Educational Resources

ABRSM Piano Syllabus 2027-28

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

It’s that time again: right on cue, ABRSM have published their latest piano grade exam syllabus, accompanied as usual by a raft of resources to support players and teachers. With their 2027 & 2028 piano syllabus, they promise:

Refreshed repertoire for Practical and Performance Grades, Initial Grade to Grade 8, with new Piano Exam Pieces books for each.
A separate, 68-page Teaching Notes booklet.
A new online Piano Learning Hub with video demonstrations and learning resources.
Audio recordings, available on all major streaming platforms.

They also confirm the following useful information:

There are no changes to the scales and arpeggios or sight-reading and aural tests for Practical Grades.
You can continue to use repertoire from the 2025 & 2026 Piano Syllabuses until 31 December 2027. During this overlap period you must choose all your set pieces from the same syllabus.

The first of these points may be disappointing for educators, but given the shift towards digital performance grades won’t perhaps come as a surprise. You can read about the pedagogy problems with their scales syllabus here, and significant concerns about the validity of their aural tests here.

My coverage of ABRSM always aims for balance and impartiality, and while critical of their support tests, my reviews of their Piano Exam Pieces books have regularly heaped praise on the board. Rightly so, because in recent years they have brilliantly balanced returning favourites with new commissions and inspiring discoveries.

So the big question is whether the latest Piano Exam Pieces will live up to the board’s high standards, delivering diversity, musical quality, educational value, and genuine appeal. And having had three weeks to live with and play through all these pieces ahead of their publication, that’s the question I hope to answer.

LCME Piano Syllabus 2026

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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In the rapidly changing landscape of graded piano exams, the regular appearance of new syllabus and varied repertoire publications has remained a positive constant, so when LCME’s 2021-24 piano specifications expired, it was a surprise that they were extended pending a replacement.

This appears to be because the board has undergone considerable change during and since the pandemic. With new leadership and systems now in place, LCME are firmly back, and have this week published the long awaited new piano syllabus, wisely billed as being “valid for examinations from 2026 until further notice”.

Although the new syllabus is immediately valid from 1st September 2026, the previous 2021 syllabus will also remain valid until 31st July 2027 (but mixing the two is not allowed).

In this extended review, I will consider the new repertoire selections and ‘Piano Handbook’ publications, offer insight into other significant syllabus changes and options, and reflect on LCME’s continuing place within the piano exam market.

So to answer the big question many will have, has the wait for the new LCME piano syllabus been worth it? Let’s find out…

Peter and the Wolf

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Here’s a delight! Peter and the Wolf is one of a number of books that make up a colourful series from Schott Music, called ‘Get to Know Classical Masterpieces‘.

Featuring the whole of Prokofiev’s masterpiece of musical storytelling in a “simple arrangement for piano”, the book is the work of the ever-industrious Hans-Günter Heumann. The full story is presented in an English translation by Julia Rushworth, and with superb colour illustrations throughout by Brigitte Smith.

The book can comfortably be recommended, but the review that follows will assess the difficulty level of the piano writing and consider, as usual, who this publication is particularly suitable for. Read on for more details, and a list of other titles in the series…

ABRSM Jazz Piano Solos

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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When ABRSM announced their Jazz Piano syllabus Grades 1-5 back in 1998, and published a raft of outstanding books and recordings to support it, I was at the front of the queue for copies, and one of the many who rejoiced at the arrival of such a superb resource.

Here, at last, was a well-thought out, superbly paced approach for introducing swing, blues, Latin and modern jazz styles, all with integrated improvisations, relevant scales, aural, and technical development.

In the years since, while I’ve not used the actual exams, many of my students have enjoyed the excellent music, learning core jazz skills from the course materials. I have still enjoyed playing and teaching the accessible jazzy pieces and arrangements available elsewhere, but these ABRSM books have been a mainstay for teaching jazz “properly”.

An update of the lower grades, and continuation into the higher ones, has long been requested. In the meantime ABRSM have released three music books in their Nikki Iles & Friends series (reviewed here).

