Can we compile a list of famous pieces at each grade for general reference?

I would find it very useful

I will keep going back and updating this post to include them all

Ant PS. Don't worry about disagreements! As long as it's there or not more that one grade out a pinch we're fine.


Grade 1
Christopher Norton - Fax Blues
Christopher Norton - Down South
Christopher Norton - Stairway


Grade 2
Arnold Krug - The little bird and the cat from More Romantic Pieces for Piano book 1
Christopher Norton - Get in Step from Microjazz Collection 2
Kabalevsky - Galloping from A Romantic Sketchbook for piano book 1
Pamela Wedgwood - Bottle Bank Boogie from Green Jazzin about
Pamela Wedgwood - Summer song from Jazzin about
Pamela Wedgwood - Pink Lady from Jazzin' about
Pamela Wedgwood - Strawberry Flip from Easy Jazzin' About for piano
Peter Gritton - Timewarp from Fingerprints
Schubert - Deutscher no 1
Terence Greaves - Three Blue Mice from Swinging Rhymes
Couperin - Le Petit Rien
A. Scarlatti - Arioso
Tchaikovsky - Old French Song
Diabelli - Bagatelle
Maikapar - Restless Moment


Grade 3
Bach: Little Prelude
Bartok - Round Dance
Beethoven - Sonatina in G
Brian Chapple - The Snow Melts from Lazy Days
Gurlitt - A Little Flower
Kabalevsky - Clowns from Romantic Sketchbook for piano Book 2
Michael Jacques - Brawl
Pachelbel: Canon in D
Seiber - Foxtrot II
Tchaikovsky - Chanson Triste
Bach - Polonaise (the Trinity book says J.S.Bach, but in the AB edition of the AM Notebook it's CPE)
Beethoven - Romance
Galuppi - Allgretto (this has been set at grade 4 ABRSM)
Maikapar - Fleeting Vision


Grade 4
Beethoven - Fur Elise (prehaps grade 5)
Burgmuller - Ballade in C minor from Graded repertoire
Brian Chapple - Lazy Days from Lazy Days 12 short pieces for Piano
Christopher Norton - Fifth Dimension from Microjazz 1
Einaudi - Le Onde
Grieg - Wachterlied
Grieg - Arietta from Lyric Pieces
Alan Haughton - You and Me from Rhythm and Rag
Alan Haughton - Blue Note from Rhythm and Rag
Haydn - Sonata in D, Third movement Hob.XVI/37
Kabalevsky - Etude in A minor
Maikapar - Clouds from The Joy of Modern Piano Music
Pam Wedgwood - Laid Back Blues from Jazzin' About
Fischer - Rigaudon
Kullak - Grandmother's Story
Tchaikovsky - Song of Lark
Telemann - Allegretto
Hook - Rustic Dance
Kirnberger - Les Carillons (this has been set at grade 5 ABRSM)
Bartok - Swine-herd's Song


Grade 5
Badarzewska - Maiden’s Prayer
Bach - Two Part Inventions 1,2,4,8,10,13,14
Brian Chapple - Washtub Rag
Brian Chapple - The Blue Pool from On the Cool Side
CPE Bach - Solfeggietto
Gliere - Morning, Op 43 No 4 from Eight Easy Pieces
Kabalevsky - Novelette from 30 Pieces for Children
Kirnberger - Les Carillons
Smetana - Pisen
Pamela Wedgwood - Litterbin Blues from Green Jazzin' about


