Guitar and music theory grading

D-Man

I've been thinking about getting my guitar grading so I went to the UNISA website. I saw they do grading in guitar and also in music theory. I think this will be beneficial to me especially at my age but last time I checked, the examinations are at fixed periods, limiting the speed at which one can advance. Are there other options/ways to do this, is it really worth it?

Keira-WitherKay

music education is ALWAYS worth it .......

[deleted]

I'm not sure if it's changed over the years, but I remember that you can skip a grade or so if you are advancing fast enough, but your theory level has to correlate to your practical level. As far as I remember it had to be within two grades of your practical grade.

Be carefull of trying to advance too quickly though. The grading system is designed so that you can pass by only mastering some of the areas. If you continually neglect some areas due to a sense of rush you will end up with those areas staying at a relatively low level, while everything else advances. I'm not saying you can't do it, but just try to make your passes as equilateral(if that's the right word) as possible.

I would suggest trying to find a practical way of applying what you are learning alongside the grades that you want to achieve. It makes it a lot more fun and you add more meaning to what you're learning.

tentop

I highly recommend Rockschool. Exams done by Trinity Guildhall and they take place once a year in SA, with an examiner coming over from the UK. You can skip grades and as far as I'm aware there are no restrictions with regard to theory level.

http://www.rockschool.co.uk/

Charlie4

If I'm correct, the UNISA exams are in October each year and you need to register in April (at the latest) so having a clear idea how fast you're going to learn the material is important. You probably need a Theory teacher to help you with that though.

+1 on what Kira said, music theory gives you more tools and colours to work with so that it expands your musical palette.

D-Man

I'm all for knowledge! Especially if it involves music... I'll be sure to check it out in more detail