RCM Piano Exams: Own Choice Pieces and Scores

The short answer is the inconvenient one: the Royal Conservatory's piano syllabus does not have an own-composition route. What it has is a flexible system of substitutions, which lets a student swap listed pieces for other work, and a request form for anything that doesn't fit. If you came here hoping to play a piece you wrote, this page tells you exactly what the rules allow, where an original piece could only enter, and what the examiner will expect to see on the stand.

The substitution rules at a glance

From the Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition (the current edition on RCM's Teacher Portal, with errata dated January 11, 2024 that don't touch substitutions). Checked 16 September 2026.

Two sentences sit under that table in the syllabus, and they decide everything for an unusual piece: for any substitute "falling outside these categories, and any substitutions for the Associate Diploma (ARCT), students must complete an Examination Substitute Piece Request Form (available online) in advance of the examination registration deadline. Students are advised to prepare an alternate work in case the request is denied."

What "own choice" means at RCM

At some boards, an own-choice slot can hold a piece the candidate wrote. Trinity, for example, says candidates "can choose to perform an own composition as one of their pieces", and our overview of own compositions in piano exams quotes each board's wording. At RCM the phrase means something narrower. The syllabus says: "Students have the option of substituting selections at each examination with alternatives of their own choice. Official approval of most substitute selections is not required."

Those alternatives fall into four named categories. Here is what each one allows.

Syllabus substitutions

A student at Levels 1 to 10 "may substitute one repertoire selection and/or one etude from the corresponding list of the level immediately above their examination level". The syllabus's own example: a Level 5 List A selection in place of a Level 4 List A selection. Conditions:

• No approval needed.
• Same genre or period as the list. A Level 9 List D selection may be replaced with Level 10 List D or List E.
• Marked at the higher standard. Syllabus substitutions "will be evaluated at the standard of the higher level".
• Not for Level 2 List C: Inventions.

Preparatory A may borrow one selection from Preparatory B, and Preparatory B from Level 1 List A or B.

Teacher's Choice substitutions

This is the closest RCM comes to a free choice, and it's the category people usually mean by "own choice piece". At Levels 1 to 10, a student "may substitute one repertoire selection and/or one etude with a work not listed in the Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition that is of comparable length, difficulty, style category, and musical quality to selections in the specified list."

The rules that catch people out:

• Only certain lists. List B at Levels 1–2, List C at Levels 3–7, List C or D at Levels 8–9, List C, D or E at Level 10. You cannot, for example, replace a Baroque List A piece with an unlisted work.
• Same stylistic idiom as the list it replaces. Etude substitutions, by contrast, "may be freely chosen from any stylistic period".
• The choice itself is marked. "The mark for the performance of a Teacher's Choice substitute selection will include an assessment of the appropriateness of the choice."
• Long pieces may be cut short. A Teacher's Choice selection that "exceeds the expected length" for the level "may be stopped by the examiner once an assessment has been reached".
• The teacher carries the responsibility. "It is the responsibility of the teacher to provide guidance regarding Teacher's Choice substitutions to ensure that the chosen repertoire complies with the syllabus requirements."

Preparatory A and B students may make one Teacher's Choice repertoire substitution of comparable length, difficulty and musical quality.

Popular Selection List substitutions

At Levels 1 to 10, a student "may replace one etude with a work included in any edition of the Popular Selection List". The list is an online addendum of "contemporary arrangements that have been categorized by level". The piece must come from the student's exam level or the level immediately above. This replaces an etude, not a repertoire piece.

Student's Choice substitutions

Only at the Licentiate Diploma (LRCM): one extended selection, or up to three brief selections with a total playing time of up to 15 minutes, equal in difficulty and quality to the LRCM lists. The summary table marks it "prior approval required".

Where an original composition could fit, honestly

Nothing in the syllabus says an original piece is excluded, and nothing says it's included. Here's how the wording applies to one.

Teacher's Choice is a poor fit on paper. The category describes a "work not listed" of comparable "musical quality", and the teacher is responsible for judging that. The syllabus doesn't say whether an unpublished student work counts. Treating it as allowed without asking risks what the syllabus warns about: "A substantial mark deduction may be applied for substitute selections that do not comply with the following regulations."

The published-edition rule is the bigger obstacle. RCM's Practical Examinations syllabus (2025 edition), which applies to every instrument, says under in-person procedures: "Students must provide the examiner with a published edition of each piece of music to be performed at the examination." An original piece that exists only in the student's head, or as a home printout, isn't a published edition.

So the request form is the only clear route. If a student wants to play an original piece, the syllabus's own instruction for anything "falling outside these categories" is the Examination Substitute Piece Request Form. RCM's Forms and Services page says:

• the form is submitted "by the examination registration deadline of the session you wish to use the piece";
• you'll hear "by email within four weeks" whether it was approved or denied;
• if approved, "you must bring the approval form with you to the examination and submit it to the examiner";
• approval is "only valid for the session indicated";
• "Please ensure an alternate piece is prepared in case the substitute request is denied."

We have found no RCM document that says how such a request for an original work is judged, so we won't guess at the odds. Ask RCM directly when you submit, including what it wants on the stand instead of a published edition.

If performing an original piece is the point, the plain alternative is a board that writes it into the syllabus. Our pages on the ABRSM own-composition score and Trinity's own-composition rules by grade set out what those boards ask for.