Grade 6
Bach - Two Part Inventions 3,5,6,7,9
Bach - Sinfonias 1,3,6,10,11,12,13
Bach Well-Tempered Clavier Bk1 Prelude no.1
Beethoven: Bagatelle in G minor (Op119, 1)
Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata, 1st movement
Beethoven Sonata Op.13 "Pathetique" 2nd mvt
Beethoven Sonata Op.27 no.2 " Moonlight" 1st mvt
Beethoven Sonata Op.79 2nd mvt
Chopin: Mazurka in C (Op22, 3)
Chopin - Mazurka in G minor, Op. 67 No. 2
Chopin - Mazurka in Bb, Op. 7 No. 1
Chopin - Nocturne in Eb
Chopin - Prelude in B minor, Op. 28 No.6
Christopher Norton - Prelude IV from Latin Preludes
Christopher Norton - Lavender's kind of Blue from Lavender's kind of Blue
Christopher Norton - Prelude VI from Rock preludes
Debussy - Le Petit Negre
Debussy - The Little Shepherd
Debussy - Preludes Bk1 "La fille aux cheveux de lin"
Field - Nocturne No 13 in D minor, H59
Grieg - Poetic Tone Picture, Op.3, no. 1
Grieg - Einsamer Wanderer, )p. 43 no. 2
Jacques Ibert - A Giddy Girl
Jensen: Longing (Op6, 5 - I love the full version, not the cut down one which is about G4ish)
Edward Macdowell: To a Wild Rose
Mendelssohn: Song Without Words (op 19, Nos 2 and 4)
Moszkowski - Study in G minor, Op 91 No 10
Mozart - Rondo Alla Turca
Mozart - Sonata in E flat, Third movement, K282
Mozart - Sonata in E flat, First movement, K282
Mozart - Sonata K545 1st mvt
Mozart: Adagio in B Minor, K.540
Parry - Elizabeth
Satie - Gymnopedie No 1
schubert- moment musicaux no3
Wedgwood, Pamela - Voyage from After Hours 2
Schumann - Catch me if you can


Grade 7
Bach - Two Part Inventions 11,12,15
Bach - Sinfonias 2,4,5,7,8,9,14,15
Beethoven Sonata - Op 2 No 1, 1st movt
Beethoven Sonata Op.28 "Pastorale" 2nd mvt
Beethoven Sonata Op.79 1st mvt
Chopin - minute waltz
Chopin - Waltz Op.64 No.1
Chopin - Waltz op 64-2
Chopin - prelude in Db op 27 no. 3 (raindrop prelude)
Christopher Norton - Prelude II (Homecoming) from Country preludes
Debussy - Clair de Lune
Debussy - Prelude Bk1 "Voiles"
Grieg Lyric Pieces Op.43 no.1 "Butterfly" (former ABRSM Grade 7 syallbus)
Jacques Ibert - Le petit ane blanc
Mozart - Fantasie in D minor, K397
Rimsky-Korsakov "Flight of Bumble-Bee"
Scott Joplin - Magnetic Rag
Schumann - traumerei
Skutte - Nocturne in A minor
Tchaikovsky - Barcarolle (June)


Grade 8
Bartok - From the diary of a fly
beethoven - moonlight sonata(if you played the whole piece it's about grade 8 I think)
chopin - etude op 10-25 (is the 10 & 25 the right way round?)
chopin - polonase milletaire
chopin - polonase heroic
Debussy - Minstrels
Debussy - arabesc no1
Grieg - Nocturne No. 4 from Lyric Pieces
Hummel - Rondo (my List B exam piece, 13 years ago)
Scott Joplin - Maple Leaf Rag

Interesting idea, but we'd never be able to get general agreement as to what grade a particular piece fits into.

It doesn't have to be exact. Just 'about' grade something.

okay. these are what I know
grade 4
beethoven - Fur Elise (prehaps grade 5)

grade 6
chopin - Nocturne in Eb

schubert- moment musicaux no3

grade 7
schumann - traumerei

chopin - minute waltz
waltz op 64-2(i don't know if the number is right)
raindrop prelude


grade 8 +(there are realy too many to list here)
chopin - etude op 10-25 (is the 10 & 25 the right way round?)
polonase milletaire
polonase heroic

beethoven - moonlight sonata(if you played the whole piece it's about grade 8 I think)

debussy - arabesc no1
cler de lune (i don't know how to spell it )

liszt - liebstraum (i think it's no3 that's famous)


I don't know any more sorry.


anyone plaese add to my list if you know any more. I'm sure you do.

yep - I was thinking we might start ww3 !

no harm in having a go I guess - keep in mind it's only someone's opinion.

Some years ago I started to keep a database of pieces by grade. They are taken from past syllabi of ABRSM and Trinity and Guildhall so are what the exam boards think the grades are for the pieces. I've not updated it for quite some time, but here it is, if it is of any use. I haven't used all of them but I do use quite a lot of myself when looking for pieces at a certain level and have found lots of them are very popular.

