Can you mix Trinity and ABRSM?

[BretonBlue]

DD is approaching grade 1 piano and her current teacher recommends Trinity. I don't know enough about either Trinity or ABRSM to have any opinion on their relative merits but I am curious whether choosing a particular board at this point locks her in for the future? Do children move between the boards in accordance with their / their teacher's preferences?

It's no problem to switch between exam boards. I use both and it will depend on the particular pupil as to which works best to their strengths.

Thank you! Are they very different?

Absolutely fine. They are both regulated by Ofqual so Grade 2 with Trinity should be the same standard as Grade 2 with ABRSM etc.

The main differences come in the supporting tests.

No problem switching so long as the teacher is aware of the different emphasis. Mine did Trinity for higher grades until they scraped through G5 theory ... which you have to have for ABRSM 6 - 8.

Teachers might swap between them depending on the music, how good a fit the supporting (aural) tests are for your child or location of exam centre/ timing. You also don't have to do every exam, they are very expensive. As long as the child is learning new repertoire and skills and not just doing exam pieces, you can do say grade 1,3,5,78. There's lots of info on the abrsm website, including videos of a whole exam and mock ones you can mark to see what happens on the day and what they are looking for.

I wish I had known this in the 90s! I dropped my instrument tuition after grade 5 as I didn't want to have to do the theory.