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100% found this document useful (4 votes)
576 views34 pagesRockSchool Guitar1 2012
Guitar score
Uploaded by
louis wanCopyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
/ 34
rockschool”
Guitar Grade 1
Performance pieces, technical exercises and in-depth guidance
for Rockschool examinations Table of Contents
Introductions & Information
Page
2 Acknowledgements
3. Table of Contents
4° Welcome to Rockschool Gui
Rockschool Grade Pieces
Page CD Full Mix Track CD Backing Track
5 Geom
9 Umbra Bella
13 Just Don't Know.
17 Krauss Country
21 ICAUFO
25 Fab Stomp
Heenan
Technical Exercises
Page CD Track
29° Scales, Arpeggios & Study 13
‘Supporting Tests
Page €D Track
32. Sight Reading
33. Improvisation & Interpretation 1415
34 Far Tests 16-18
35 General Musicianship Questions
Additional Information
Page CD Track
36. Entering Rockschool Exams
37. Guitar Grade 1 Marking Schemes
38 Introduction to Tone
40 Guitar Notation Explained
41 Grade 2 Preview 19
Guitar Grade 1
we SONG TITLE: GE? OFF
GENRE: INDIE
TEMPO: 115 BPM
KEY: A MINOR
‘TECH FEATURES: ACCENTS
STACCATO NOTES
SYNCOPATION
COMPOSER: JAMES UINGS
PERSONNEL: STUART RYAN (GTR)
HENRY THOMAS (BASS)
NOAM LEDERMAN (DRUMS)
OVERVIEW
‘Get Off" is written in an indie style that will be of,
interest to fans of bands like Arctic Monkeys, The
Libertines and The Strokes. This type of indie music
is characterised by energy, attack and a generally loose
feel. ‘Get Off” is split into several sections: an intro
composed of open chords, a single-note riffon the
‘bass strings and a lead melody line involving some
string skipping.
STYLE Focus
The energy and attack of these kinds of bands can
be difficult to capture. It comes from the picking
hand: this should be loose but needs to strike the
strings with a ‘snapping’ motion from the wrist so
that you can hit the strings harder. Another challenge
when playing this style is the abrupt, ‘stop start’ nature
of the riffs. In this piece, this is characterised by the
staccato notes and the rests that occur in the riff
starting at bar four. Accurate muting is a must here.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
‘Indie (independent) music is a style that
developed in the UK from the 1980s onwards.
Get Off
2-115 Indie
Although it focuses primarily on rhythm guitar and
riff building, there have been some creative guitarists
within the genre, most notably Jonny Marr of The
Smiths and John Squire of The Stone Roses. Indie
guitar is generally quite textural and can involve
everything from clean arpeggiated chords to spiky,
angular distorted riffs. One of the most popular
groups within the genre currently are Arctic Monkeys
Since forming in Sheffield, England in 2002, the
four-piece have achieved worldwide fame with their
energetic fusion of punk, indie and rock styles. Their
angular riffs and energetic higher tempos have set
them apart from their contemporaries and although
they dontt write particularly complex guitar parts,
they intertwine well and drive the music forward.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
‘The Arctic Monkeys’ debut album Whatever People
Say Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) remains the
fastest-selling debut by a band, thanks to the songs ‘I
Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, ‘When The
Sun Goes Down’ and ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco
Other key groups include The Libertines, Oasis,
Radiohead and Blur. The Strokes sparked a resurgence
of the genre in America upon the release of their
debut album Is This It (2001), which has influenced
many current indie bands.
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Walkthrough
Amp Settings
Your tone for this track should be biting and aggressive.
Use an overdrive that’ set so that the sound is breaking up
but not too saturated. Too much gain or using a metal-style
distortion will make the sound too mushy and will actually
reduce the punch and aggression found in this style of
‘music. Boost the middle a litle to give your tone some edge.
Distortion
Channel
Equalisation
Reverb
A Section (Bars 1-4)
‘This intro section creates an immediate impact by
contrasting aggressively strummed chords with single,
accented chord hits
Bar 2| Accent
‘An accent sign is placed above or below a note head. There
are five different kinds of accent sign, but by far the most
‘common is the one used in this piece and shown below the
D minor chord in bar 2. When you see this sign, you should
accent the marked note by playing it slightly louder than the
other notes in the phrase.
B Section (Bars 5-12)
The B section is made up of an open position, single-note
riff that uses mostly eighth notes.
Bars 5-12 | Alternate picking
Using all downstrokes can make the sound more consistent;
however. there is a lat of wasted motion that can make
playing the riff at this tempo quite demanding. You may find
alternate picking (down and upstrokes) a more efficient and
less fatiguing way to play this rif (Fig. 1).
