Rockschool Band Based Keys - Grade 5 (Book + CD)

This is another fantastic syllabus from Rockschool that's designed to put Keyboard players right at the heart of a band - where most, if not all, modern keyboard players perform their music.

A great feature of these books is that the repertoire at Grade 3, 4 and 5 is drawn from Rockschool's highly successful Guitar, Bass and Drum syllabuses so students can perform the songs with other musicians at the same level.

The ability to play realistic parts while interacting with other musicians is invaluable training in itself and a feature that isn’t known to be available in any other syllabus. The pieces also recognisably vary in musical style, giving students greater freedom of choice.

The Rockschool packs have standard notation plus a CD. We encourage everyone to be creative with the Rockschool tunes so feel free to improvise and adapt them to suit your playing style and musical approach.

Each book includes a CD with full stereo mixes of each tune with spoken two bar count ins for each piece.

Rockschool grade books have everything you need to prepare for Grade exams (for players who want to develop performance and technical skills) and Performance certificates (for players who want to perform in a range of styles)

Grade 5

This pack contains the tunes from Grade 5 in Level 2. This is for those who are confident in all the key skills on Band Based Keys and who are stepping up to more advanced skills and stylistic expression.

Pieces will be up to three minutes long and will be made up of structures that require a competent understanding of shape and phrasing. Players will demonstrate a good grasp of performance and communication through extended solo and improvised work and understanding of balance within a band context.

There will be considerable rhythmic development and a greater expectation of independence between the hands and the definition of more than one part in one hand. Chords will often consist of extensions and Players will demonstrate a musical understanding of balance and voicing. Stylistic awareness will be shown through good understanding of instrumental techniques and the understanding of playing techniques associated with them.

Patch changes will often be required in a short space of time and the player will demonstrate the ability to move between the technical demands with increasing confidence and security.

You will need: A keyboard with 61 keys with the following patches: acoustic piano, electric piano, organ, strings and synth. You will also need a sustain pedal.

Grade 5 BBK fits in with Rockschool's Guitar, Bass and Drums Syllabuses

Genres covered: Rockabilly, Funk, Pop, Brit Pop, Hard Rock, Blues