Grade 1
Christopher Norton - Fax Blues, Down South, Stairway

Grade 2
Arnold Krug - The little bird and the cat from More Romantic Pieces for Piano book 1
Christopher Norton - Get in Step from Microjazz Collection 2
Kabalevsky - Galloping from A Romantic Sketchbook for piano book 1
Pamela Wedgwood - Bottle Bank Boogie from Green Jazzin about
Pamela Wedgwood - Summer song from Jazzin about
Pamela Wedgwood - Pink Lady from Jazzin' about
Peter Gritton - Timewarp from Fingerprints
Terence Greaves - Three Blue Mice from Swinging Rhymes
Pamela Wedgwood - Strawberry Flip from Easy Jazzin' About for piano

Grade 3
Bartok - Round Dance
Brian Chapple - The Snow Melts from Lazy Days
Gurlitt - A Little Flower
Kabalevsky - Clowns from Romantic Sketchbook for piano Book 2
Michael Jacques - Brawl
Seiber - Foxtrot II

Grade 4
Burgmuller - Ballade in C minor from Graded repertoire
Brian Chapple - Lazy Days from Lazy Days 12 short pieces for Piano
Christopher Norton - Fifth Dimension from Microjazz 1
Grieg - Wachterlied
Grieg - Arietta from Lyric Pieces
Alan Haughton - You and Me from Rhythm and Rag
Alan Haughton - Blue Note from Rhythm and Rag
Haydn - Sonata in D, Third movement Hob.XVI/37
Kabalevsky - Etude in A minor
Maikapar - Clouds from The Joy of Modern Piano Music
Pam Wedgwood - Laid Back Blues from Jazzin' About

Grade 5
Brian Chapple - Washtub Rag
Brian Chapple - The Blue Pool from On the Cool Side
CPE Bach - Solfeggietto
Gliere - Morning, Op 43 No 4 from Eight Easy Pieces
Kabalevsky - Novelette from 30 Pieces for Children
Pamela Wedgwood - Litterbin Blues from Green Jazzin' about

Grade 6
Chopin - Prelude in B minor, Op. 28 No.6
Chopin - Mazurka in G minor, Op. 67 No. 2
Chopin - Mazurka in Bb, Op. 7 No. 1
Christopher Norton - Prelude IV from Latin Preludes
Christopher Norton - Lavender's kind of Blue from Lavender's kind of Blue
Christopher Norton - Prelude VI from Rock preludes
Field - Nocturne No 13 in D minor, H59
Grieg - Poetic Tone Picture, Op.3, no. 1
Jacques Ibert - A Giddy Girl
Moszkowski - Study in G minor, Op 91 No 10
Mozart - Sonata in E flat, Third movement, K282
Mozart - Sonata in E flat, First movement, K282
Pamela Wedgwood - Voyage from After Hours 2
Satie - Gymnopedie No 1

Grade 7
Beethoven Sonata - 1st movt, Op 2 No 1
Christopher Norton - Prelude II (Homecoming) from Country preludes
Grieg - Nocturne No. 4 from Lyric Pieces
Jacques Ibert - Le petit ane blanc
Mozart - Fantasie in D minor, K397
Scott Joplin - Magnetic Rag

Grade 8
Debussy - Minstrels

Already I disagree!!!


Beethoven Moonlight is diploma standard for the whole sonata, and the Chopin Nocturne in Eb is harder than grade 6 - nearer grade 8 to play it well. And the Minute Waltz - a grade 7 wouldn't have the control of fingers at the speed required........The problem with a lot of music is not the grade you need to be to "get your fingers somehow round the notes" but the grade you need to be to play it well.........
I have my own database (a bit like jm-hamilton) based on old grade pieces from the ABRSM lists going back for however many years.........and even then there are problems - for example, the Handel Fantasia in C major appearing on last year's(?) grade 7 list was one of my grade 6 pieces when I did my grade 6 exam years back...!!!

How do the exam boards grade pieces?. Can one of the examiners enlighten us? Grading has to be based, I would guess, on a set of objectives which may categorise a piece that looks easy in terms of key/time signatures, to a higher grade because of the difficulty of the fingering or number of notes/chords and their compexity or whatever. How does a piece graded 5 or 6, say 5 years ago, now become a seven or eight??

