Guitar Grades - Are They Worth It
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- Опубліковано 9 сер 2016
- Guitar Grades,are they worth it? I've been asked this question a lot over the years, so I thought I would share with you all my thoughts.
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I bought the Grade 7 Rock School guitar grade book this time a year ago... I have no interest in actually taking the exams, but learning the tracks that they give and reading all the information in it is pretty cool and helpful.
I actually use some of the licks and riffs from it in my own playing now :)
I hate guitar grades in contemporary music. People always ask me what grade I am and probably I would struggle with the higher ones. I perform live and everyone has a good time. It doesn't matter that what i'm playing is three chords and minor pentatonic is has a sound and energy that is unmatched. When playing in pubs everyone gets up and joins in and it's amazing.
Some boards also give UCAS points for getting to university, which could come in handy.
i feel you there. i learnt classical piano upto grade 4 before i ever picked up a guitar, so i can read music and sight(ish) up to a certain a level, but only for piano, i can tell you the notes on the staves, but i dont know how to play them on the guitar. however, im begining to learn how to use my ear for guitar and not just rely on tabs. im am self taught (youtube) but after like 1 year of playing i bought a grade 3 rockshool book and did a video exam and got a distinction, took a break from playing cos of school, now im in 1st year of uni working on grade 4, i hope to do grade 8 by the time i graduate
As an old beginner, and without any previous music experience, I started by trying to learn well known riffs etc. these were too difficult for my level and I gave up. I found some Rockschool stuff online, and found this so accessible for my style of learning. I don't intend to take grades, but have found this method keeps me playing and get a massive sense of achievement being able to play along to a backing track. it doesn't matter how you play, as long as you play
I did my Grade 8 last year, and it's been brilliant in helping my understanding of musical theory, licks and various stylistic concepts. I wish I could say it helped my music reading though - I did it all by ear!
i feel you there. i learnt classical piano upto grade 4 before i ever picked up a guitar, so i can read music and sight(ish) up to a certain a level, but only for piano, i can tell you the notes on the staves, but i dont know how to play them on the guitar. however, im begining to learn how to use my ear for guitar and not just rely on tabs. im am self taught (youtube) but after like 1 year of playing i bought a grade 3 rockshool book and did a video exam and got a distinction, took a break from playing cos of school, now im in 1st year of uni working on grade 4, i hope to do grade 8 by the time i graduate
Love your Vids !! Keep up the good work 😊
i think grades are good in terms of milestones or targerts to aim for, but you dont actuallly have to take the exams
Hey Mike! Really love the content, I approached grades exactly how you said and learnt the hard way. Started with my grade 3 in 2012 and have taken the past 4 years off to learn what I wanted to. As solely a bedroom player I feel grades are the main goal, but I can see how someone who performs has a complete different mind set to the instrument . I am pretty confident with most techniques now, so Ive gone back to the grade system. Currently doing my 6 then next year my 8, Ive found skipping grades is also more beneficial as it seems to push you, as well as financially it isn't as much. Anyways ill stop rambling :) Keep it up man!
-Z
Fellow ACM student lol. Class of 2000. - I watched this as i wanted to stop teaching privately outside of work in the evening and weekends and do full time in schools. I was debating if i need to do rock school grade 8 or another on top of my ACM diploma to help get in schools.
It will help, but as along as you're good at communicating to people and can play well, it's all good.
I'm gonna start soon jus coz it's better to have under your belt when trying for jobs and shit. But does it matter which book I get coz I've looked at the Rockschool Grade 5 ones and there are several?
im 12 and got acoustic guitar grade 6 distinction however i didnt do 2 3 or 4 but now after after a year of just playing every day i want to progress from just being able to jam on a pentatonic scale thats why i am doing grade 7 electric
Hey Mike, I'm 14 (well, as of the 31st of last month) and I've been watching your videos for the past couple of months, and I just wanted to say that I love your content and couldn't agree more with you on this topic, I used to play piano, and hated it, mainly because I wasn't doing it because I enjoyed it, rather i was doing it to say "look I can play piano." So I ended up quitting and taking on guitar instead, and 3 years later i still love it, as a result i think the mindset of doing something because you enjoy it is really important, anyway, I should stop rambling; keep up the good work and have a good day!
Aaron
Incredibly helpful
Hi Mike , great video. I like your enthusiasm and easy going personality . Your enthusiasm alone will inspire people . I would mention that, I feel as a guitar teacher many kids take up the guitar as simply an activity . They aren't necessarily self motivated by interest so often some illusion of a grade structure gives them focus and a sense of achievement . But generally speaking , I agree with you !
