Gain a recognised qualification on Guitar, Ukulele or Bass Guitar

 Very often when starting Guitar, Ukulele or Bass your learning will be very sporadic, and possibly you might feel overwhelmed with all the information out there.

Taking an exam grade can be a great motivator and help you/your child focus on specific goals that are leading to a positive outcome, ie your certificate and your new skills obtained from following a structured path.

If you want to study music at school, whether it’s at a College or University level, it’s going to be beneficial to have music grades.
For the most part, I see music grades as something that lets you know how you are doing.

You can take a grade from debut (absolute beginner right up to Grade 8) and I can cater for each of the 3 instruments should you decide to go for a grade.

I have long-standing students who just love working on their grades and like the fact that they have a structured plan that they can simply follow in each lesson, by which they can measure their progress over time.

Learning to play a instrument can seem like a long road if you want to become really good at it, and sometimes it can be hard to “hear” your progress. Once you can play some of your favourite songs, you can improvise a bit, and you’ve got some understanding of the guitar, then grade 1 or 2 is easily within your grasp. Maybe even Grade 3 if you’ve already tackled barre chords (for Guitar or Ukulele).

Many students use this as a motivator as they can see that they are more than ‘just a beginner’. This is a great time to take a grade. It feels good to be recognised for all your hard work.

Another reason is if you feel like you are plateauing on any of the 3 instruments, Guitar, Ukulele or Bass. As a musician myself, this is common and I have been there numerous times.

From personal experience taking the RGT and Rock school Grades I did find they kept me on track and motivated and at the same time I loved learning new things and opening the door to new music and endless possibilities.

At some point along the way, everyone gets struck in a rut. Everything they are playing sounds good, but they want “more”, they need to find new fresh ideas. They need a new “challenge”.

Working on a Guitar, Ukulele or Bass Grade can bring you out of your comfort zone and introduce you to chords and keys that you might not use regularly or at all in the style of music you tend to play.