Piano

The 2025 & 2026 syllabus is valid from 1 January 2025. The 2023 & 2024 syllabus is still valid until 31 December 2025. During the one-year overlap period you must choose your three set pieces from the same syllabus.

If you’re taking Performance Grade 6, 7 or 8 you must pass Grade 5 (or above) in one of the following before you book: Music Theory, Practical Musicianship, a Jazz Practical Grade.   

You can find a list of accepted alternatives on our Performance Grades page.

Why have you introduced a repertoire list for piano for one hand? 

One-handed repertoire opens up piano playing for people with a range of upper limb differences and impairments, for example as a result of cerebral palsy, stroke, Poland syndrome and other conditions. It also allows students who have temporarily lost use of their arm or hand, to continue playing. It might also be helpful for a student who needs to concentrate on their technique for one hand more than the other or could be an activity that’s enjoyable just because it’s a new experience.

Who can play the pieces for one-hand in their Performance Grade exam?

Anyone! The music is of equivalent difficulty to the other pieces in the list for the same grade. Pieces are marked ‘left hand only’, ‘right hand only’ or ‘left or right hand only’. Candidates must not perform the one-hand pieces with two hands and they must use the hand specified in the lists. Any candidate can choose to play a piece from these lists and they can perform a combination of two-hand and one-hand repertoire if they want to. 

What happens if I have two partial hands?

Please contact our Specific Needs team ([email protected]) who will agree a reworking of the music.

Why is pedalling included in early grade repertoire?

To make a melodic line flow when performing with one hand requires some sustained sound. In one-handed repertoire you can’t achieve this by holding down a key alone as the hand has to cover so much of the keyboard. To help with this, the sustaining pedal appears at an earlier stage than for two-handed repertoire.

Is one-handed repertoire a new idea?

No. Composers have written one-handed piano pieces for decades but this is the first time that we’ve include them in our Piano syllabus. The most famous commissioner of one-handed repertoire was Paul Wittgenstein (1887 –1961) who became a right-arm amputee during WW1. When we carried out research to compile these repertoire lists we discovered a wealth of material. We also commissioned new works from participants on our composer mentoring programme. 

Can I see any pianists performing one-handed repertoire in public?

Yes! The first one-handed pianist to graduate from the Royal College of Music is Nicholas McCarthy and we worked with him on the development of these repertoire lists. Nicholas performs across the world on a regular basis.

I’ve never taught one-handed piano music before, is this a problem?

No! As with all teaching, it’s best to learn the music yourself first and then you’ll soon understand what’s needed to develop a musical performance.  Don’t be tempted to bring in your second hand when things get tricky. Instead, develop fingering and pedalling strategies to make it work. In a good performance, the listening audience won’t be know that the pianist is playing with one hand alone.