Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Crazy_Joe on October 04, 2007, 06:02:46 PM
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I wasn't planning on doing grades on guitar but my college tutor and my guitar teacher suggested i do some, so my guitar teacher told me to buy the grade 8 book!!
The songs are playable but the exercises in the back... :o theres a sweep picking exercise which i have to say is pretty impossible for me at the moment. I gotta learn more theory too otherwise i will fail that.
Havn't done a grade since my euphonium (big brass instrument) grades!
Anyone done grade 8 guitar here? (or any grades for that matter)
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No and they scare me :oops:
Though I think you need a grade 5 in theory before doing the higher practical grades. Though that was what went down when my lady-friend was doing her classical grades.
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I am grade 8 on the triangle.
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i've done grade 6, doing grade 8, and yeah, some of those excersises in the back are pretty scary
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only made it to 5 classical
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I only needed to do Grade 4 to get my Higher. Grade 7 isnt too much of a challenge. I love the Jimi Hendrix rip they have in that book. Jimmys blues I think its called
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grades on electtric guitar is just plain wrong imo! its supposed to be a totally free instrument and no one should be able to put a settng oh how something should be played, classical however is a different matter 8)
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Are you using these books?
http://www.booksforguitar.co.uk/acatalog/electric_guitar_handbooks.html
(http://www.booksforguitar.co.uk/acatalog/b0016_th.gif)
Kind of funny as the author was the first guitar teacher I had at an evening class - way back in 1982-3!
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haha, no i'm using the rockschool series, grade 8 is better than previous rockschool's though because they are original songs and don't rip off other peoples riffs like in previous books.
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haha, no i'm using the rockschool series, grade 8 is better than previous rockschool's though because they are original songs and don't rip off other peoples riffs like in previous books.
I was suprised reading the rock school grade 8 book - Don't want to sound like an ass, but the pieces didn't seem that hard =/
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A solid month or two and it would easily be under your belt. There was a metal song however that was tricky, it has a fast as hell intro on 247bmp. Repeated pattern of notes mind you but still, that one was pretty tough.
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haha, no i'm using the rockschool series, grade 8 is better than previous rockschool's though because they are original songs and don't rip off other peoples riffs like in previous books.
I was suprised reading the rock school grade 8 book - Don't want to sound like an ass, but the pieces didn't seem that hard =/
They arn't that hard, i learnt the metal song today which was pretty easy, it's the exercises in the back mostly that are the hard part and knowing all my theory.
Though you might have had the old syllabus, they have only recently brought a new line out.
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Grades on any instrument is a fantastic idea, they're a structured and comprehensive way of getting better at your instrument. And they're good in that you've always got something to work on, there's nothing worse than being bored with your instrument because you've run out of things to do
Is 8th the highest grade?
And Joe, where are you at with your theory anyway?
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Now you lot are making me feel bad....
I did Grade 5 which was fun but I was hopelessly ill-prepared for the theory bits.
The exam itself was made more enjoyable by listening to the guy before me playing a 90 bpm set piece at about 200 bpm with his amp turned way up and on full distortion. Shame that I could only hear it rather than see the examiner's face!!
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What kinda stuff do they throw into the theory section anyway?
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Chord progressions - ear tests - which chord in a sequence is this - easy when you hear it strummed on a guitar, not so easy on a little keyboard which was what I got.
Note Intervals
Sight reading (oh f***!)
Scales - basic nothing though here
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Don't forget sweep picking exercises!
8th is the highest grade yes.
I'm getting better on theory and college is really helping with that so it shouldn't be a problem whenever i take the exam.
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Grades on the electric guitar? That's just not cricket. Officialdom numpty cr@p, there not going to give you marks on sustaining notes into harmonic feedback are they! Sounds like a job creation scheme to me!
Wank.
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Personally i think it's a good idea for any instrument. It's a challenge and you have to know about all kinds of aspects of music, not just playing it which is what most people end up doing, which is a bit wrong imo, like you're only doing half the work. It opens a lot more doors aswel, university points, you get a certificate so you have something to show for your work (helping getting jobs), it gives you a good idea of where you are in terms of your playing and theory too.
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They probably wouldn't give marks for sustaining notes into harmonic feedback, but nor should they, because that's an individual touch that shouldn't be learnt from a book... but there are some things that all musicians really should know, like a good understanding of theory and harmony, sightreading, aural skills, etc, and the guitar is the probably only popular instrument where none of these are usually taught!
Playing music is simply far more enjoyable when you know all this stuff, and props to Joe for making the decision to learn it.
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I should learn more theory... this is making me consider doing it