RSL Drums Grade 1

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Better Drums With…

Rockschool

Welcome to Drums Grade 1

Drums Notation Explained

Pieces:

Crescent City Voodoo

J.K.

Justin Time

Skysurfer

The Grunt

To The Edge

Technical Exercises

Sight Reading

Improvisation & Interpretation

Ear Tests

General Musicianship Questions

The Guru’s Guide

Entering Rockschool Exams

2

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4

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18 www.rockschool.co.uk

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Welcome to the Rockschool Drums Grade 1 pack. The book and CD contain everything needed to play drums in this grade. In the book you will find the exam scores in drums notation. The accompanying CD has full stereo mixes of each tune, backing tracks to play along with for practice, one with a click and one without for each song, and spoken two bar count-ins to each piece. Handy tips on playing the pieces and the marking schemes can be found in the Guru’s Guide on page 16. If you have an queries about this or any other Rockschool exam, please call us on 020 8332 6303, email us at info@rockschool.

co.uk or visit our website http://www.rockschool.co.uk. Good luck!

Level 1 Requirements for Grades 1, 2 & 3

The nine Rockschool grades are divided into four levels. These levels correspond to the levels of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Further details about the NQF can be found at http://www.qca.org.uk/NQF. Details of all Rockschool’s accredited qualifications can be found at http://www.qca.org.uk/openquals.

Drums Grade 1 is part of Level 1. This Level is for players who are just starting out and who are looking to build a solid technical and stylistic foundation for their playing.

Grade 1: A player of Grade 1 standard should be able to play up to 30 bars of music composed of quarter and eighth notes and associated rests. There are simple notated fills usually played at the end of a four or eight bar section. Some hi hats are played open and crash and ride cymbals are also played.

Grade 2: in this grade you are beginning to develop your groove playing while building a solid technical foundation for the future. Grooves feature development and variation and you may be asked to show this in your playing. Notated fills feature at the end of four or eight bar sections. In this grade you will also begin to work on your stylistic appreciation.

Grade 3: this grade continues the foundation work started in Grade 2. As a player you will be encountering syncopated eighth and sixtenth note grooves and a greater degree of hand-foot co-ordination around the kit. The pieces of music are now longer, covering two pages, giving you opportunities for inventive fills and part development. You should be developing your stylistic awareness.

Drums Exams at Grade 1

There are two types of exam that can be taken using this pack: a Grade Exam and a Performance Certificate. Drums Grade 1 Exam: this is for players who want to develop performance and technical skills

Players wishing to enter for a Drums Grade 1 exam need to prepare three pieces of which one may be a free choice piece chosen from outside the printed repertoire. In addition you must prepare the technical exercises in the book, undertake either a sight reading test of an improvisation & interpretation test, take an ear test and answer general musicianship questions. Samples of these tests are printed in the book along with audio examples on the CD.

Drums Grade 1 Performance Certificate: this is for players who want to focus on performing in a range of styles To enter for your Drums Grade 1 Performance Certificate you play pieces only. You can choose any five of the six tunes printed in this book, or you can choose to bring in up to two free choice pieces as long as they meet the standards set out by Rockschool. Free choice piece checklists for all grades can be found on the Rockschool website: www.rockschool.co.uk.

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Crescent City Voodoo

Adrian York

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Noam Lederman

Tracks 2, 8 & 14

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Justin Time

Deirdre Cartwright

Tracks 3, 8 & 15

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Skysurfer

Colin Woolway

Tracks 4, 10 & 16

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The Grunt

Peter Huntington

Tracks 5, 11 & 17

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To The Edge

Hussein Boon

Tracks 6, 12 & 18

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10 Technical Exercises

Track 19

In this section, the examiner will ask you to play a selection of exercises drawn from each of the four groups shown below. In addition there is a fill exercise which you will play using the designated backing track on the CD. You do not need to memorise the exercises (and can use your book in the exam) but the examiner will be looking for the speed of your response. The examiner will also give credit for the level of your musicality.

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11 Group D: Triplets

1. Standard triplet in eighth notes

Group E: Fills

In the exam you will be asked to play the three bar groove shown below followed by one of the notated fills chosen by the examiner. You will perform this exercise in the exam to the backing track on the CD.

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Improvisation & Interpretation

Track 20

Printed below is an example of the type of improvisation & interpretation test you are likely to encounter in an exam. You will be asked to play an improvised groove to a backing track played by the examiner on a CD. An initial groove of one bar will be notated and you should include a fill at the end of the four bar sequence. You will be allowed 30 seconds prepration time and the examiner will set the tempo. You will then be allowed to practice through one playing of the test before playing it a second time for the exam. This test is continuous with a one bar count in at the beginning and after the practice session.