Bar 5 | Staccato open strings
‘These staccato open strings are more tricky than most notes
or chords that are marked staccato because you can't simply
release pressure on the strings to mute them. To mute this
you can either use the underside of your fretting hand
fingers or place the edge of your picking hand on the string.
C Section (Bars 13-20)
‘This section of ‘Get Off’ features strummed open chords
which end with two accented E minor chords that lead into
the next section,
Bars 13-20 | Constant strumming motion
Your strumming hand should move in a constant down up,
cighth-note pattern, even when it’s not hitting the strings:
these are called ‘ghost’ strokes. This technique will help build
your sense of timing and make your rhythm parts more
fluent. Fig. 2 shows the strumming directions with the ghost
strokes identified in brackets.
D and E Sections (Bars 21-31)
‘The D section is a driving single-note melody based in open
position and features a small amount of syncopation and
string skipping. The E section isa reprise of the B section
and serves to bring the song to a close.
Bars 21-24 | Syncopation
A syncopated part is one that accents the weaker beats in
a bar. This can look complicated on paper but is actually
quite a natural sounding rhythm; syncopation is common in
modern music and, therefore, is not an unusual sound. The
melody has a catchy groove and you should be able to ‘fee!’
where the notes go instinctively. Ifyou find this difficult,
count the eighth notes in the bar and work out exactly where
each note lands before gradually building up the speed until
you are comfortable.
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RMRMAV RY ROY SONG TITLE: UMBRA BELLA
GENRE: GUITAR INSTRUMENTAL
TEMPO: 130 BPM
KEY: D MINOR
TECH FEATURES: OPEN CHORDS
LEAD MELODY PLAYING
WIDE STRETCHES
COMPOSER: SIMON TROUP
PERSONNEL: STUART RYAN (CTR)
HENRY THOMAS (BASS)
NOAM LEDERMAN (DRUWS)
ROSS STANLEY (KEYS)
OVERVIEW
“Umbra Bella’ is an homage to The Shadows,
a legendary British instrumental pop group who
formed in the 1950s. In keeping with the style of the
‘group, the lead guitar plays a melody line interspersed
with some strummed and arpeggiated (notes are
picked individually) open chords. Clean playing is
essential here, as is good timing
STYLE Focus
Hank Marvin, the lead guitarist with The Shadows,
‘was a pivotal figure in shaping the sound of guitar in
the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the first guitarists
in the UK to play a Fender Stratocaster, and his
unique use and control of the tremelo arm made him
stand apart from his contemporaries, many of whom
‘were simply strumming acoustic guitars. The ability
to play the melody cleanly in ‘Umbra Bella is essential
and you should focus on dynamics, tone and timing.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
‘Marvin's guitar playing was revolutionary at the
time, and he is renowned for playing with a great
touch and a bright clean tone. The Shadows were an
Umbra Bella
=130 Guitar Instrumental
instrumental group who were notable for backing
op singer Cliff Richard, but the tale doesn't end
there. The Shadows also achieved great success in
their own right with a string of instrumental hits.
Instrumental guitar music flourished through the
surf guitar sound of 1950s American groups, with
‘The Ventures and The Shadows adding their own
‘twist. Marvin developed a unique guitar sound
based on his use of the vibrato, ot tremolo arm, on
his Fender Stratocaster and the echo devices that
‘made his notes repeat after he had played them. The
Shadows’ catchy melodies and driving rhythms helped
them carve out their own sound that was distinctive
from anything else around at the time. It is unusual
now for instrumental groups to have top 10 hits,
and The Shadows remain one of the most successful
instrumental groups of the last 50 years.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
‘The Shadow’s version of ‘Apache’ features many
elements of the group’ sound, especially the tremolo
and echo- drenched lead guitar melody set against
the propulsive acoustic guitar strumming of rhythm.
player Bruce Welch. Other Shadows classics include
“FBI, ‘Wonderful Land’ and ‘Guitar Tango’ Their
playing on Cliff Richards’ ‘Summer Holiday’ also
contains one of the iconic licks of 1960s pop.
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Amp Settings
A bright, clean sound is ideal for the guitar part in ‘Umbra
Bella! Adding distortion would affect the clarity of the
part and would sound out of place in this style. Even clean
channels can distort, so keep the gain low to achieve a pure
tone. If you have access to it, adding reverb to the sound will
help you get closer to the classic Shadows tone.
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A Section (Bars 1-4)
‘The intro of this tune is based on an open A chord that
‘works to create tension in anticipation of the main melody
found in the B section.
Bars 1-4 | Strumming chords
Aim to keep your wrist relaxed here and allow the pick
to travel lightly across the strings to achieve a satisfactory
strumming action. It is common for beginners to ‘dig in’ too
‘much and drag the pick across the strings so that individual
strings can be heard. Be careful to avoid this.