Deadlines for the 2026–27 sessions

From RCM's examination dates pages, checked 16 September 2026. A substitute piece request is due by the registration deadline of the session in which you'll play the piece. Since the reply can take up to four weeks, sending the form well before the deadline leaves time to switch pieces if it's denied.

Remote exams work differently: the Practical Examinations syllabus says they "can be scheduled at any time throughout the year" from anywhere in North America. The syllabus doesn't give a request-form deadline for remote exams, so ask RCM before you book one around a substitute piece.

What goes on the stand on exam day

The score rules matter as much as the substitution rules, and they apply to every piece in the program. From the Practical Examinations syllabus:

• A published edition of each piece, given to the examiner.
• No unauthorised photocopies. "Photocopied music is not permitted in the examination room unless the student has a letter of permission from the publisher or website." A single photocopied page for a page turn also needs the publisher's permission; the syllabus notes that The Frederick Harris Music Co. grants that permission for one to two pages of its own copyrighted works.
• Downloads need proof. For a purchased online edition, proof of payment; for a free public-domain download, "proof of legal, free download".
• Tablets are allowed "to display music scores".
• List every piece on the Program Form online no later than 24 hours before the exam.
• Remote exams: repertoire and etudes go on your music stand or piano before you join.

If the student composes anyway

Plenty of RCM students write music, and the exam isn't the only place it can go. If the request form route is worth trying, or if the piece is headed for a festival, a recital or another board's exam, the same thing helps: a clean score of the piece as the student actually plays it.

Students who compose at the keyboard rarely write it down as they go. The practical order is:

1. Record the student playing the piece in full, at performance tempo, on a phone close to the piano.
2. Get the notes on paper. By ear in notation software, or by transcribing the recording. Piano to Sheet Music turns a solo piano recording into an engraved PDF, MIDI and MusicXML for $4.99 per piece, no subscription.
3. Proofread with the student at the piano. Pitches, rhythm, then hand splits.
4. Add what the student means but software can't hear: title, tempo marking, dynamics, pedalling, fingering where it helps.
5. Print a clean copy, and keep the MusicXML so it can be revised.

Our guide to notating a student's composition from a recording walks through that process from the teacher's side. If you want to try the transcription step on a student's piece, you can use Piano to Sheet Music; the first 30 seconds of every recording are free.

A checklist for any substitute piece

1. Identify the category: Syllabus, Teacher's Choice, Popular Selection List, or none of them.
2. For Teacher's Choice, confirm the list allows it at your level and the style matches.
3. Compare length and difficulty with listed pieces on the same list.
4. If it fits no category, send the Examination Substitute Piece Request Form early, before the registration deadline.
5. Prepare an alternate listed piece until you have approval.
6. Get a published edition, or proof of purchase or legal download.
7. Put the piece on the Program Form at least 24 hours before the exam.
8. Bring the approval form, if you needed one, and hand it to the examiner.

Frequently asked questions

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

The Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition doesn't offer it. It lists four kinds of substitution and none mentions a student's own composition. A piece outside those categories needs an Examination Substitute Piece Request Form before the registration deadline, and RCM advises preparing an alternate work in case the request is denied. Approval isn't guaranteed.

What is a Teacher's Choice substitution in RCM piano?

It's a work not listed in the Piano Syllabus that replaces one repertoire selection and/or one etude. The work must be of comparable length, difficulty, style category and musical quality to the list it replaces. At Levels 1 to 10 it applies only to certain lists, and the mark includes an assessment of whether the choice was appropriate.

Which lists allow a Teacher's Choice substitution?

The syllabus limits repertoire substitutions to List B at Levels 1 and 2, List C at Levels 3 to 7, List C or D at Levels 8 and 9, and List C, D or E at Level 10. Teacher's Choice etude substitutions may come from any stylistic period. Preparatory A and B may substitute one repertoire selection.

Do I need approval for a Teacher's Choice piece?

No, as long as it fits the syllabus rules. RCM says official approval of most substitute selections is not required, and it is the teacher's responsibility to make sure the choice complies. Only substitutes outside the four categories, and substitutions at the ARCT diploma, need the Examination Substitute Piece Request Form.

How long does RCM take to answer a substitute piece request?

RCM's Forms and Services page says you will hear by email within four weeks whether the request was approved or denied. The form must be in by the registration deadline of the session you want to use the piece in. If approved, bring the approval form to the exam and give it to the examiner; it is valid only for that session.

Can I bring a photocopy or my own printout to an RCM exam?

Not of published music without permission. RCM's Practical Examinations syllabus says students must provide the examiner with a published edition of each piece, and photocopies need a letter of permission from the publisher. Purchased or public-domain downloads need proof of payment or of a legal free download. A tablet may be allowed to display scores.

Sources

• The Royal Conservatory of Music: Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition (PDF), Introduction: Substitutions and Substitutions Summary
• RCM Teacher Portal: Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition and errata
• The Royal Conservatory of Music: Practical Examinations Syllabus, 2025 Edition (PDF), Copyright and Photocopying; Examination Procedures
• RCM: Forms and Services (Substitute Piece Request)
• RCM: Examination Dates, Canada
• RCM: Examination Dates, US
• Trinity College London: piano own composition starting points

Rules and dates checked 16 September 2026.