I've been taking piano lessons and doing exams for some time now but I've always liked playing the guitar more... Even though I don't take lessons... I'm more comfortable with guitar than the piano (I play guitar for a band too) And recently I've been teaching myself the scales on the guitar, since I've learnt it on the piano, and with that, getting better at playing lead... Should I continue doing the same? Or take guitar lessons and drop the piano lessons (I'm at grade 5 and I hardly play the piano nowadays) Have a nice day! :)
Spot on. I feel that learning guitar and getting good at it is mostly through trial and error. Its through this trial and error, playing in bands, exposing myself to music that actually prepared me for doing my Grade 8 rock and pop exam, after keeping at it for a total of 10 years plus. I don't think I would've achieved that overall musicianship and feel if i just jumped to learning a grade regardless. Really happy that I recently got my Grade 8 merit for guitar tho, all that hard work has paid off :)
And to be honest, this has also provided me some insight on wether to further pursue Trinity's Diploma in music teaching, since I wanna be a teacher just like you. I guess I can get some teaching experience under my belt by freelancing part time while maintaining a day job which I (thankfully) have xD
Hi, I wanted to know that for grade 8, which syllabus do you suggest, for grade 1-5 I did the trinity plectrum grade and for grade 6 I did rockschool. I recently appeared for grade 7 of Trinity Rock and pop and scored 90. Which has been the highest Ive ever scored. 87 was my earlier highest score in grade 2 and 3. So I'll be glad to know your recommendations whether to go for rockschool or trinity rock and pop ?
Yeah i gotta say as a teacher I used to just pick my own pieces that would suit the student but tbh i think the rock school grades provide a great structure and provide a good goal for students to work towards.
I’m 52 years old here in Singapore yes I agree taking exams takes some of the fun out of playing the instruments ; now I took it upon myself to take on the rockschool piano exam as a backup plan to teach music (I’m a freelance tutor teaching academics) actually I teach guitar even without any certification at one point however it seems that more people here want to see them certificates - I’m forced to push myself to take exams sooner than later & on which instrument now? Cos Im experimentalist myself u know what I mean I play all instruments - thanks for hearing my rant
I started learning drums (going to ACM to learn guitar now anywho) about a year ago and jumped right into grade 3 and I regret doing that as I was barely playing them for a month and every lesson felt the same where we went over a couple songs and had to play them perfectly in time to a click whereas now I just grab an instrument and jam with my mates. Good video as always Mike
Idk, I do RGT currently and I think it is useful to make a progression and learn some of the theory but if you just do that you don't progress. You need to try and push yourself and practice near to everyday. That is how I have progressed since the New Year. I think the grades add structure but you sometimes have to break the structure to improve.
I couldnt of said it any better myself :) when i was at college i did music performance and there was another class which was standard Music, to do the standard music course you needed grades of some sort whereas for the performance course you didnt even need GCSE music and i found that doing that course there are lots and lots of amazing musicians that are sort of forgotten about because they dont have grades however almost every single famous guitarist from Hendrix to Slash to Clapton all never read music or had grades etc. Also as somebody in the comments said those who do have grades rely on sheet music and their knowledge a little too much and seem very robotic (not all musicians with grades but most i have come across) so those without grades are much more free and fluent at playing their instrument and expressing theirselves musically.
Great music for ones ear is different from others depending up his or her mood etching.Music should be free flowing .If it is made regid many won't like it.
Nice Video Mikey.
wow! that's what I am doing, I haven been playing for 2 years, and thn I gave trinity exams(3 grades) it is much better this way, you don't worry about exams, you can prepare your songs in a week, without speding a lot of time and being bored.
Hi Mike! How did you manage to get into music college without having done the grades? The college that I'm looking at going to is an ordinary one and they want at least a grade 5 in reading music AND playing an instrument (guitar in my case).
I had to audition to get into it.
I see. Thanks for the response!
i do think grades are important but dont rely too much on tutor work hard urself and play as much as you can...
Once i passed grade 8 i forgot 80% of it, you never use half those chords ever from grade 7 and 8. The scales and arpeggios are useful but only some
Good video mate! It is a very important subject! I still haven't made my mind up re teaching haha session work appeals more! But yea the idea of being handed sheet music is pretty scary to be honest haha what do you prefer?? Teaching or session work??
1000% session work
Noted!
Oh wow I was just listening to me and the devil blues on my way home before I opened this video :o
how much on average would it be from 1-8?
you have to pay for ther books and for the exams, which get more expensive as you do higher grades, my grade 4 piano trinity exam was like £50
How many guitars do you own?
Check out my guitar tour video :)
Hey Mike i'm 15 years old and i have wanted to play the guitar for a while now, and i'm wondering what guitar I should get. Should I get something like the les paul players pack or not?
Buy a spanish nylon guitar, as your first guitar. Learn the basics first, don't get a electric. Start simple. Good luck mate
Yeah man do some research. If you like rock/metal/whatever get an electric. If not you know what to do. Just don't go too cheap. $200 would get you a great budget first electric, and a little practice amp would only run you about $50 for a decent 15-watt.
you can get some great guitars used just make sure you have an experienced guitarist go with you to make sure the guitar you get doesn't have any flaws( warped neck, action too high, broken electronics, cracks from humidity). squire and fender starter packs are good if you want to buy new but be sure to take the guitar out of the box and check the frets on the side of the neck. if they're sharp the guitar has dried out and you could cut your hand when moving up and down the neck. fret sprout as it's called it more common on low end beginner guitars.
