Rockschool Music Exams

I have my rockschool grade 3 guitar exam in July, and I'm not that stressed as music is the only thing I like in life but I've never done one before so I'm not sure what it's gonna be like. Has anyone ever done a music exam before, what were your experiences? Are the examiners nice lol? Any tips?

Reply 1

username4886688

I did my Rockschool grade 1 before.
my experience was fine, i was a Lil nervous but my examiner was understanding and extremely patient.
For piano when you are a higher grade they are harsher on you I'm assuming the same for guitar too.
It just depends on ur examiner
but if u practise a lot you'll be fine

Reply 2

ry7xsfa

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by melissa223

I did my grades 3 and 4 unofficially with my teacher, so they aren't really representative. I was also due to do my Grade 8 guitar before COVID led to my exam being cancelled.

I did, however, do my Grade 6 guitar officially. It didn't go great and I had a few issues. I had equipment issues on the day (tuning pedal broken) which seemed to have the examiner impatient. It's also worth noting that I had a vocalist as an examiner who by her own admission had little to no knowledge of my instrument. I was put off throughout my tracks from the examiner adjusting the volume of the backing track constantly. There were points where I couldn't hear the track, others where I couldn't hear myself. Even when I could hear both fine, the change in volume was distracting. In the end, I got a pass (much lower than I should have), and the examiner feedback was extremely vague.

I think I probably had a bad examiner, and they're definitely harsher for higher grades. I'm sure everything will be good for you - and good luck!