After I passed grade 8 I ceased to care about such things and just got on with playing the music whether or not I found it easy or hard.

oh my now thats what I played for my G2! I can still remember it off my heart now!

Perhaps we should do the grades according to how difficult it is to play technically overall e.g. Moonlight Sonata 1st mvt. - G5 (even though you'll need to be at least G8 standard to play it well). That way we'll have less arguments.

Maybe you can put a note at the bottom saying that this is just a rough idea and that pieces should be played musically as well.

Currently on the grade 8 list

I have a list that I put into excel, taken from something I found on the net as guidance for examiners of the GCSE A/levels.

It has 826 pieces listed.

Pm me you email addy if you are interested in a copy of my excel sheet

Oh, and I also have

The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature by Jane Magrath.

Big thick book with short notes and grade recommendations. Okay...it put it from Grade 1-10, but can give an idea of what sort of standard is expected.

Great book for the library. One to dip into forever

This is certainly a contentious subject. I said some time ago that one of this years ABRSM Grade 8 pieces (Mozart K332 1st movement) I did for Grade 4 (yes Grade 4 , no misprint!) in about 1960 (LCM exams.)
Following on from that for Grade 5 I did Beethoven Op10 No 3, the minuet, and for Grade 6 the last movement of Op79. Skipped 7 and 8 and did all of Op 10 No2 for ALCM (1963)

Moonlight sonata Gr8 - no way?! I can play it all...

Try this link: http://www.pianostreet.com/Graded_Pieces_All.xls. It contains the grades of a lot of piano pieces, and also has some nice descriptions of pieces.

Same here - I don't care if it's Grade 1 or diploma level. If I like it I play it. I do however find a list of pieces which someone has graded (even if it's only approximate) to be useful when looking for suitable pieces for pupils.

Just goes to show how approximate it all is

Notice you're doing Grade 5 this week - can you play the third movement - or were you joking?

Well thats me made the first edit feel free to keep em coming

Play the notes or play it well and doing full justice to it??? There's a reason why the ABRSM have put it on their diploma syllabus...............

A very good reason in fact

I come bearing gifts. Find them http://www.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/4...web_version.pdf

Don't worry I was joking! Looking back, it doesn't come out very joke like. Sorry guys.

What does everyone think about :
Clair de lune - Debussy
Le Onde - Ludovico Einaudi
Les Carillons - Kirnberger (and yes, I know it's on the Grade 5 syllabus but I don't agree)

Clair de Lune - 8+ ?

Le Onde - maybe grd 4

Les Carillons - 5 seems fair enough!

While the subject is up, I've been learning the 1st movement of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata. Does anyone have any ideas about the rough level of this piece?

I always think once you get to grade 8 and above it's difficut to tell. It really does depend on the individual performance I think

The Waldstein is a favourite of mine, and actually the first movement is not as difficult as it sounds. Much of the semiquaver passagework seems for me to fall under the hand quite well. So I dont rate it harder than Dip A. Its the last movement that's much more difficult.

That's a useful list for reference!

Thanks for that!

It's just something I've always wanted to play! Yes, I thought I would find it more difficult, but when I actually looked at the music for the first time, was surprised to find I could manage it without any major problems.

It's great fun! I'll put off the last movement for the time being

I've a habit of taking on pieces that are a bit beyond me, so it's reassuring sometimes when someone more experienced can give you an idea of the standard. Dip A would be roughly the standard I'm aiming for, so that's good

Grading of pieces varies between the boards as well, but from a teaching point of view, I think the list like the one posted here would be handy for keeping a rough idea of pupils' progress. I've quite a few who don't take exams at all, but still ask now and again what grade I would put them at "if they did!"

It depends on personal preference too. I'd find a Baroque piece at any grade much easier to sight read than some of the more modern ones you normally find on list C. I might struggle with a particular grade 7/8 piece, but find a diploma piece easy because it's in the style I play best!

A minefield, and even the exam boards change their minds over the years or disagree with each other. CD's point is very important, it depends how well one plays the piece....

For anyone interested in an extensive list, edexcel publish one here, it covers some instruments other than piano too .

