It might seem a strange idea that students actively choose to sit exams that they don't have to. However, when learning a musical instrument this can be a very useful thing to do. Music exams give the student an opportunity to judge how they are progressing with their learning. The exams also give them a structured approach to learning both the practical and theoretical side of their instrument.

Yet who defines these music grades? London College of Music and Trinity College London are two of the examination boards. But the biggest is the ABSRM. This stands for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. It is the most popular examination board of the three in terms of the number of students sitting its exams and the choices of exams on offer.

In addition to practical exams, the ABRSM also offers things like jazz exams and musical theory exams. Nevertheless, it is the practical exams in specific musical instruments that have by far the biggest take-up. Beginners must start at the grade one exam. These exams go all the way up to grade eight.

There really isn't a lot of mystery surrounding the ABRSM's practical exams. On their website they give clear advice and guidelines as to what will occur when you take one. The main feature of these exams is that they are broken down into four parts. The first part carries the most weight in terms of marks. It is known as set pieces and requires the examine to play three-pre-prepared pieces of music that they have chosen from the course syllabus. They are marked out of 30 on this part and need a score of twenty to pass.

The second section is scales and arpeggios. The student must score 14 out of 21 to pass this section. It's pretty straightforward in terms of what you must do. The examiner simply requests a scale and the student plays it on their instrument.

The third component of the exam is the aural. This is all based around listening and testing the musical ear. In order to do this, the examiner will play the instrument and then ask a series of questions about what he's just played. A spoken, clapped or sung response will be required. Twelve marks out of eighteen is the minimum score needed to pass the aural section.

Sight-Reading is the final component of an ABRSM graded exam. Some might argue that it is also the hardest part. This is due to the fact that students are required to play a piece of music that they have no prior knowledge of. The examiner will present them with some sheet music during the exam and give them thirty seconds rehearsal time. After this, the student must play the piece of music as best they can. They need fourteen marks out of twenty-one to pass sight-reading.

All of these sections add up to a total of 150 marks. The lowest pass mark is set at 100. However, a pass with merit is awarded to students who manage to score 120 marks. In addition, a pass with distinction is awarded to any student who manages to score 130 marks. As you can imagine, this is not an easy thing to do!