Bars 1-4 | Counting rhythms
With a relatively high-paced track such as this, counting the
beats along with the music can be a helpful way of making
sure you play the chords in the correct rhythm. As you
count, make sure that the chords you play coincide exactly
with the numbers you are counting (Fig. 1).
B Section (Bars 5-20)
The B section is a single-note melody that, at first glance,
looks simple. However, the high tempo and wide interval
leaps make this section more of a challenge to play than it
first appears.
Bars 5-7 | Wide intervals
Wide intervals present some technical challenges. In
particular, skipping strings will require some practice to play
accurately. Start slowly, concentrating on playing accurately.
Only increase the speed of your playing when you can play
at your current tempo without error. Wide intervals usually
‘mean the melody notes will be on different strings, and as
a result they can bleed into each other if allowed to ring
on, Make sure you release any fretted notes before the next
melody note is played.
Bar 15 | Wide stretch
This bar features a four fret stretch in open position. It
important that you use your fourth finger to fret the E? at the
4 fret of the B string (Fig. 2). While this may feel difficult at
first, the strength in your fourth finger will increase quickly
with practice.
C Section (Bars 21-30)
This is a reprise of the B section, then the A section. It
features variations of the main melody and varies the intro
by playing an arpeggiated A major chord rather than a
strummed part.
Bars 26-28 | Arpeggios
If the notes in a chord are picked one at a time, the chord is
being ‘arpeggiated’
Bars 26-28 | Chord accuracy
It is important to fret chords accurately, and the arpeggiated
chords in bars 26-28 will expose any notes that are not
fretted cleanly. Fret with the tips of your fingers to make
room for the adjacent higher sounding strings to ring clearly.
If you have difficulty, experiment with the position of your
thumb, which has a large impact on your hand's mobility.
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"lg. 1: Coumtng eoyds SONG TITLE: JUST DON'T KNOW
GENRE: OLASSTC ROCK
TEMPO: 90 BPM
KEY: A MINOR
‘TECH FEATURES: POWERCHORDS
SLIDES
‘TIED RHYTHMS
COMPOSER: KIT MORGAN
PERSONNEL: STUART RYAN (GTR)
HENRY THOMAS (BASS)
NOAM LEDERMAN (DRUNS)
OVERVIEW
‘Just Don't Know’ isa classic rock tinged song that
pays tribute to pioneering groups of the 1970s like Led
Zeppelin, AC/DC and Thin Lizzy. The track features
‘many hallmarks of this style, including crunchy open
position powerchords and ideas drawn from the
minor pentatonic scale. Attack and precision are some
key components for success within this style.
STYLE Foous
Classic rock developed in the 1970s through the
influence of guitarists like Led Zeppelin’ Jimmy
Page, AC/DC's Angus Young and Thin Lizzy’s Scott
Gorham. These bands often featured two guitars
(rhythm and lead) or one guitar player holding down
riffs then soloing (e.g, Jimmy Page and Black Sabbath’s
‘Tony Iommi). You will encounter many key elements
of the latter type of player here as you move from
powerchord based ideas to open string riffs and a
melody/lead line.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
In the classic rock format the guitarist is often
adept at both lead and rhythm playing, although
Just Don’t Know
4-90 Classic Rock
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there are scenarios where there are two guitarists. A
classic example is AC/DC, where Malcolm Young
holds down the rhythm parts while his brother
‘Angus always takes the lead. Groups like Thin Lizzy
exploited the possibilities of having two guitarists
by creating intricate harmonized lead guitar parts
where both guitars played simultaneously. Riff
building and soloing with the minor pentatonic scale
are key components of classic rock guitar, and you
will find this scale in abundance in the music of all
the aforementioned groups. Picking hand attack is
important here: in the 1970s, high gain amps did not
exist so the guitarist obtained more gain (distortion)
from the amplifier by turning it up loud and hitting
the strings hard,
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Getting into classic rock is easy thanks to a wealth
of great material. Essential listening includes AC/
DC’ Highway To Hell (1979), Led Zeppelin IV (1971),
featuring the legendary ‘Stairway to Heavert, and
Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak album (1976). Further listening
comes in the form of Aerosmith and Van Halen, who
took rock in a more technical, lead guitar focused
direction (especially Van Halen) thanks to pioneering
guitarist Edward Van Halen who was a master of both
lead and rhythm guitar. sedentetiintntiadiad
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The key part of a classic rock guitar tone is the middle. This
is usually boosted to give the guitar an aggressive sound that
cuts through the rest of the band. Lead guitar particularly
benefits from this approach. You should use an overdrive
‘with the gain set to around 7, but be careful not to add too
much gain because you need clarity as well as grit.
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A Section (Bars 1-4)
‘The A section is an open position riff that uses a
‘combination of powerchords, single notes and ringing
chords that use open strings.