Now, more than a quarter of a century after their first five grades appeared, they have published a syllabus specification for new, video assessed Jazz ‘Performance Grades’ 6-8, together with a Jazz Piano Solo Pieces Grades 6-8 book including five pieces from each Grade level. Let’s take a look…

Bluey: First Ever Piano Book

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Since its launch in 2018, the Australian animated series Bluey has conquered the pre-school world, while winning multiple awards, critical acclaim, and praise for its positive messages, wholesome family values, and focus on playful childhood learning.

Created and written by Joe Brumm, Bluey has spawned a stage show, video game, upcoming feature length movie, and an avalanche of merchandising that includes toys, books, an album of music from the show, and now the Bluey First Ever Piano Book, written by the show’s music supervisor and composer Joff Bush, and published by Faber Music.

Bluey front cover and sample pages NEW with logos — Bluey First Ever Piano Book

The Bluey First Ever Piano Book is, like the television show, aimed at pre-school children, designed for early informal learning without an instructor, and for shared enjoyment by children with their parents. As Faber put it,

“This book is for beginners to play with their favourite grown-up. No musical know-how is required. You’ll be helped along the way by Busker (AKA Bluey composer, Joff Bush). Have fun making Bluey music magic together!”

Bluey First Ever Piano Book is unlike anything I have previously reviewed, so I began by watching a few episodes of the show (purely for research purposes, of course). But as a piano educator, what’s my opinion of the book?

Essential Piano Technique: Levels 2-3

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Penelope Roskell’s Essential Piano Technique series has already established itself as a benchmark resource for introducing healthy piano techniques in an imaginative and musical way.

The first three books appeared in 2023. Primer A, Primer B, and Level 1 publications take the beginner up to around Grade 1 in the UK, and in my review here I concluded,

“I cannot overstate how highly I recommend these three volumes. Beautifully presented, but modestly priced, they establish a new benchmark for teaching children the foundations for a healthy piano technique.”

With the latest two additions to the growing series, Roskell provides a similarly useful and significant resource for players progressing through Late Elementary to Intermediate level, Grades 1-4.

In this review, I will look at these Level 2 and Level 3 books in turn, and consider what part they might play in piano lessons and the development of learners…

Tunes for Ten Fingers

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Last summer I brought news and an in-depth review of OUP Music’s updated Third Editions of Pauline Hall’s classic Piano Time series. Having long used the series, I was impressed by the refreshed editions, with superb new illustrations by Rosie Brooks, online audio demo tracks, and welcome tweaks to the progression.

I also welcomed the fantastic new pieces by Kristina Arakelyan, Reena Esmail, and William Chapman Nyaho, joining established favourites by Hall, Alan Bullard and David Blackwell from previous editions.

OUP Music have now launched matching new versions of their primer series for young children: Tunes For Ten Fingers, More Tunes For Ten Fingers, and Fun For Ten Fingers.

I am pleased to see that the changes here broadly follow those of Piano Time, giving the books a more diverse, contemporary relevance and appeal. Once again, new Rosie Brooks illustrations are a delight, and the audio tracks can be streamed or downloaded. Pedagogy and progression are streamlined, with Janet Bullard and Jeanette Gallant on board as consultants.

In this review, written for the benefit of others using this series, I will outline the changes in more detail.

Junior Performer

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Pam Wedgwood’s Up Grade! series from Faber Music has been a fixture of the piano education library for many years, and one of her most understandable successes. Based on a simple concept of offering “light relief between the grades”, the books have proved a popular step in the pianist’s development.

Entering the same space, The Willis Music Company have just released a new set of books from Christopher Hussey which give the concept of “between grades” repertoire a welcome update. Junior Performer includes three books, each covering two grades, thus bridging the gaps from Beginner to Grade 5.

Rather boldly describing itself as “The Perfect Resource for Between Piano Grades”, the series clearly has ambitions, and I have already heard from Pianodao readers keen to know how well it succeeds…