Hi all, I've been pondering over whether to go in for exams conducted by rockschool nd trinity guildhall or not, is it worth doing the course or should i just concentrate on learning only>> :think: thnx. ujsen:annoyed: :rock:
Well, I think you should. It's a sort of an endorsement....a stamp certifying that you are a guitarist and actually can play reasonably decently and aren't just putting it in to make your CV look better. It won't say anything about your musical skills though. It's important, especially if you're young, because it could count when you apply to colleges. e.g.- the 4th grade or higher from the Royal School of Music qualifies you as a "guitarist". As for the course, there isn't anything there that you cannot learn outside it but the question is...will you learn everything they teach from someone outside the school?
The course is divided into grades....8 of them. Each grade has a set syllabus which you can cover and then sit for an exam to clear it. You can skip grades (not reccomended if you're a beginner). After clearing the 8th grade, you can go in for a teachers diploma which not a lot of people here do because there aren't teachers good enough to help you through the course. The exam conducted by the rock school is probably going to have more theory and a bit of improvisation involved.
So me playin' guitar for a year now..should i do the course? and if yes how many grades should i skip?
that depends on how good you are... ive seen people with 1 year playing expierience and have cleared grade 4 and some not even grade 2
Are you really 13? If so, you've got time on your hands so I'd say you shouldn't. Just breeze through the first couple if you find them easy but do them. You'll take a bit of time learning to sight read anyway if you don't know how to read sheet music.
^ I'd safely say 70% of guitarists in India do not know how to sight read. Sight reading is very ambiguous since the same note (in the same octave, mind) occurs in more than 1 place. It's a bitch to learn.
Oh im good at sight reading. I've been doin it since the beginning..i take classes n im not so bad ...i guess i wont skip it then (thx bjr). Yes, Im really 13 ^^
hey there is no escaping from sight reading man ..at one point of time you will feel the need yourself....and bout the trinity exams they have 2 papers one is the theory paper and the other is the practical one ..theory is very simple and interesting ... practical paper needs a lot of dicipline and practice ..theory paper happens twice a year bout the pracs happen only once ....
In the classical course, you have to play a couple of pieces from the syllabus set that you've prepared and one "extempore" (sight read and play, usually simpler than the ones you've prepared), there's is a ear test where they might ask you to sing out notes relative to each other, play scales etc. in rock I'm assuming they'll ask you to improvise in a key or two. Usually you tend to know where you're supposed to hit the note and they mention it in the book if it's where you wouldn't expect it to be. It still is a bitch to learn and I struggle with the simplest of pieces.
Ok thanks alot guyz ..last question (hopefully).. Accordin to you when shud I join this course and how much free time i may need in a day?
An hour a day should be more than enough if we're strictly talking just course. Of course, there are subtler things such as the right tone that may not come at all.
hmm. i guess u should start preparing for this from onwards ..in pracs u will have to play 2 or3 or more ( depending on the grade ) pieces and that to absolutely prefect no mistakes ...and u will have some sight reading then some questions over musical terms ,some scale and the ear test in which the examinar (some feerang) will play on the piano and ask u the key, hmm the tune , tapp the tune .. realive notes etc.......( all this is subjected to the grade like 1st grade willl not have half the things i mentioned where as 5th will have lot more that this)