Check the full requirements in your syllabus
Every exam has a syllabus that outlines exactly what’s required – from rules and regulations to the resources you’ll need, and all the nitty-gritty info you need to know to go into your exam feeling prepared.
It’s important to check the most recent syllabus for your exam, so you can be confident you have the right info.
Grab the resources you'll need
Depending on your exam, you’ll need various resources.
For musicians, that means music! Our Grade Books offer a choice of music for your grade, or you can source pieces individually from your local music retailer. If you’re preparing any technical work for your exam, you’ll find it all in our Technical Work Books. Some instrumental syllabuses also have optional professional recordings, and Handbooks to hone your knowledge of your pieces.
Regardless of your exam type, your syllabus also offers lots of suggested reading and extra resources for your area of interest.
If you’re not sure, the Exams page will show you which resources are relevant for your exam.
Get help from your teacher
One of the best things you can do to prepare for your exam is to enlist the help of an experienced teacher. How can a teacher help? They can:
- Offer their expertise in your chosen area of interest
- Provide lots of useful feedback to help you improve
- Help you set realistic goals
- Provide a sounding board for your ideas
You might already have a teacher through your school or university, a private studio, or even online. Do you need help finding a teacher? Your state’s Music Teachers’ Association can help if you’re preparing for a music exam. Or find a Rockschool teacher here.
Enrol in your exam
Ready to lock it in? Commit to your goal by enrolling in your exam.
Enrollers need to be 18 or older – often an enroller will be a teacher or parent, but if you’re 18 or over, you can enrol yourself too.
If you're not quite sure how to enrol, check out our handy guide here.
Time to practise!
Now that you’ve set yourself a goal, it’s time to refine your skills!
If you’re preparing for a practical exam, practise performing for an audience as much as you can before exam day – not only will this help you gather useful feedback, and it’ll also be a good experience to get “in the zone”. Recorded accompaniments can be really helpful for music performance practice!
And don’t forget about aural and sight-reading skills. Practise humming or clapping along to unfamiliar music, or sight-reading using pieces from a lower grade. Or, you can find lots of examples tailored to your music exam in our Aural Tests and Sight-reading books.
If you're doing a theory exam, test yourself with online practice exams, or you can purchase real past exam papers from our online shop.
Best of luck for your exam!