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14 Ear Tests

Tracks 21-23

There are two ear tests in this grade. The examiner will play each test to you on CD. You will find one example of each type of test you will be given in the exam printed below.

Test 1: Fill Recognition

The examiner will play you one bar of snare drum fill twice on a CD and you will then be asked to play it back. You will then be asked to identify the fill from the two printed examples shown below.

Test 2: Groove Recall

The examiner will play you a two bar drum groove repeated on a CD twice. You will be asked to play back the groove as you have heard it on the CD.

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General Musicianship Questions

You will be asked five General Musicianship Questions at the end of the exam. The examiner will ask questions based on a pieces or pieces you have played in the exam. Some of the theoretical topics can be found in the Technical Exercises.

Topics:

i) Music theory

ii) Knowledge of your instrument

The music theory questions will cover the recognition of the following at this grade: Drum voices on the stave

Note values Rests

Time Signatures

Repeat markings (including first and second time bars)

The instrument knowledge questions will cover the following topics at this grade: Names and position of all drum voices

Questions on all these topics will be based on pieces played by you in the exam. Tips on how to approach this part of the exams can be found in the Rockschool Companion Guide and on the Rockschool website: www.rockschool.co.uk.

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The Guru’s Guide To Drums Grade 1

This section contains some handy hints compiled by Rockschool’s Drums Guru to help you get the most out of the performance pieces. Do feel free to adapt the tunes to suit your playing style. Remember, these tunes are your chance to show your musical imagination and personality.

The stickings shown in the music are suggestions only. Feel free to use different sticking combinations as they suit you. Please also note that any solos featured in the full mixes are not meant to be indicative of the standard required for the grade. The track listings below are grouped: 1-16: full mixes; 7-12: backing tracks without clicks; and 13-18: backing tracks with clicks.

Drums Grade 1 Tunes

Rockschool tunes help you play the hit tunes you enjoy. The pieces have been written by top pop and rock composers and players according to style specifications drawn up by Rockschool.

The tunes printed here fall into two categories. The first category can be called the ‘contemporary mainstream’ and features current styles in today’s charts. The second category of pieces consists of ‘roots styles’, those classic grooves and genres which influence every generation of performers.

CD full mix track 1, backing tracks 7 & 13: Crescent City Voodoo

This rock ‘n’ roll piece features a groove played in quarter notes on the snare and kick drum with some eighth note kick drum variations on the third beat of the bar and similar snare variations on beat four. In bar 6 these are played sequentially. For the first twelve bars, the ride cymbal features before switching to the hi hat which is played alternately open and closed. Composer: Adrian York.

CD full mix track 2, backing tracks 8 & 14: J. K.

The groove in this blues-rock song is played in quarter notes for the most part on the kick drum while the snare alternates between eighth and quarter notes. This pushes the beat forward and gives the piece rhythmic distinctiveness. Watch for those points where the kick drums plays an off-beat eighth note (for example in bars 2 and 4). The ride cymbal is played in the first 11 bars, punctuated by crash cymbals. The second half of the piece switches to hi hat: watch for the kick drum pattern in the guitar breaks. Make sure you play the fill in bar 20 evenly.

Composer: Noam Lederman.

CD full mix track 3, backing tracks 9 & 15: Justin Time

The groove in this hip hop piece should be played quite metronomically. The groove pattern throughout is quite complex with its off-beat eighth note kick drum. Note also the open hi hat at the end of every other bar in the first eight bars, the two ride cymbal eighths on the last beat of bar 12 and the crashes that accent the last beat of bar 20.

Composer: Deirdre Cartwright.

CD full mix track 4, backing tracks 10 & 16: Skysurfer

The first two bars of this rock piece are played on the kick drum only before the start of the main groove in bar 3. The groove requires a high degree of hand and foot co-ordination, notably on the fills on the last two beats of every second bar up to bar 10. The next eight bars features a ‘standard’ rock groove featuring the ride cymbal before switching back to the opening groove pattern for the finale.

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CD full mix track 5, backing tracks 11 & 17: The Grunt

This funk piece features a mainly uniform groove with an off-beat eighth note kick drum in each bar. There are little fills at the end of bars 8 and 16 and watch for the open hi hat on the 6th eighth note in bars 4, 12 and 20 and the crash cymbals in bars 9, 13, 18, 20 and 22.

