzo (3rd movt from Sonata in A, Op. 2 No. 2
- (A2) Akira Yuyama: Pop Corn (No. 18 from Confections: A Piano Sweet)
- (A3) Daquin: Le coucou (Rondeau: 1st movt from Troisième suite)
List B
- (B1) Schumann: *** (No. 30 from Album für die Jugend, Op. 68)
- (B2) Ginastera: Adagietto pianissimo (No. 1 from Suite de danzas criollas, Op. 15)
- (B3) Mendelssohn: Musical Sketch in B flat (No. 1 from Two Musical Sketches)
List C
- (C1) Kahn: The Watermill
- (C2) Joanna MacGregor: Lowside Blues
- (C3) Shostakovich: Allegretto (No. 1 from Three Fantastic Dances, Op. 5)
Grade 8 – Pieces from Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 (ABRSM)
List A
- (A1) Mozart: Alla turca (3rd movt from Sonata in A, K. 331)
- (A2) Mel Bonis: Il pleut
- (A3) D. Scarlatti: Sonata in C, Kp. 513
List B
- (B1) Debussy: La fille aux cheveux de lin (No. 8 from Préludes, Book 1)
- (B2) Joe Hisaishi: il porco rosso (from Porco Rosso)
- (B3) Liszt: Consolation in E (No. 2 from Consolations, S. 172)
List C
- (C1) Cheryl Frances-Hoad: In the Dew, a Homage to Janáček (from Homages, Book 1)
- (C2) Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag
- (C3) Sherwin & Maschwitz: A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, arr. Iles