LCM Piano Own Composition: 2021 vs 2026 Syllabus

LCM's piano syllabus used to say it outright. Its Leisure Play exam let the fourth piece be "an original or own composition", with no approval needed. Then the LCME Piano Syllabus 2026 arrived, and Leisure Play isn't in it. If you're planning an LCM exam with your own piece in it, which syllabus you enter under now decides whether that's written into the rules at all.

Where an own composition fits, by syllabus and exam type

Sources: LCM Piano Syllabus (2021), LCME Piano Syllabus 2026 (updated 13.05.2026), LCME Piano Recorded Requirements 2026, LCM Examinations Music Grades Specification, LCM Piano Requirements for Recorded Exams (updated 13.02.2024), LCME's piano exams page and its digital exams recording requirements page. For how LCM compares with ABRSM, Trinity, AMEB and RCM, see our overview of own compositions in piano exams.

This page describes what the documents say. Where they leave a question open, the answer comes from LCME, not from us.

The dates that decide it

LCME's piano page puts the change plainly: "The 2026 Piano syllabus opened for entries on 1 September 2026. You can continue using the 2021 syllabus until 31 July 2027."

The 2026 syllabus itself says it is "valid for Steps, Grades and Recital Grades in Piano from 1 September 2026 until further notice. The 2021 syllabus will remain valid until 31 July 2027." The 2026 recorded-exam requirements say the same for digital exams: "The 2021 syllabus and recorded requirements remain valid until 31 July 2027."

So until 31 July 2027, both syllabuses run side by side. LCME describes it as "a full 12-month overlap period to plan a smooth transition". What the documents don't spell out is whether "valid until 31 July 2027" refers to the exam date, the entry date or the submission date for a recorded exam. If your exam will be close to that date, confirm with LCME which one counts before you choose the 2021 route.

The 2021 route: Leisure Play

Leisure Play is LCM's performance-only exam: pieces and nothing else. LCM's Music Grades Specification describes it as for "candidates who wish to play pieces and who, for various reasons, do not wish to prepare for the additional components of the main grade syllabus". There's no technical work, discussion, sight reading or aural.

The 2021 piano syllabus sets the requirement out in one short paragraph. Candidates perform four pieces. Three come from the set lists for the grade or the syllabus's Leisure Play repertoire. "The fourth piece is own choice", which can also come from those lists, and "It may also be an original or own composition." There is "no requirement for own choice pieces to be pre-approved", and a piece "significantly easier than that of the equivalent grade" may be marked down.

Four things follow from it.

1. Only one own composition. The own-choice slot is the fourth piece; the other three come from the lists.
2. Each piece counts for 25%. The 2021 syllabus weights the four performances equally, so your composition carries a quarter of the marks.
3. Nobody signs it off in advance. The Music Grades Specification adds that "advice on the appropriateness of own choice pieces is available from the Chief Examiner in Music", which is worth using if you're unsure about the standard.
4. Style is open. The specification says the own choice "may be in a jazz, popular or other contemporary style, and/or may be an original or own composition".

Leisure Play is regulated. The 2021 syllabus says Leisure Play exams "are regulated by Ofqual and attract UCAS points in the same way as our standard examinations".

Recorded Leisure Play works the same way. LCM's Piano Requirements for Recorded Exams repeats that "The fourth piece may be an own choice, which may be in a jazz, popular or other contemporary style, and/or may be an original or own composition", with the same warning about pieces significantly easier than the grade.

The 2026 syllabus: what's left for your own music

LCME's piano page lists the change among what's new: "Streamlined exam pathways – Leisure Play has been removed from the Piano syllabus; the Recital Grade remains as the dedicated performance-focused option."

Note the scope. LCME's separate Leisure Play page still says Leisure Play exams are "Available in all music subjects". The removal is in the piano syllabus.

Standard grades. In the 2026 graded exam, the performance component is "three pieces from Lists A, B and C, with up to two substitutions from the Popular Piano list. At least one piece must be from the LCME Piano Handbook 2026." There's no own-choice slot.

