10 May 2026 · 5 min · Notebook
Trinity Initial piano exam: a 7-point checklist for the week before
Trinity College London Initial Grade isn't about playing flashy — it's about showing you've prepared the full syllabus. This is the checklist Kru Pont's students run through the week before exam day.
Trinity Initial has three parts — three exam pieces, technical work (scales + an exercise), and one supporting test (sight-reading, improvisation, or aural). Most students prepare the pieces well but underprepare the supporting test, which is where Merit-level marks are won.
1. Your three pieces should be playable from memory without effort by exam week. If you're still glancing at the score during the final week, you're not ready. Run through them once a day in a quiet room with the music face-down.
2. Technical work — C major and A minor scales plus the prescribed exercise. Practice these for the first 10 minutes of every session as a warm-up, never as the main course.
3. Sight-reading — pick this supporting test if you read notation quickly. Practice 8 unfamiliar bars a day. Use a stopwatch: give yourself exactly 30 seconds of silent reading before playing.
4. Aural — pick this if you have a strong ear. Practice identifying major vs. minor chords by sound, and clap back simple rhythms you hear.
5. Improvisation — pick this if you enjoy making up melodies. Improvise 4-bar phrases over C–G–Am–F daily.
6. The day before the exam, don't over-practice. Play each piece once at a relaxed tempo, then rest. Sleep eight hours.
7. On exam day, arrive 30 minutes early. Warm up with a slow C major scale and sip warm water — cold hands slip more easily.