How to practice for Rockschool grades

[Jackflash27]

Hi,

Short introduction: I'm 48 years old, played a bit acoustic guitar when I was younger. Just some basic strumming, mostly cowboy chords and some easy solo-ing. Due to other intrests did not really got stuck to it. 12 years ago I saw the light again and I bought an electric guitar and practised for 3 or 4 years pretty seriously and took some lessons also. I stopped playing because I did not have any goals to work to and then I somehow lost interest. Now, since a a few months or so, I picked up the acoustic guitar of my daughter and practice again (mostly daily for 2 hours or so). I discovered the graded method of "Rockschool", and I really like this. I need something to work towards to and see what my progress is. And this method does this for me.

You buy books with 6 popular pieces and some technical work and when you master all of it, you can enter an online or live exam. I really like the tunes and I enjoy working through the books.
I passed the 'Debut' and 'Grade 1' levels fairly quick and easy and got distinction for the exams. Now I am working on the grade 2 book, which is pretty hard for me (I guess this is what my current 'level' is).

I practice daily, but just don't seem to achieve much progress. The chords are tougher and I'm still too slow on the transitions. I concentrate on 1 or more hard passages every day (with slowed down audio) and do some technical exercises (chord transitions, scales, etc). I really want to master the pieces and do the next exam.

So what I was wondering: what can I do to master these pieces? Should I learn some new songs and not focus on the Rockschool books for a while, or should I concentrate more on technical work (chords for instance)? I hope you have any tips for me. I really like the journey to getting a better guitar player, but feel like i'm a bit stuck now.

Does anyone has experience with the Rockschool method? How long should it take to go to the next grade? Does it take months, or even years? I know it's hard to tell if you don't know the person, but some average guidelines maybe?

Oh, and getting lessons with a teacher is not really for me. I tend to get really nervous when I have to play something for anyone. I just like to play for myself.

Hope you have some tips for me. Thanks!

[Staredge]

Hard to say without seeing the material, but I'll throw out some generalities:

-It takes exactly as long as it takes, and no longer. Everyone learns differently, and as we see with the public school system that doesn't always work for everyone. Unless there's a hard time limit in the program, take as long as you need.

-The online classical guitar program I'm in right now focuses on quality, not speed. Master the techniques slowly. Make it as slow as you need to do whatever the thing is slowly. 40 bpm? Hey, if that's what it takes. Most of us (definitely in my case) work on things too fast. Speed will come eventually.

-Perhaps some different material may help? If you're frustrated, taking a break can help. Go back to the older stuff that you have mastered and play it for a bit.

Sounds like you've got a good attitude about it....just make sure you're having fun.

[Jackflash27]

Originally Posted by Staredge

Hard to say without seeing the material, but I'll throw out some generalities:

-It takes exactly as long as it takes, and no longer. Everyone learns differently, and as we see with the public school system that doesn't always work for everyone. Unless there's a hard time limit in the program, take as long as you need.

-The online classical guitar program I'm in right now focuses on quality, not speed. Master the techniques slowly. Make it as slow as you need to do whatever the thing is slowly. 40 bpm? Hey, if that's what it takes. Most of us (definitely in my case) work on things too fast. Speed will come eventually.

-Perhaps some different material may help? If you're frustrated, taking a break can help. Go back to the older stuff that you have mastered and play it for a bit.

Sounds like you've got a good attitude about it....just make sure you're having fun.

Thanks man, yes slowing down is a good tip. I want to learn to fast sometimes with the risk of making little mistakes. But the result of having too much patience is that I lose interest at some point. So maybe set the exams as a 'longer term' goal and do other stuff on the side.

By the way, I am not affiliated to the Rockschool method in any way. I re-read my post and I see that I mention the name (R.......) a lot, haha. Not on purpose. I really like the method though, so still some good advertising for them

[biotechmgr]

It's for fun, so mix in some easy songs or YouTuber tutors to liven things up.
The journey can be slow at times but here 5 years down the road, I guarantee steady progress with all the reps you put in.

[biotechmgr]

Btw I saw Nita Strauss at a local store visit.
One thing that stuck out...she talked about going really slow, to build muscle memory. As in 40 bpm.