Recital Grades. The 2026 Recital Grade has two components. First, "four pieces selected from the set lists (A, B and C)", with any number from the Popular Piano list. Second, one of two options, and the first is: "Performance of an additional piece from any list of the same grade, including the Popular Piano repertoire or an own choice piece of similar standard".

That's the only own-choice opening in the 2026 solo piano grades, and it's narrower than Leisure Play in two ways:

• It doesn't mention compositions. The 2021 Leisure Play text said the own choice "may also be an original or own composition". The 2026 Recital Grade text says "own choice piece of similar standard" and stops there. It may well include your own piece, but the document doesn't say so.
• It's optional. You can take a supplementary test instead of the fifth piece.

The 2026 recorded requirements match: Option 1 is "Performance of an additional piece from any list of the same grade, including the Popular Piano repertoire or an own choice piece of similar standard", and Option 2 is Discussion.

The 2026 syllabus also has a Piano Duet section in which "An own choice piece of comparable standard and length may be substituted in any two of components 1–3". Duet exams, it notes, "are not regulated by Ofqual and do not carry UCAS points". Again, it doesn't say whether that can be an original.

If a candidate's reason for choosing LCM is to play their own composition after July 2027, email LCME and ask directly whether an original composition is accepted as the Recital Grade own choice piece. Put the grade in the question and keep the reply.

The difficulty rule, in plain terms

Every own-choice route comes with the same condition: the piece has to hold its own against the set repertoire. The 2021 wording is that a piece "significantly easier than that of the equivalent grade" may be marked down. The 2026 wording is "of similar standard".

Both are framed as a comparison with the set repertoire for the grade, not a judgement of how good the composition is. LCM's Music Grades Specification gives grade descriptions that help you place a piece:

The practical test is simple: put your piece next to two set pieces from the grade's lists and play all three. If yours is shorter, simpler in texture and stays in one easy key, it's likely to be judged easier. If it is, a contrasting middle section or a more developed left hand can raise the demand without changing what the piece is.

The score: plan on a complete one

This is the part the syllabuses handle least clearly, and it's the one that costs marks if you leave it late.

Neither syllabus sets a notation standard for an own composition. There's no LCM equivalent of Trinity's rule that Grades 6 to 8 must be on a stave, or ABRSM's "fully-notated score".

The general music rules assume published editions. The 2021 syllabus says: "All sheet music used in the examination must be a published edition — legal downloads and sheet music apps are acceptable. The music must be made available for the examiner's reference if requested." An unpublished composition obviously has no published edition, and the syllabus doesn't address that case. The 2026 syllabus is looser: "Copies of the music must be brought to the exam and be shown to the examiner if requested."

Digital exams need a copy uploaded. LCME's recording requirements page is the clearest statement: "You must upload copies of the printed music of free choice items (except for Musical Theatre exams) and lyrics of pop vocals songs. If we do not receive this, it may result in your examination result being delayed or a mark deduction being applied." The same page says "All work submitted must be the candidate's own", referring to the recording.

Put together: bring or upload a clean, complete score of your composition, whichever syllabus and format you use. A lead sheet or sketch might be accepted, but nothing in the documents says so, and a full grand-staff score is never the wrong answer.

Getting your composition onto paper in time

Many pianists who write their own music have it in their hands and in a phone recording, not in notation. The route that works:

1. Settle the version. Play it through several times and decide what the piece is, including repeats and the ending. The score has to match what you'll play.
2. Record it cleanly. Phone close to the piano, quiet room, pedal only where the piece needs it.
3. Transcribe the recording to a score by ear in notation software, or with a transcription tool that gives you MusicXML you can edit.
4. Proofread at the piano. Play from the draft and fix every bar where the page and your hands disagree. Add dynamics, tempo and pedal marks.
5. Export a PDF for upload or printing, and keep the editable file for later changes.

If the piece started as an improvisation, step 1 is the hard one: rubato, varied repeats and a different ending each time. Our guide to turning a piano improvisation into a written piece deals with exactly that.

