Please read through the following page if you’re thinking of performing a piece of repertoire not published by Rockschool in its Guitar pack.

This checklist has been devised to help you assess whether or not the repertoire you have chosen to play meets the criteria established for performance pieces in the grade.

If there is any doubt, please contact Rockschool on 0345 460 4747 or freechoicepieces@rockschool.co.uk.

If you answer “No” to any of the following questions the piece is unsuitable for use in the grade examination. If you answer “Yes” to all of them then please proceed to the next section.

• Is the piece between 2’30” – 3’00” long?
• Is the piece performed with a backing track?
• Is the backing track on CD?
• Is the backing track minus the Bass part?
• Does the piece exist in a notated copy?
• Songs must include solo and improvised passages using any mode(s) as appropriate moving by step and leap over a suitably wide range

The piece must feature most of the following.

If your piece does not have at least eight of the requirements in Section B it is not suitable for the examination.

PHYSICAL TECHNIQUES

• Highly developed left and right hand co-ordination
• Highly developed damping techniques
• Highly developed slap style using fretted notes with pulls and muted notes
• Accurate use of two, three or four fingers of picking hand as required
• Effective string jumping
• Double stops (3rds, 5ths, 6ths, 8ves and 10ths)
• Hammer ons and pull offs, slides, cross-string hammers, thumb pops and index and middle finger slaps (at least half of these)
• Tapping techniques including single string, double stops
• Use of harmonics

EXPRESSIVE TECHNIQUES

• Secure control of legato/staccato
• Phrasing and dynamics (ppp-fff)
• Slurs and trills by hammer ons and pull offs using open strings
• Tone manipulation using picking hand
• Accented notes

If you are still in any doubt, please email a copy of your notated part to freechoicepieces@rockschool.co.uk.

Note! Please send your music at least three weeks prior to the examination date for a prompt response.