I did do a search to see if this has already been mentioned, but i couldn't find an existing posting.

I was always under the impression with AB that you HAD have the suggested music edition as listed in their syllabus.

I have put forward a few students with Trinity recently (and just in case there's an AB mod reading, this is only because of not needing the required theory pass at grade 5) and i noticed that Trinity run some of the same music on their lists but different editions. I contacted Trinity and asked if it was necessary to use the suggested edition and they said no, it was merely a suggestion and any edition would suffice. I am not sure if the AB rules are the same, as i said, i was always under the impression that you had to have the edition in their list, but i thought it was interesting enough to post as a topic

In my experience you don't have to have the edition off the syllabus. However, for my grade 8 singing I was doing Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man, I bought the suggested edition off the syllabus because there was so many different versions of it in books I already had and I didn't want to sing too much or too little of it.

No, you don't have to use the suggested edition for AB exams unless it says so explicitly. Eg the Chester edition has to be used for the Faure Sicilienne in the Grade 5 flute syllabus because it says ed. Bigio in the list. Similarly, the Barenreiter edition has to be used for the Schubert Arpeggione Sonata in the Grade 8 List. If no editor is specified, then another edition can be used.

I've found this strange in the case of the Kohler studies set for Grades 6 and 7 in the current syllabus. No specific edition iof the Romantic Etudes is required, but the suggested edition, the Billaudot, is a heavily edited version of the original, which I have in the Zimmerman edition. The Spanish Caprice set for Grade 7 has a new section tacked on to the beginning which wasn't written by Kohler, as far as I know. I'm never sure what to do if a student chooses this one - I tend to suggest they get the Billaudot for safety, but much prefer the Zimmerman.

From the ever-useful These Music Exams (at http://www.abrsm.org/resources/TMERevised05.pdf ):

Ah ha - glad I searched for this topic. One of my flute students went and bought a different edition to the one in the syllabus given for her grade 8 flute. She had been borrowing my copy, but invested in one which has a cadenza that is not included my edition. Phew - saves dashing out and trying to get a new copy

Thanks x