RSCM Singing Awards
RSCM Singing Awards celebrate singers’ achievements and progress, through formal examinations at three levels; Bronze, Silver and Gold. Designed to run in parallel to Voice for Life®, they affirm the work done by singers and choir trainers in choirs in a standardised way.
Singing Awards are open to singers from RSCM Group Member organisations (and those holding RSCM Individual or Under 25 Membership) of all denominations. Adults and children of any age who have completed the relevant training are encouraged to enter.
Singers will prepare and sing several sacred choral pieces chosen from the syllabus, demonstrate their musicianship skills through a practical skills test and share their understanding of their role, and the role of their choir, in the ‘Choir in Context’ section.
Why take a Singing Award?
- Preparing for a Singing Award gives you space to consolidate your learning and ensure you are developing the vocal skills, musicianship skills and contextual knowledge which will help you to grow as a well-rounded singer and musician.
- Passing a Singing Award gives you an opportunity to celebrate your achievements with your choir, wider community, and family and friends.
How to enter
Register an Awards Representative
A Group Member organisation (usually a church or school) looking to enter candidates will need to nominate an Awards Representative. The Awards Representative co-ordinates the entries, communicates with us on behalf of the candidates and receives timetables, results and certificates. Often, this is a choir trainer but it doesn’t have to be – it can be an administrator, a volunteer or any other adult with the organisation’s authority to work with us on their behalf.
Please click here to request registration as Awards Representative
Individual and Under 25 Members (if over 18) can act as their own Awards Representative but must still register using the form above. Under 25 Members who are under 18 must be represented by a parent or guardian.
Start training
The resources you need as you start preparing for an Award can be found here:
Syllabus (including music lists) (Autumn 2021 onwards)
- Unaccompanied items (Bronze) (Autumn 2021 onwards)
- Unaccompanied items (Silver) (Autumn 2021 onwards)
- Unaccompanied items (Gold) (Autumn 2021 onwards)
Showbie is our free online platform for Singing Award training materials, with lots of resources to help you perform your pieces well, as well as all the technical, musical and Choir in Context materials you’ll be tested on in the exam.
As you are choosing which pieces to sing, you may find these Spotify playlists helpful:
Bronze anthems
Silver Early Styles
Silver Later Styles
Gold 16th-17th centuries
Gold 17th-19th centuries
Gold 20th-21st centuries
Further guidance documents can be found below:
Using the voice well: Guidance on choosing suitable hymns
A short guide to preparing and taking our awards examinations online using the 2021 syllabus.
Find an exam session
An up-to-date list of available sessions and their booking deadlines can be found here.
Candidates may be entered for any session with space remaining, in-person or online. A session is selected when the entry is made.
An organisation training a large number of candidates for examination in the same session, totalling 3 or more hours of examining (Bronze – 30 minutes; Silver – 45 minutes; Gold – 60 minutes) may be eligible to host a Visit from an examiner. Contact examsdesk@rscm.com for more information.
Make an entry
Awards Representatives can enter candidates by logging into the Members Area and selecting VfL Awards Candidate Booking on their dashboard.
The timetable will be sent to the Awards Representative shortly after the session booking deadline.
| Award | Entry |
|---|---|
| Bronze | £43 |
| Silver | £59 |
| Gold | £104 |
Deferrals £20 – see syllabus regs. 2.7 & 2.8
Appeals £40 – see Appeals Process
FAQs
Q. How do Singing Awards fit in with Voice for Life?
A. White, Light Blue and Dark Blue help a candidate prepare for their Bronze award, Red for the Silver award, and Yellow for the Gold award.
Q. Are Singing Awards suitable for adult singers?
A. Absolutely! Singing Awards are designed to be suitable for singers of all ages who have completed the relevant training and many adults take the exams each year. The syllabus requirements are the same for everyone and examiners are trained to communicate effectively with candidates from 8 to 80+.
Q. I live abroad. Can I take a Singing Award?
A. In short, yes! If you live in a country with an RSCM branch (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, USA) please contact the relevant branch in the first instance to find out about local arrangements.
If you live in a country where RSCM Membership is administered from the UK (i.e. any country without a branch) you are very welcome to enter for any available online session. If the time difference means that you are unable to attend an online exam during UK daytime, please contact us to discuss. We are currently only able to arrange in-person sessions in England, Scotland and Wales.
Q. Do I need to be an RSCM Member to take a Singing Award?
A. Yes, you either need to be a member of an RSCM Group Member organisation or an Individual or Under 25 Member.
Q. Do I have to do the Awards in order?
A. No, you don't need to have done a particular Award to progress to the next, so you can take Silver without having done Bronze (and Gold without having done Bronze and/or Silver). The Awards Representative confirms on entry that the candidate is being entered at the level most suitable for their ability and experience.
Q. Can you help with training?
A. There are lots of training resources available on our Showbie site, with sample tests and information about what we are looking for at each level, and we occasionally run one-off in-person and online training sessions
The vast majority of candidates will work towards their exam with the guidance and support of an experienced musician - usually their choir trainer or teacher. If there is no-one available at your church or school, you might consider approaching a local singing teacher (for which there is usually a fee payable). Unfortunately, we are unable to offer recommendations.
Q. Do I need an accompanist?
A. You will need to provide an accompanist for in-person exams. Online exams can be accompanied 'live' or use recorded accompaniment (further guidance is supplied). Unfortunately, we are unable to offer recommendations.
Q. Can an examiner come to my church?
A. Churches or schools with three or more hours of examining in one session can request an examiner visit. Please contact us for more information.