These are the 3 main exam boards for drums. They offer a huge variety of songs and pieces so there's something to suit all students.
While not all students want to take exams, we will usually work our way through the books as they can be a really useful and enjoyable guide to progress.
I also find entering for an exam really helps students focus and improve their practice when they have a deadline coming up!
Check out each exam board and see which one has your favourite songs.....
Trinity Rock and Pop
These are my most popular exams with a wide variety of real songs from different eras. Artists include Queen, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Guns N Roses, Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse and more. 8 songs to each Grade.
Very accessible with no requirements to learn rudiments for the exam (though you'll still need to know them to play the higher levels!).
Arguably the easiest of the three options but still with plenty of challenges. The current books were introduced in 2017 so I'm expecting new books soon.
Rockschool
Rockschool have recently revamped their line-up of songs and have now added songs from famous artists alongside their lineup of tunes written especially for each grade.
As well as rock and pop songs there are also some Jazz and Latin tunes in some of the grades, now with 12 pieces to choose from in each grade.
Also new for 2021 is their impressive online learning app which puts all their books, music and play along tracks online and in an app for phones/tablets.
Trinity College London
Trinity have revamped their grade exams with their 2020-2023 books.
These are the most technical grade exams with an emphasis on Rudiments and a large variety of styles including Jazz, Latin and songs from musicals. Good value with three grades to each book but get very challenging quite early on. You need to be dedicated and practicing regularly to get through these!
https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/music/grade-exams/percussion/