Whoops, didn't realise there was a second page before posting, never mind....

thanks x

Though my piano teacher said today le onde gr5 and I thought it was easier!

I updated a bit again but that fantastic pdf seems to have put me out a job! lol

Grade 3

Tchaikovsky - Chanson Triste

Grade 5

Smetana - Pisen

Badarzewska - Maiden’s Prayer

Grade 6

Parry - Elizabeth

Mozart - Rondo Alla Turca

Schumann - Catch me if you can

Grade 7

Skutte - Nocturne in A minor

Tchaikovsky - Barcarolle (June)

Grade 8

Hummel - Rondo (my List B exam piece, 13 years ago)

Bartok - From the diary of a fly

*flash, bang, ding ding ding!*

Your wish is my command

I'd say that that is grade 5 not 7. It's technically quite easy apart from maybe a few bars. All of Beethoven's sonatas are at least g8 except for op. 49.

Maybe we should all discuss a piece's difficulty and then grade it according to the AB's system. That way we can all (or the majority can) agree on a piece's difficulty.

I did Claire de Lune between grade 6 and 7 exams and it is about the only piece I could play quite well so no way grade 8.

to be honest I thought grade 8 looked rather high for clair de lune myself, 7 seems more fair to me...

what do others think?




hrm should I compromise by putting it at grade 6? I don't want to get too pedantic here, it's only meant to be a rough guide

Clair de Lune... I would have thought grade 8.

I think often that someone will be at a certain "standard" but find a piece among the higher grades that suits them and they are able to learn more easily. It doesn't neccessarily follow that the piece is generally easier, or that the grading must somehow be wrong. If that makes any sense!

Yeah after taking another look at clair de lune this evening I change my mind. It's rather long for a grade 7 piece anyway.

I wouldn't say Chopin's Nocturne in E flat was grade 6...grade 7 surely?

I'd say higher than 6, I still can't get my head around it!

Grade 2- Schubert: Deutscher no 1
Grade 3- Beethoven: Sonatina in G
Grade 3- Bach: Little Prelude
Grade 3: Pachelbel: Canon in D

Also I have arrangements of Ode to Joy and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, which puts them at grade 2 but I don't know how close they are to the original.

Not very.
And remember that some 'popular' classics for piano were not orignally written for piano anyway.

I found learning the notes were easy. I learnt it when I was 12...
I suppose the feeling/emotion needed to play the piece is grade 7 or higher.

*poof* it is done

Are you talking about the same piece?! I can't learn the notes to save my life. Maybe you're just a prodigy... .

I'm sure it's the same piece, but I'm not a prodigy

It did take time to learn it, but it wasn't impossible for me like some pieces of grade 7 standard are.(mind you, I find reading the notes of 1st mov moonlight sonata impossible, and that's suppose to be g5/6!!!)

Dvorak's Humouresque... What would that be?
I had an edition in Gb, only after I had learnt some I discovered that there's another edition in G major

For Dvorak piece, the G major is listed in my book at Grade 4 and Gb is about Grade 5 to Grade 6.

I have some more favorite pieces.


Grade 4

Beethoven - Farewell to the Piano


Grade 5

Mendessohn - Regrets

Barga - Angel's Serenade


Grade 6

Lange - Flower Song


Grade 7

Mendessohn - Lost Illusion

Wyman - Woodland Echoes


Grade 8

Schumann - Intermezzo from Fashingsschwank aus Wien

I can play that one very badly. It's a lovely piece

I liked it very much too. I played it when I was doing my Grade 5. It is quite hard at that time but it well worth the effort.

For all you piano lovers - I uploaded some videos of my playing the piano (badly) on youtube. Hope you like them (there are all unsincronized for whatever reason it may be)
nocurne Eb - Chopin
Ballade - burgumuller
New orleans nightfall - gillock

Hiya , I have watched it. Cool .

Just one tiny suggestion for your consideration , hope you don't mind. For video of recital sometimes it is good to show also your hands on the piano.

lol. I can't get the camera in the right position .(or if I put the camera on the place where you put the music, it might.It would fall though.)

Actualy, it would look worse if I did that because of the unsicronized movements

I'm getting impatiant for my grade 6 results I know It's been only 2 weeks, but I WANT THEM!!!