Pure fun is the reason!
I sometimes find those people with very high grades a bit awkward on stage. Most of the time they just stand there with sheet music in front of them, and they play a bit like a robot. (not all of them do that)
But you explained it very well. Don't do it if you want to be in a band.
What is a guitar grade?
how you know your skill rank 8 ia the best but there is 9 and 10 but these are crazy if you have 8 you can teach where ever you want and if you have 9 or 10 you will be the beat teacher at the city (kappa)
As a former pianist who did the first three grades, I Cantrell ya grade 3 guitar is considerably easier than grade 3 rock school relatively speaking!
i have a question ive been playing guitar for nearly 5 years now and ive just got a new guitar teacher at my local music shop. he teaches me songs and scales and techniques. we recently started looking at grades and im getting through them well. we usually spend 30 mins on grades each week and another 30 on other stuff. some weeks we miss out the grade stuff and some weeks we look at grades and then learn a song which is a song i like and helps with my grades is this a good way to learn guitar?
Sounds good to me, do you feel you are progressing?
I find students who start off by doing grades are the worst players compared to their peers.. sure they can play this scale or that chord.. but have no real idea on how to use them.. and are wedged Into a certain way of thinking about music and more often then not completely miss the point of why they’re learning in the first place..
I’ve had students come to me who have sat a grade or two of classical and find myself having to unpick misconceptions and fix poor technique..
I get the odd student here and there who’s parents are asking about grades within the first two years of playing and lessons.. and i try to tell them exactly what was just said in the video.. and I tell them of all the really great successful players in my town I could probably count on one hand the number of people who have sat grades.. granted the vast majority have attended university..
them they say, oh I want him to have discipline and structure.. and I say that’s fine I get it.. but that’s what you’re already paying for by being here.. and I explain that I’m trying to build on a basic skill set, maturity and passion for music and the instrument before jumping into heavier stuff..
but all the discipline and structure won’t matter unless they are putting in the hours at home.. then I turn to the student and ask how much did you practice this week? And did you work on what I gave you to do last week?
what about rockschool?
It seems that the best guitarists we self-taught. I suppose it's all in practising.
The blues intro to this had me making all sorts of faces
Im monotone and my pupils love me!
No Q&A?
I get asked this question a lot so thought I would do a whole video on the question.
+Mike Bradley oh, I see :) It's just that a ask a question on the last Q&A and I really hoped you'd answer it this time, not sure if you've seen it. You make great videos by the way! keep it up :)
I got it buddy, I've been sent a lot of questions but I'll get to it ASAP.
sorry for the typos in that comment.. I meant "I asked" not "I a ask" or something :)
+Mike Bradley Thanks :)
Do Rockschool grades they are fun
That intro was cool dude.
Cheers buddy
Did jimi need grades....
No. But......
I did grade exams , It was a weird experience
Where I live in canada theres only 1 place known for having grade levels for music lessons outside of college / university. Only useful for getting a single high school credit (only if you complete 8-10 grade levels in that program, far more work than a single high school course) or for getting into teaching classical privately or applying to some university (again classical only). For any real work in music its useless. Live gigs, working in a studio either as a musician or engineer its worthless. The whole process is exactly the same as you describe it Mike. At the schools I went to that even had a music program playing guitar was impossible if you took music at the school. High school I went to only had 1 guitar (a 70's strat) which was used exactly once in a school concert out of 4 years I was there. Only saw the guitar that 1 time n none of us music students got to uses it, they brought in an outsider for that.
If u hv wil so u can
And this is why I dropped out of GCSE music, I don't want to be told what to do with music. That and the fact that it was a 2 hour class after school on a Wednesday... It was such a great feeling getting out and having those 2 hours to do what I like, for example, PRACTICING GUITAR, instead of hearing all this bullcrap about the origins of certain types of music and learning theory which just bores you to death. On the other hand, my actual guitar teacher is awesome, I have learnt more from him in say 10 lessons than I ever have on my own.
Music is a boundless art.
My school doesn't offer GCSE music only BTEC. It's piss easy but much more fun.
I did music for 4 years at university. It was the most fun I've had, and probably ever will have. I loved learning the theory, loved learning history of music, and musicology... recording.... composition.... and so on. Learning that stuff made me a better guitarist AND a better musician overall. It interested me. People's approaches to music are very different it seems.
GCSE music is more theory and composition than actually playing. I’d say that’s worth doing.
I think belt is better than grade. I would be a brown belt you would be a 5th degree black belt.
I think your a grade 11 on blues play on brother and sing on too
Aww that's very kind of you to say.
4:14 Toan-age! 🙂
Hey Mike, that 345 is def the most you of all your axes...just sayin'
Cheers buddy, I'm starting to agree with you :)
"and your parents 'oh okay cool'" haha ,worst parents ever, so careless
the idea I think is if you're parents know you can really play they are more likely to invest in better equipment for you.
Ugh your posture is dreadful, all hunched up!
Just kidding, great video Mike!!
Grades shmades... I'd rather play the whistle.