Australian Music Examinations Board
The Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) is a federated, privately funded corporation which provides a program of examinations for music, speech and drama in Australia. The organisation had its beginnings at the Universities of Melbourne and Adelaide in 1887 and now has six state offices as well as a Federal Office in Melbourne. The Federal Board consists of representatives of educational institutions that are signatories to the AMEB constitution. These are the Universities of Melbourne, Adelaide and Western Australia, the Minister for Education and Training, New South Wales, the Minister for Education, Training and Employment, Queensland and the Minister for Education and Skills, Tasmania through the University of Tasmania.
AMEB examinations are based on syllabuses set by the Federal Board in conjunction with the music and speech and drama community. AMEB produces a range of publications which support students and teachers preparing for exams.
AMEB offers syllabuses and examinations in a broad range of subjects including:
- Music Teaching
- Music Theory (Theory of Music, Musicianship, Music Craft)
- Keyboard (Piano, Piano for Leisure, P Plate Piano, Organ, Electronic Organ)
- Strings (Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Classical Guitar, Harp)
- Woodwind (Recorder, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone, Saxophone for Leisure)
- Brass (Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, Tuba, Euphonium)
- Brass Band Instruments (Instruments in B flat, E flat and C)
- Percussion
- Voice (Singing, Singing for Leisure)
- Contemporary Popular Music (Keyboard, Vocal, Drum Kit, Guitar, Bass)
- Musical Ensembles (Brass, Mixed, Percussion, Strings, Woodwind)
- Speech and Drama
AMEB examinations cover a large range of skill levels; from a "Preliminary" grade suitable for very young children through to academic degree-level diplomas, including the Associate in Music (AMusA), the Licentiate in Music (LMusA), and ultimately the Fellowship in Music (FMusA), a diploma that is often conferred on an honorary basis to musical luminaries.
AMEB has recently introduced online examinations for music theory and online courses for Theory of Music.
In addition to the standard syllabuses, AMEB has a series of "for leisure" syllabuses for the piano, saxophone and voice which contain a repertoire of modern music. AMEB also has a Contemporary Popular Music (CPM) offering for Keyboard, Drum Kit, Guitar, Bass and Voice.