THE MAESTRO ONLINE
Grade 1 Piano Exam
Play rock & pop songs on the piano the way that you want to.
Pre-Level 1 Award £40.00 GBP
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Grade 1 Popular Piano Songs
For this exam you need to play three pieces.
- One Traditional Rock & Pop from the syllabus list (one verse and chorus),
- One from after 2000 from the syllabus list (one verse and chorus),
- One of your choice.
Songs can be transposed during the purchase process to utilise an appropriate key for this grade.
Traditional Rock & Pop
Star Wars (Movie Theme)
Friends (TV Theme)
Wallace & Grommit (TV Theme)
We Will Rock You (Queen)
James Bond (Movie Theme)
Kind of Magic (Queen)
All You Need is Love (Beatles)
Mamma Mia (Abba)
Imagine (John Lennon)
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (The Police)
Simply the Best (Tina Turner)
Fairy Tale of New York (The Pogues)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
Own Choice
Own choice pieces should be of a similar level of difficulty. The Grade Parameters can be found below. It's not expected that your piece will meet every aspect within the table, but it serves as a general guide as to the standard required.
Trad Rock & Pop Playlist
2000 Onwards Playlist
How to choose your Own Choice Piece
How Your Pieces are Marked
Learn piano, refine & shine
Excel with Our
Celebrity Grade 1
Piano Practice Toolkit
We want all pianists who love popular music to progress and achieve and be recognised by offering access to high quality and affordable music exams with international level supporting materials on our innovative online platform.
In order to really succeed in piano exams, we need to practice. Practising can seem boring, but NOT HERE! Here you will find a range of resources that will help you become the pop musician that you’ve always wanted to be.
Rhythm Backing Tracks
Support your fluency, improvise in time in 3/4 and 4/4 with tracks created by our Masterclass Tutors Marcus Brown (Madonna and more) and Nicky Brown (legendary producer & BBC).
- 4/4 Rock
- 3/4 Time
- New York Loop
- Slow Funky Loop
- Slow Drive Loop
- Pop Loop
- Detroit Loop
- Ballad Loop
Scale & Key Fun
Scales are not a requirement in the exam, but they are great for understanding keys and improvisation. We do them in a really fun way!
At Debut level C, F and G Majors were your priority.
At Grade 1 level, D and Bb Majors are also a key focus.
These tracks have been created exclusively by Andrew Sparham, our Guitar Tutor.
The Maestro Online “We Will Rock You” scale method.
Interactive step-by-step tracks in C, F, G, D and Bb Majors helping you start with just one note per key, then 2 notes, “add it and nail it” without feeling overwhelmed.
Bonus Masterclass – Add it and Nail It method by Mick Donnelly (Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Robbie Williams & more)
Multi-style backing tracks in C, F, G, D and Bb Majors (plus Mixolydian equivalents) in different styles to support your concept of key and improvisation. There are also tracks with the bass removed so that you can develop your LH and RH separately:
- Pop (Pentatonic/Major)
- Soft Rock (Mixolydian)
Song Style Backing Tracks
These are inspired by songs from the Grade 1 syllabus to help develop your improvisation.
- We Will Rock You
- Slim Shady
- Shotgun
- Friends
- James Bond
- Imagine
Exclusive Pro Tips
EXCLUSIVE Improvisation lessons, tips, tracks, teaching techniques from World-Class Masterclass Tutors, including pianists who played on some of the original pop songs, interesting anecdotes, professional piano player insights, and session musician perspectives. For Grade 1 tracks by international level pianists include:
- Move to the Groove
- 1 Note Improv
- 1 Chord Improv
- Establishing 4/4 time
- Beats 1 & 3
- The 3 Note Groove
- Short “Shotgun” lesson and improv from The Maestro Online piano courses
- Fairy Tale of New York improvisation inspiration.
self-Study piano curriculum
Pop Piano Courses & Celebrity Masterclasses
There’s a wide range of supporting resources on The Maestro Online platform to help you learn and polish your performances.
- The Maestro Online Curriculum Self-Study Courses enable you to play by ear, take you through all keys, use famous melodic snippets, teach you harmony and help you develop piano textures.
- Celebrity Self-Study Masterclasses enable you to truly polish your piano playing by learning with musicians who have performed and toured globally that you simply won’t find local to you.
What to expect
Grade 1 Popular Piano Exam
There is no requirement to play from the notation, but links are provided as an indication of the level of difficulty required.
All Piano Students
Grade 1 pieces are mostly on the beat, with minimum syncopation. The LH will often involve a simple bass line or chords. The coordination between the hands will not be complex. The melodies will mostly be pentatonic and major. Players are encouraged to create their own introductions and endings as well as embellishing the piece in order to gain extra marks.
At least one main chorus and verse need to be performed; multiple verses are not necessary as candidates are encouraged to ensure that pieces stay within the grade duration length specified.
Piano Students who Read Notation
Scores will typically include up to two sharps or flats in the key signature. Pieces will demonstrate a mixture of whole, half, quarter notes, eighth notes and equivalent rests, with occasional syncopation.
However, songs may be performed in any key and can be transposed during the purchase process to be appropriate for a learner at this grade.
Piano Students who Play by Ear
Ready to Shine?
Time to Take Your
Pop Piano Exam
Relax, breathe and let it all flow!
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