Bar2| Let ring
Usually in a single note melody, you should avoid letting
the notes ‘bleed! into each other because this can affect the
clarity of the part. In this case, however, the melody is based
‘on the notes of a chord ringing into each other, hence the
self-explanatory ‘Let ring’ indication,
Bar 3 | Syncopation
When a part accents the weaker beats in the bar (usually the
“& of each beat), this is known as syncopation. The rhythm,
in bar 3 may appear intimidating, but it’ quite easy once you
spend some time on it. One approach is to work out where
each note falls in the bar and count “I & 2 & 3 & 4 &” as you
play. Start slowly and only increase speed when ready.
B Section (Bars 5-12)
This section features single note riffs and double-stops, and
contains a reprise of the ringing chords from the A section.
Bar7 | Slide
Pick the first note of bar 7 and then, without re-picking the
string, slide up to the Féat the 4* fret of the same string. As
you slide up, make sure you maintain pressure into the neck
to keep the note ringing. Its common for people to rush the
slide but you should take time to ensure that the first note
sounds for a full eighth note (Fig. 1).
C & D Sections (Bars 13-24)
‘The majority of this section is a single-note melody using,
a tied rhythm. The section ends with a powerchord that
dramatically sets up the D section, which is a reprise of the
opening A section.
Bars 13-19 | Tied rhythms
When two notes of the same pitch are joined by a tie (not,
to be confused with a slur marking), only the first note is
played. However, you should hold the note for the duration
of both notes. If tied notes are new to you work on the
phrase slowly, counting as you play (Fig. 2).
Bar 20 | Staccato
‘The staccato note on beat three of bar 20 (marked with
a dot) should be articulated by releasing pressure on the
strings. Don't take your fingers all the way off the string
because this will slow you down and may produce unwanted
string noise. Instead, just stop pressing. This chord is more
tricky than most notes or chords that are marked staccato
because the open string will ring on. To mute this, either use
the underside of your fretting hand fingers or place the edge
of your picking hand on the string.
Bar 24 | Note lengths
‘When a song ends it can be tempting to let the final note
ring on for longer than notated. Be sure to stop the final note
after one beat.
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Fig. 2: Tied rhythms SONG TITLE: KRAUSS COUNTRY
GENRE: COUNTRY
TEMPO: 88 BPM
KEY: © MAJOR
TECH FEATURES: OPEN CHORDS
‘DOUBLE-STOPS
LEAD MELODY PLAYING
COMPOSER: DEIDRE CARTWRIGHT
PERSONNEL: STUART RYAN (GTR)
HENRY THOMAS (BASS)
NOAM LEDERMAN (DRUMS)
OVERVIEW
‘Krauss Country’ is a composition written in the
style of American bluegrass/country singer Alison
Krauss. The guitar plays a melody line on single
strings, which is then harmonised with double-stops.
This is a common technique in country guitar.
STYLE FOoUS
Bluegrass music, a close cousin of country, is the
folk music of America and can be fast and furious or
soft and lyrical, as is the case with ‘Krauss Country?
Bluegrass and country tunes are often played
instrumentally, with one instrument taking the
melody. In this case the guitar plays a simple melodic
figure, which is then developed with double-stops
where you play two notes simultaneously to create
harmony. Major and minor thirds are particularly
common harmonies in bluegrass and country. Make
sure you listen to the backing track to hear the
complementary guitar parts
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Country music is popular in the United States
and has a long, rich heritage. Today there are several
Krauss Country
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branches of the style from modern country rock of
Garth Brooks and Keith Urban to the more traditional
bluegrass artists such as singer and violinist Alison
Krauss. Bluegrass musicians are often virtuoso players
who are comfortable playing at high speeds. A typical
bluegrass band may use a combination of guitar,
mandolin, fiddle (violin), dobro (slide guitar), double
bass, mandolin, banjo and vocals. Itis unusual to find
drums in bluegrass, but they are usually found in the
majority of country music groups. Alison Krauss and
her band Union Station are regarded as the leaders in
this field of country, thanks to their exciting readings
of traditional bluegrass along with modern country.
Bluegrass guitarists use acoustic instruments and
either flatpick (use a plectrum) or fingerpick with the
picking hand
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Alison Krauss and Union Station's Live (2002) is
where you will hear a tight bluegrass band at their
best. They are also masters of slower ballads, which
serve to create a contrasting dynamic. Bluegrass guitar
player Tony Rice is also highly regarded within the
bluegrass genre, and his album 58597 The Bluegrass
Guitar Collection (2003) represents this modern
‘master perfectly. Finally, listen to the grandfather of
bluegrass, mandolinist Bill Monroe.
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Amp Settings
‘Aim for a warm, full and clean tone on this track. The choice
‘of pickup is up to you, but selecting one located nearer the
neck will give you the warmest tone. Boost the bass a little
and, if our tone is still too bright, roll off a small amount of
treble and middle. A modest amount of reverb will add some
ambience to the song's melody.