A piano certificate course sounds like one product, but a piano certificate is really a series of them. Every grade you pass earns its own result and certificate, so the useful question is not "which certificate?" but "which grades, in what order, with whom?" This guide explains how graded piano certificates work at Trinity College London and ABRSM, what you actually hold at the end, and how a course should map onto the grades.
What a piano certificate actually is
Neither board sells a single course that ends in one certificate. Both run graded exams from Initial up to Grade 8, and each exam you pass is a separate result. Grade 3 is not a stepping stone you lose when you reach Grade 4; it stays on your record as a qualification in its own right.
Trinity publishes its bands for graded exams: a pass is 60 to 74 marks, a merit 75 to 86 and a distinction 87 to 100. Every candidate also receives a mark form or feedback report with a breakdown of marks for each section and written comments on strengths and areas to improve. For face-to-face exams Trinity says results arrive within two weeks; for digital exams the average is 14 days from submission, and digital certificates are emailed once results are released.
ABRSM works the same way in principle: you enter a grade, you are marked, you receive a result. For the video route, Performance Grades, the marking scheme is 150 marks, with 100 for a pass, 120 for a merit and 130 for a distinction. Check the board's own pages for the practical exam marking and for current certificate arrangements in your country, because these details are updated.
How a course maps onto the grades
A sensible course does not start at a grade. It starts at the student, and the first grade becomes a checkpoint. Our own beginner curriculum has eight modules: the keyboard and posture, reading the treble clef, the bass clef and both hands together, finger technique, first scales, sight-reading, aural skills, and then a final module for exam preparation. Finishing it means a student is ready to sit Initial or Grade 1 with either board, or to carry on without an exam on the same footing.
That order matters. A student who has met scales, sight-reading and aural tests as ordinary parts of every lesson does not meet them for the first time in the exam room. The exam then confirms something the student already does.
You can see the full sequence on our curriculum page. The exam routes are explained separately for Trinity and for ABRSM.
Choosing between Trinity and ABRSM
Both are well established and both teach the same instrument. The practical differences are in the format. A Trinity face-to-face piano exam has three pieces, technical work and two supporting tests, marked out of 100. An ABRSM Practical Grade has three pieces, scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and aural tests. Each board also offers a recorded route, so a student who finds a room with an examiner stressful has options.
Switching later is possible
The skills carry over. A student who learns scales, reading and listening properly can change boards between grades. Pick the one that suits the child or adult now; you are not signing a contract.
For a longer comparison, read Trinity vs ABRSM: which to choose or our shorter note onchoosing an exam board.
Why the higher grades carry more weight
Trinity's Level 3 music qualifications, Grades 6 to 8, are included in the UCAS tariff in the UK, which is one reason older students take them seriously. Trinity also states that its graded exams are regulated within the Regulated Qualifications Framework by Ofqual in England, CCEA in Northern Ireland and Qualifications Wales. UCAS points vary with the level achieved, so look at the current tariff rather than relying on a figure in a blog post.
For ABRSM, Grades 6 to 8 have an entry requirement: a pass in Grade 5 Music Theory, Grade 5 Practical Musicianship or Grade 5 in a practical jazz instrument. If a student wants Grade 6 or higher, theory belongs in the plan early.
What to ask any provider of a certificate course
Many pages promise a quick certificate. The right questions are plain ones:
- Is the exam itself awarded by the board, with the board's own certificate?
- Are lessons live and one to one, so the teacher can adjust the plan?
- Is there a full mock exam with written feedback before the real date?
- Who pays the entry fee? At Kraga, exam entry fees are paid to the board directly and are separate from lesson fees.
Be wary of any course that names a date by which you will hold a particular grade. Pace depends on practice at home, and an honest teacher will say so.
Starting without committing to an exam
You do not need to decide on a certificate before the first lesson. Many families begin with live lessons, see how the student takes to it, and choose a board once the pieces are sounding like pieces. Others never sit an exam and use the grades only as a guide to what to learn next. Both are reasonable.
If you would like to see how a first lesson works and talk through a plan,book a free 30-minute trial. We will tell you honestly whether grades make sense for the student in front of us.
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