Bass

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The Bass Debut Grade book is your passport to success for Rockschool's Debut Grade exam. It covers all the core techniques required for playing beginner rock, pop, metal, country, indie and hip hop basslines.

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Assessment Criteria

Performance Pieces

Technical Exercises

Ear Tests

Supporting Tests (Sight Reading OR Improvisation/Interpretation)

Supporting Tests (General Musicianship Questions) 

Exam Structure

There are two types of exam available, a Grade Exam or Performance Certificate.

Grade Exam

Performance Certificate

Performance Pieces

At Debut the pieces last up to a maximum of 1 minute. This is so the candidate can remain focused and concentrate on the basic requirements of notation, control and sync. The pieces contain simple position work and work across strings is simple and paced. 

Rockschool Bass '18

• Ray Charles - Hit The Road
• Booker T & the M.G.'s - Green Onions
• B.B. King - The Thrill is Gone
• Dua Lipa - New Rules 
• Ed Sheeran - Shape of You

Rockschool Originals

• The New Black
• Eat Your Greens
• Z
• The Drifter
• Coraline
• Talking In My Sleep

Technical Exercises

At Debut there are three groups of technical work. The examiner will ask a selection from each group and before you start the section
you will be asked whether you would like to play the exercises along with the click or hear a single bar of click before you commence
the test.

GROUP A - Scales

• Major: E, A
• Minor pentatonic: E, A

GROUP B - Arpeggios

• Major: E, A
• Minor: E, A

GROUP C - Riff

In the exam you will be asked to play the riff from the Grade Debut book to a backing track. The riff shown in bar 1 should be played in
the same shape in bars 2–4. The root note of the pattern to be played is shown in the music in each of the subsequent three bars

Supporting Tests

Sight Reading 

Key: A minor
Tempo: 70 bpm

At Grade 1 the sight reading test is in the form of a melody consisting of half and quarter notes in 4/4. The test is 4 bars long. The examiner will allow 90 seconds preparation and practice time and will offer the option of practising with or without a metronome. The candidate will then perform the test for the examination.

Improvisation & Interpretation

Key: C major or A minor
Tempo: 70-80 bpm

At Grade 1 the test is 4 bars long and the candidate will have 30 seconds preparation time. The examiner will offer the metronome as a guide or throughout this time. The candidate will then have a complete practice run through with the backing track and then on the repeat, the test will be examined.

Ear Tests

Melodic Recall

Tempo: 85 bpm

The examiner will play you three notes in sequence. You will tell the examiner whether the second note is higher or lower in pitch than the first note and whether the third note is higher or lower than the second. You will hear the test twice. Each time the test is played it is preceded by a one bar vocal count-in. Answers can be ‘higher/lower’ or ‘up/down’.

Rhythmic Recall

Key: Low E string
Tempo: 90 bpm

The examiner will play you a two bar rhythm played to a drum backing on the E string. You will hear the test twice. You will be asked to play the rhythm back. You will then be asked to identify the rhythm from two printed examples shown to you.

Each time the test is played it is preceded by a one bar count-in. There will be a short gap for you to practise. Next, you will hear a vocal count-in and you will then play the rhythm to the drum backing.

General Musicianship Questions 

General Musician Questions are included to test your musical understanding and further instrumental knowledge. The five questions are broken down as follows:

• Four questions on the piece, including clef, stave and TAB, ½ and ¼-note values
• One question on your instrument and parts of the bass

These files are extracts from Rockschool's Companion Guides for Bass Book.

Additional Information

The Value of RSL Qualifications

RSL advocates an open access approach to qualifications, providing a range of syllabi, designed to accommodate a wide variety of candidates of different ages, experience and levels of achievement. RSL awards qualifications that are listed on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) in England and Northern Ireland by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). RSL is committed to maintaining and improving its reputation for excellence by providing high quality education and training through its syllabi, examinations, music and resources.

UCAS Points

For students applying for work or University, many potential employers see graded music exams in a very positive way. Recognised qualifications demonstrate an ability to dedicate commitment to extra–curricular activities, providing evidence of versatility which many students find beneficial within UCAS (Universities & Colleges Admissions Service) applications and for university entrance interviews. Our qualifications carry allocated points on the UCAS tariff.

Selecting Free Choice Pieces (FCP’s)

For all examinations, candidates are able to play a number of Free Choice Pieces.

Free Choice Pieces must demonstrate a comparable level of technical and musical demand to the pieces given in the set selections in the grade books which can be referred to as an indication of appropriate level.

Free choice pieces must be in a modern popular genre such as Pop, Rock, Jazz, Country, Blues, Soul, Reggae, Film and Musical Theatre. Own compositions are also acceptable.

Pieces should be selected carefully to ensure that the pieces provide suitable opportunity for candidates to demonstrate the relevant assessment criteria. Candidates are reminded that if a chosen Free Choice Piece does not meet these requirements this may impact on the level of achievement possible within the examination.

All pieces must be performed to a backing track (without the examined part on the track) except in case where pieces have been selected from previous Rockschool syllabi and do not have backing track or have been specifically arranged by Rockschool as solo pieces.

Instrument Specification

Candidates are reminded that it is their responsibility to select and provide an appropriate musical instrument for each syllabus to allow demonstration of the relevant stylistic and technical skills within their performance. At all levels of examination, if any outcomes or assessed criteria cannot be demonstrated or are demonstrated less securely as a result of the equipment, this may be reflected in the marks awarded.