Composer: Peter Huntington.

CD full mix track 6, backing tracks 112 & 18: To The Edge

This song, a homage to mid 90s U2 is quite intricate and is made up of a number of sections. The first four bars are played on the kick drum, ‘four to the floor’, with an eighth note snare beat announcing the arrival of the groove, in which the kick remains four to the floor and off-beat eighth note snares punctuate the rhythm in bars 5 and 7 (note the open hi hats that are played along with each of these snare notes). The hi hat is played open in quarter notes for four bars before a complete change of groove in bars 12-15 (with open an hi hat right at the end of each bar) followed by one bar of energetic eighth note fill played on snare and kick. The four repeated bars at the end are played on the ride cymbal.

Composer: Hussein Boon.

CD Musicians:

Guitars: Deirdre Cartwright; Hussein Boon Bass: Henry Thomas

Drums: George Gavin

Keyboards and programming: Alastair Gavin

Drums Grade 1 Marking Schemes

The table below shows the marking scheme for the Drums Grade 1 exam.

The table below shows the marking scheme for the Drums Grade 1 Performance Certificate.

ELEMENT PASS MERIT DISTINCTION

Piece 1 14 out of 20 16 out of 20 18+ out of 20

Total Marks Pass: 70%+ Merit: 80%+ Distinction: 90%+

ELEMENT PASS MERIT DISTINCTION

Technical Exercises 11 out of 15 12 out of 15 13+ out of 15

Either Sight Reading

or Improvisation & Interpretation 6 out of 10 7 out of 10 8+ out of 10

Ear Tests 6 out of 10 7 out of 10 8+ out of 10

General Musicianship Questions 3 out of 5 4 out of 5 5 out of 5

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Entering Rockschool Exams

Entering a Rockschool exam is easy. Please read through these instructions carefully before filling in the exam entry form. Information on current exam fees can be obtained from Rock School by ringing 020 8332 6303

• You should enter for a Grade 1 exam when you feel ready.

• You can enter for any one of three examination periods. These are shown below with their closing dates.

PERIOD DURATION CLOSING DATE

Period A 1st_{February to 31}st_March ₁st_December

Period B 15th_{May to 31}st_July ₁st_April

Period C 23rd_{October to 15}th_December ₁st_October

These dates will apply from 1st January 2007 until further notice

• Please complete the form giving the information required. Please tick the type and level of exam, the instrument, along with the period and year. Finally, fill in the fee box with the appropriate amount. You can obtain up to date information on all Rockschool exam fees from the website: www.rockschool.co.uk. You should send this form with a cheque or postal order (payable to Rockschool Ltd) to the address shown on the entry form. Please also indicate on the form whether or not you would like to receive notification via email.

• When you enter an exam you will receive from Rockschool an acknowledgement letter or email containing your exam entry number along with a copy of our exam regulations.

• Rockschool will allocate your entry to a centre and you will receive notification of the exam, showing a date, location and time as well as advice of what to bring to the centre. We endeavour to give you four weeks’ notice of your exam.

• You should inform Rockschool of any cancellations or alterations to the schedule as soon as you can as it is usually not possible to transfer entries from one centre, or one period, to another without the payment of an additional fee.

• Please bring your music book and CD to the exam. You may not use photocopied music, nor the music used by someone else in another exam. The examiner will sign each book at the start of each examination. You may be barred from taking an exam if you use someone else’s music.

• You should aim to arrive for your Drums Grade 1 exam fifteen minutes before the time stated on the schedule. • The exam centre will have a waiting area and warm-up facilities which you may use prior to being called into the main exam room.

• Each Drums Grade 1 exam is scheduled to last for 15 minutes. You can use a small proportion of this time to tune up and get ready.

• About 2 to 3 weeks after the exam you will receive a copy of the examiner’s mark sheet. Every successful player will receive a Rockschool certificate of achievement.

RSL Drums Grade 1

Better Drums With…

Rockschool

Welcome to Drums Grade 1

Drums Notation Explained

Pieces:

Crescent City Voodoo

J.K.

Justin Time

Skysurfer

The Grunt

To The Edge

Technical Exercises

Sight Reading

Improvisation & Interpretation

Ear Tests

General Musicianship Questions

The Guru’s Guide

Entering Rockschool Exams

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

12

13

14

15

16

18

www.rockschool.co.uk

Level 1 Requirements for Grades 1, 2 & 3

Drums Exams at Grade 1

Drums Notation Explained

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