Guitar Exam News And More

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well. Since going into lockdown I have continued teaching by doing online guitar lessons. This has been a big learning curve for me and many others as we adapt to the new normal While looking to new technology to help us through. Over the last few months I have been working hard to bring you the best online guitar lessons that I can. Embracing new technology in order to make this possible. In this post I am going to give you exam news and more!

Online Guitar Lesson Technology

To make learning as easy as possible I am now sending out after each lesson the material we have covered within the online guitar lesson as a PDF file. You can then either store this on your computer / laptop or print this out to have a hard copy. I will also send out an MP3 of the music we have covered to play along to.

For my students that are taking exams I have been working with a program that enables me to send you a link that has a video of me playing the exam piece with the music and tablature below the video. You can then loop any section of the song to keep playing it over and also slow it down while keeping the pitch.

This is really new technology and in my opinion is the best learning device I have seen for many years. This will work on your smartphone, laptop or computer. I am currently working and uploading material for all the grades. I have started with Trinity College Rock And Pop as this is the most popular exam syllabus for my students at the present time. Once I have completed this I will start working on London College Of Music Acoustic Guitar Grades.

Can I Still Do My Exams ?

The answer to this question is YES ! It is now possible for a limited time due to the Coronavirus to submit a video of you playing your exam pieces. Please note this has to be done in one continuous take. So I would advise to start with what you may find your weakest piece.

You can take the video as many times as you like until you get it correct. So please do not try to submit videos with mistakes in, as the examiners will know this is your best effort. You will have to play to the backing tracks the same as in the exam. Make sure you that you can see the guitar and your face in the video. If any of my students want to send me their video via WhatsApp before submitting it to Trinity College I will give you my feedback.

The closing date for digital assessment is 31st July and your video will need to be uploaded by 14th August. So I suggest starting to film those exam pieces if you are ready then enter the exam. I unfortunately can not do this for you as I normally would, as each candidate has to have a unique E-Mail address.

Please click here for more Info on Trinity College Exams also click here for filming guidelines I do not have anymore information other than what is on Trinity College Rock And Pop Website.

Free Stuff

A free Blue Peter Badge for children between the age of 6 and 15. All you have to do is send them a photo of your child enjoying music. It’s that simple. The badge has been designed by Ed Sheeran and will possibly become very collectable. Sadly I am too old to get one of these badges. For more information on this Click Here The badge not my age 😉

I have also struck a bit of a deal in getting a massive 50% off a program called Guitar Pro 7 This is rapidly becoming the industry standard to write out guitar tablature and music and is used on websites like Ultimate Guitar. The full price is € 69.95. This is a very powerful piece of software that I highly recommend this is not the phone app, this is the full version. Enabling you to save MP3s from it and print off your music. This offer is only open until October and only for my current students.

You can download a trial version by clicking here and if it is something you think you can use let me know and I will send you a code for 50% off once again this offer is only open to current students.

Finally

Due to the current climate I will update my gig guide when the band is allowed to go out and play once again. Until then stay safe and keep enjoying music