A transcription is a first draft, not a finished exam score. Check it against your playing bar by bar. If you'd like to try that route on your piece, you can use Piano to Sheet Music.

If LCM no longer fits your plan

If you're entering after 31 July 2027 and LCME doesn't confirm that an original composition counts as a Recital Grade own choice, other boards still write the option down. We describe what their documents say, not which board to choose:

• Trinity College London lets candidates perform their own composition in place of one listed piece at every grade, with notation rules that tighten at Grade 6. Our guide to Trinity's own composition rules by grade quotes the syllabus.
• AMEB in Australia sets its own rules for Piano for Leisure candidates; our guide to AMEB Piano for Leisure own composition rules covers them.

Checklist before you enter

1. Choose the syllabus: 2021 (Leisure Play explicitly allows your composition) or 2026 (Recital Grade own choice, composition not named).
2. If 2021, confirm the cut-off that applies to your exam date or submission with LCME.
3. If 2026, ask LCME in writing whether an original composition is accepted as the Recital Grade own choice piece.
4. Check the standard against two set pieces for the grade and the grade descriptions.
5. Fix the version you'll play.
6. Make a complete score and have it ready to upload or show.
7. For a digital exam, include the piece in your Complete List of items and upload the score with the video.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play my own composition in an LCM piano exam?

Yes under the 2021 piano syllabus, which LCME says stays valid until 31 July 2027: in Leisure Play the fourth piece is own choice and may be an original or own composition. The 2026 syllabus removes Leisure Play and doesn't mention own compositions, though Recital Grades allow an own choice piece of similar standard as the fifth item.

Has LCM removed Leisure Play for piano?

Yes, for the 2026 piano syllabus. LCME's piano page says Leisure Play has been removed from the Piano syllabus and that the Recital Grade remains as the dedicated performance-focused option. The 2021 syllabus, which includes Leisure Play, remains valid until 31 July 2027. LCME's Leisure Play page still describes it as available in all music subjects.

Can an own composition be the own choice piece in an LCM 2026 Recital Grade?

The syllabus doesn't say. In the 2026 Recital Grade, the fifth item can be an additional piece including an own choice piece of similar standard. Unlike the 2021 Leisure Play wording, it doesn't mention original or own compositions. Ask LCME before building a programme around it, and keep the answer in writing.

Does an LCM own choice piece need to be approved?

Not under Leisure Play. The 2021 piano syllabus says there is no requirement for own choice pieces to be pre-approved, and LCM's Music Grades Specification adds that advice on their appropriateness is available from the Chief Examiner in Music. If the piece is significantly easier than the grade, that may be reflected in the marking.

Do I need a score of my own composition for an LCM exam?

Yes, plan on one. LCME's digital exam guidelines say you must upload copies of the printed music of free choice items, or the result may be delayed or marks deducted. In person, the syllabus says music must be available for the examiner's reference if requested. Neither sets a notation standard for an own composition, so a complete stave score is safest.

How hard does my composition need to be for an LCM grade?

About as demanding as the set pieces for that grade. LCM warns that a significantly easier own choice piece may be marked down. Its grade descriptions give a sense of scale: pieces of 1 to 2 minutes at Grades 1 to 2, about 2 to 3 minutes at Grades 3 to 5, about 3 to 4 at Grades 6 to 7, and up to 5 minutes or longer at Grade 8.

Sources

• LCME: Piano exams page (2026 syllabus changes, 2021 validity)
• LCME Piano Syllabus 2026 (PDF, updated 13.05.2026)
• LCME Piano Recorded Requirements 2026 (PDF)
• LCM Piano Syllabus 2021 (PDF)
• LCM Examinations Music Grades Specification: Grades, Recital Grades, Leisure Play (PDF)
• LCM Examinations Piano Requirements for Recorded Exams (PDF, updated 13.02.2024)
• LCME Digital exams: recording requirements
• LCME: Leisure Play

Syllabuses and LCME pages checked 16 September 2026. LCME updates its documents; check the current versions before you enter.