What are grades? Grades generally follow a syllabus that's designed and accredited by educational institutions. It is a curriculum that contains pieces of music and exercises written and arranged for students to develop their technical playing, theory and general musicianship. There are eight tiers in a syllabus that rank lowest to highest in difficulty - Grades 1 - 8. Each grade usually requires for the student to learn three pieces in the book, as well as a number of t