Grade 8

At Grade 8, you can learn about tonal variety and the transition between different registers. You’ll perform three songs and build on your Grade 7 Session skills.

Choose your songs from our song list, including one of the Technical focus songs that develop particular skills. There’s an option for you to sing your own cover version of a song or, if you’re a songwriter, one of your own songs.

You’ll find more information about how the exam works in the downloadable syllabus.

Grade 8 Vocals song list

Although we’ve organised the song lists for male and female vocalists, you can choose any song for your exam. There are two Grade 6 Vocals songbooks – one for female vocals and one for male vocals. The songbooks include everything you need for the exam – sheet music for six songs, performance tips, technical support and guidance on Session skills, together with a CD of demo and backing tracks.

Here's a selection of songs from the two songbooks. To view the full song list for Grade 8 Vocals download the Rock & Pop syllabus.

• Bring Me To Life (Female vocals) (Technical focus) Evanescence
• Crazy In Love (Female vocals) (Technical focus) Beyonce
• Diamonds Are Forever (Female vocals) Shirley Bassey
• Reet Petite (Male vocals) (Technical focus) Jackie Wilson
• Cry Me A River (Male vocals) Justin Timberlake
• Lilac Wine (Male vocals) (Technical focus) Jeff Buckley

Session Skills

Players choose Playback or Improvising.

Playback

You’ll perform some music you haven’t seen or heard before – you can sight-read from a song chart or sing by ear from an audio track, or both.

Improvising

You’ll be given a song chart with chord symbols and song style and will improvise over a backing track.

Songs: Bring Me To Life, Crazy In Love, Diamonds Are Forever, Bat Out Of Hell, Cry Me A River, Don't Stop Believin'

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