Jazz Piano exams

There are four sections to a Jazz Piano exam, giving candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their skills through prepared work and musicianship tests.

The tunes cover a wide range of styles - from New Orleans and swing through to modal, jazz-rock and Latin jazz. Each arrangement contains a fully notated Head and at least one section for improvisation, with a simple chord sequence and set of guideline pitches.

Jazz exams include:

• Three tunes from the list for the grade
  A blues, a standard and a contemporary tune. All include improvisation.
• Scales, arpeggios and broken chords
  Common patterns found in jazz.
• Aural tests
  Testing all-round aural awareness and musicianship skills.
• Quick Study
  To play either at sight or to reproduce by ear a short phrase and to improvise a response.