Which is the best piano exam to choose from in AMEB? The AMEB stands for the Australian Music Examination Board. With an exam center in each Australian state, they offer a variety of syllabus options. Here we’ll take a look at two of these options, “AMEB Piano for Leisure” versus the “AMEB Piano” syllabus.

In short, “AMEB Piano” has a focus on the ‘classical’ repertoire. That is Western (mostly European) piano music from the 17th-20th centuries. On the other hand, “AMEB Piano for Leisure” offers a mixed bag of popular songs that covers classical and contemporary music styles. This includes movie and TV soundtracks, pop songs, musical theatre, and more.

Both exam options are great for students who find a grade structure helpful to their progress. It’s also worth adding that it isn’t essential for students to sit AMEB or any piano-grade exams. In fact, all students should explore more than what AMEB grades require. 

AMEB “Piano” exams explained

AMEB Piano follows a more ‘traditional’ approach to Western piano music repertoire. Generally, songs are separated into 3-4 style “Lists”. They simply call these “List A”, “List B”, “List C” and “List D”.

List A pieces are usually a study or a piece written in the Baroque period (1600s), List B generally from the Classical era (1700s), List C from the Romantic period (1800s) and List D is 20th century to now. It’s important to note these refer to “style”, rather than strictly music written on those exact dates.

To prepare for the exam, students choose one song from each list to play for their exam. They also prepare a few “extra” songs which may or may not be performed in full.

Students sitting the “Piano” exams also have to perform scales, answer an aural component, do a sight-reading exercise, and demonstrate general knowledge of the pieces they performed.

AMEB “Piano for Leisure” explained

AMEB Piano for Leisure is, as the name suggests, a more “relaxed” version of the AMEB Piano exam. The syllabus scraps the rigid categories of “Lists” and students can choose any combination of pieces from the prescribed song list. Students can also include a “free choice” song, which can be their own composition or arrangement.

On top of the repertoire, students also have to prepare scales and general knowledge similar to the “Piano” exams. However, there are fewer scales to learn. Also notably, students can choose between aural tests or sight-reading, but don’t need to do both. This makes it much more feasible to regularly practice all the exam components in the limited time of a piano lesson.

With a much more diverse repertoire, Piano for Leisure offers a contemporary approach to piano learning. As such it’s very popular with young students.

More AMEB piano exam modes

There are also more options within these two streams. Within both “AMEB Piano” and “AMEB Piano For Leisure”, students can choose a comprehensive exam, performance-only exam, “collaborative” exam, or video exam.