FOR TEACHERS real songs. real skills. real progress. The exam that putS performance first. TRINITYROCK.COM 2 real songs. real skills. real progress. Our Rock & Pop exams for bass, drums, guitar, keyboards and vocals reflect the way musicians want to learn. Learners perform a set list that lets them showcase their own unique musical style and skills, and they get the opportunity to gain a valuable qualification that’s recognised and respected around the world. Real songs Highlights Teach your students to play the music they love, or introduce them to new genres, with our huge range Song lists with hundreds of well-known of hit songs spanning all contemporary styles. They songs from artists including Adele, David can choose their set list from the eight songs in our Bowie, The Beatles, and many more graded songbooks, play a song of their own choice, Songbooks each featuring eight songs, or perform a song they’ve written themselves. performance tips, background information, Real skills and downloadable backing and demo tracks Help your students develop the improvisation and A range of digital resources to support playback session skills that professional musicians your teaching available at trinityrock.com/ need. They can showcase their technical skills practice-room in a real-life context through our technical focus The Play Trinity Rock & Pop app which allows songs, and demonstrate their ability to deliver a your students to practise in the way that compelling live performance. best suits them Real progress Individual syllabus booklets for each Encourage your students to achieve their goals instrument to get you straight to the most with an externally regulated and internationally relevant information recognised qualification. Trust the 140-year heritage Trinity brings to contemporary music, and benefit from marks and comments on your students’ performances from Trinity’s expert examiners. 3 real Songs. GRADE02 GRADE 04 GRADE 01 VOCALS GUITAR KEYBOARDS JAMES BROWN Contemporary & classic songs INITIAL for Trinity College London Contemporary & classic songs Rock & Pop exams from 2018 Contemporary & classic songs WILSON PICKETT TAYLOR SWIFT for Trinity College London THE CULT for Trinity College London DRUMS Rock & Pop exams from 2018 Rock & Pop exams from 2018 GRADE ALABAMA SHAKES Free downloads THE BEATLES 05 NIRVANA THE BEATLES LED ZEPPELIN Free downloads Contemporary & classic songs Free downloads TOPLOADER for Trinity College London JAMES BROWN BASS ROXY MUSIC Rock & Pop exams from 2018 NEIL YOUNG TAME IMPALA WEEZER RED HOT CHILI PEPPERSDAFT PUNK GRIZZLY BEAR Free downloads Contemporary & classic songs 04 AMY WINEHOUSE Our exams allow your students to demonstrate for Trinity College London ROSE ROYCE QUEEN THE BLACK KEYS02 Rock & Pop exams from 2018 ALABAMA SHAKES BRUNO MARS Free downloads FOUR TOPS COLDPLAY ALABAMA SHAKES BRYAN ADAMS THE BEATLES01 GNARLS BARKLEY BOB MARLEY U2 LABI SIFFRE their individual musical style playing songs they 05 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE ALIEN ANT FARM YEAH YEAH YEAHS CHIC know and love, and allow you to introduce them GUNS N’ ROSES IN ARCTIC MONKEYS THE BEATLES to new music you think they’ll enjoy. Our song lists feature a wide range of well-known rock and pop music for you to explore together. Every song has been carefully selected by our team of industry experts to encourage learners The songbooks to develop important skills and techniques. Songs You can access everything you need to prepare your from hundreds of artists are included, from David students for the performance part of the exam in Bowie to Daft Punk, from Adele to AC/DC, and from our graded songbooks. Our Rock & Pop books are The Beatles to The Black Keys. available for Initial to Grade 8 and each includes eight songs with performance hints and tips. There’s ‘THEY ACTUALLY USE REAL SONGS, also useful background information so you can explore the story behind, and techniques used in, SO THE STUDENTS CAN PLAY THEM the songs. IN CONTEXT AND THAT MOTIVATES Each song also comes with a downloadable backing and demo track recorded by top industry session THEM BECAUSE THEY’RE ACTUALLY musicians, making it easy for students to practise PLAYING SOMETHING THEY’VE in between lessons. HEARD BEFORE.’ ‘I LIKE THE FACT THAT WE CAN OPEN NEIL CORNWELL, GUITAR TEACHER UP THE CONTEXTUAL SIDE AS WELL.’ JAMES SEDGE, DRUMS TEACHER AND MUSIC CENTRE DIRECTOR 4 ‘You’re actually playing real songs and you can learn about the artist, the history and the impact the song had.’ Gabriel, Grade 7 Drummer 5 ‘THEY GIVE A GOOD STRUCTURE TO LEARNING. THE IMPROVISATION ELEMENTS GIVE A CHANCE TO INCORPORATE LEARNING SCALES AS WELL AS TECHNICAL SKILLS.’ ANDERS RYE, GUITAR TEACHER 6 real SKILLs. EXAM STRUCTURE AND MARK SCHEME Learners play a set list of three tracks in their exam, Maximum chosen from our song lists. Each song has been marks specially arranged for the grade so your students SONG 1 25 can prove their level of technique and musicianship through their exam performance. A song chosen from the current graded Trinity songbook, played to a backing track A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE SONG 2 25 Your students can personalise their set list to Either a different song chosen from the current graded demonstrate their individuality and creativity. Trinity songbook If there’s a song they love that’s not on our song or a song from the additional Trinity arrangements at lists they have the option of performing it as their trinityrock.com/extra-songs second song, or they can pick from a range of or an own-choice song songs made available from the previous syllabus. or a song composed by the candidate Learners can showcase their songwriting skills If song 2 is an own-choice song or one composed by the by choosing to perform a song they’ve written, candidate it may: and they can accompany themselves, or be be unaccompanied accompanied by you or another musician. be played to a backing track (which can be pre-recorded The third song they’ll play is a technical focus song, by the candidate) chosen from the songbook for the grade. This song include added vocals, performed live by the candidate* focuses on two specific technical skills which run include an accompaniment played or sung live by throughout the song, allowing your students to another musician demonstrate these techniques seamlessly in their SESSION SKILLS 20 performance. They’re able to get more marks for their performance of this song. Either playback or improvising SONG 3 30 SESSION SKILLS FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY Teach your students how to improvise over a track A technical focus song chosen from the current graded Trinity songbook, containing specific technical elements, played to a and play music they’ve never seen or heard before backing track through the session skills part of our exams. Your students can also develop their skills beyond the TOTAL 100 grades with industry advice on performing live, writing songs and much more in our Practice Room *Vocals syllabus: Song 2 may include a live self-played resources created by professional musicians. accompaniment on any instrument 7 real PROGRESS. Help your students realise their potential and achieve their goals with a highly respected qualification from the only exam board that’s been providing graded music exams for more than 140 years. Trinity brings all that experience and expertise to rock and pop music to give you syllabuses you can trust. Gain valuable feedback Our examiners come from all corners of the music industry. They all work professionally as musicians and have a deep understanding of rock and pop music and technique. Your students will get a report with detailed feedback about their exam performance that you can use to shape your future teaching plans, and help your students to continue to improve and develop. RECOGNITION Learners can gain a qualification that proves their skills and dedication. Our Rock & Pop exams are internationally recognised and, just like classical music exams, students can get UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) points at Grades 6–8. 8 ‘TO USE THE SYLLABUS AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE GRADEd EXAMS, AND TO GO UP THROUGH THE GRADES, GIVES YOU A FOCAL POINT, AND A DIRECTION AND A PATH TO TRAVEL DOWN.’ JULIE PARKER, KEYBOARDS TEACHER 9 10 BASS LED ZEPPELIN TAME IMPALA ROSE ROYCE GRADE05 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINEFOUR TOPS BASS Our Bass exams introduce learners to the right Contemporary & classic songs ALIEN ANT FARM for Trinity College London GUNS N’ ROSES Rock & Pop exams from 2018 skills at the right time, developing the important 05 Free downloads BASSTHE BEATLES SYLLABUS BOB DYLAN techniques they need at each grade. Beginning with Qualification specifications for graded exams from 2018 KATE BUSH COLDPLAY basic positions, picking and damping techniques, MICHAEL JACKSON they’ll then move on to slapped and pulled notes, AMY WINEHOUSE ARETHA FRANKLIN bends and slides, and harmonics. THE BEATLES GUNS N’ ROSES METALLICA Learners can explore syncopation in Coldplay’s T REX AC/DC ‘Yellow’, palm muting using the pick in Paramore’s QUEEN BLUR ‘Misery Business’, and fast articulation in Queens U2 of the Stone Age’s ‘No One Knows’. Rock & Pop Drums exams take your students through key playing skills step-by-step, beginning with basic grooves in a range of styles with different time signatures, tempos and strokes, DRUMS ALABAMA SHAKES solo breaks and fills, and moving on to instrumental JAMES BROWN WEEZER techniques including paradiddles, flams, drags, QUEEN ruffs, rim shots and ratamacues. COLDPLAY BOB MARLEY They can learn about trashy hi hat in Blur’s YEAH YEAH YEAHS ARCTICINITIAL MONKEYS ‘Song 2’, time changes in ‘Alive’ by Pearl Jam, DRUMS Contemporary & classic songs and syncopation and swinging in Joe Cocker’s for Trinity College London Rock & Pop exams from 2018 ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’.