ABRSM Guitar books for Practical and Performance Grades

Start with two checks: your grade and whether you are taking a Practical Grade or Performance Grade. For most customers, the quickest route is to open Syllabus Finder, confirm your level, then shop the Guitar collection.

If you are taking a Practical Grade, you will usually need the main repertoire book plus the matching technical and sight-reading support. If you are taking a Performance Grade, start with the grade-matched repertoire book and then check whether you also need an own-choice score.

For ABRSM Guitar Practical Grades, most customers should buy the books that match their exact grade:

• Guitar Exam Pieces from 2019
• Guitar Scales and Arpeggios
• Guitar Specimen Sight-Reading Tests
• Specimen Aural Tests for the relevant grade band

Buying by exact grade or grade band helps you avoid ordering the wrong book.

For ABRSM Guitar Performance Grades, start with the Guitar Exam Pieces from 2019 book for your grade so you can build your programme from current list pieces.

You should also check whether you need to buy a separate own-choice score for your fourth piece. Performance Grades do not use separate Scales, Sight-Reading or Aural books as assessed exam components.

Yes. The current Guitar books on the shop are the Guitar Exam Pieces from 2019 editions, so these are the right repertoire books to look for when buying current ABRSM Guitar exam material.

If you are comparing older editions or existing copies at home, check the latest overlap guidance before you buy.

For Practical Grades, yes. Guitar Exam Pieces covers your repertoire, but you will usually also need the matching Guitar Scales and Arpeggios book and Guitar Specimen Sight-Reading Tests book, plus the correct Aural book for your grade band.

For Performance Grades, no. You normally focus on repertoire plus any own-choice music you need, because there are no separate Scales, Sight-Reading or Aural components in that route.

If you are starting out, look for Guitar Prep Test 2019 for Prep Test and then move into the grade-matched Guitar books as you progress. Many early-stage customers also add Guitar Star for extra repertoire and confidence-building pieces between lessons and exam preparation.

That depends on your level and what you want to strengthen. Customers often add Joining the Dots for Guitar for sight-reading practice, Time Pieces for Guitar for extra repertoire, or collections such as Scarlatti for Guitar and Weiss for Guitar if they want more stylistic variety alongside exam preparation.

Quick path:

• Open Syllabus Finder and select instrument + grade
• Check the latest Guitar requirements and exam guidance on ABRSM before you buy
• Buy route-matched titles in the Guitar collection