Rockschool Acoustic Guitar Grade 2 (2019)

Overview

Rockschool Acoustic Guitar Grade 2 (2019) is designed for developing acoustic guitarists who have established their basic technique and are ready to progress into more structured contemporary guitar playing.

The book contains six benchmarked arrangements covering rock, pop and contemporary styles, together with Technical Exercises, Sight Reading or Improvisation & Interpretation, Ear Tests and General Musicianship Questions. The 2019 syllabus was designed around practical skills relevant to contemporary acoustic guitar playing, with professional backing tracks and downloadable audio supporting both practice and examination preparation.

Key Features

• Official Rockschool Acoustic Guitar 2019 Grade 2 resource

• Six contemporary song arrangements

• Rock, pop and contemporary repertoire

• Session-style and acoustic-specialist performance material

• Professional backing tracks and full-track audio

• Downloadable MP3 audio

• Artist and repertoire Fact Files

• Detailed Walkthroughs for each piece

• Technical Exercises covering scales, chords and acoustic riff

• Sight Reading

• Improvisation & Interpretation

• Melodic and Rhythmic Recall Ear Tests

• General Musicianship Questions

Featured Repertoire

The Grade 2 collection includes:

• Shallow – Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga

• We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift

• Let Her Go – Passenger

• Other Side Of The World – KT Tunstall

• (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding

• Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.

The repertoire combines familiar contemporary songs with different performance approaches. At Grade 2, the book also introduces acoustic-specialist arrangements that combine melody and accompaniment, with duet parts supplied in the audio for ensemble practice.

What Students Will Develop

Students will develop:

• Stronger rhythm and timing

• Wider chord vocabulary

• Open-position chord fluency

• Three-note power-chord technique

• Major 7th and minor 7th chords

• Major, natural-minor and pentatonic scale knowledge

• Acoustic riff technique

• Chord-to-melody coordination

• Basic improvisation and interpretation

• Sight-reading in open, first and second positions

• Melodic and rhythmic aural recognition

• Greater confidence performing with backing tracks

The Grade 2 pathway is aimed at students who have established their key basic skills and solid fundamental technique, generally after approximately one year to 18 months of learning, although progression naturally varies by student.

Technical Exercises

Group A – Scales

At ♩ = 80 bpm, students prepare one-octave scales:

• C Major

• G Major

• E Natural Minor

• A Natural Minor

• G Minor Pentatonic

• G Major Pentatonic

• C Minor Pentatonic

• C Major Pentatonic

These are performed in quarter notes to a click, developing scale coordination and rhythmic consistency.

Group B – Chords

Three-note Power Chords

• E5

• G5

• A5

• C5

These are played as a continuous sequence at ♩ = 80 bpm.

Open-Position Chords

• Major & Minor: F, Bm

• Major 7: Amaj7, Cmaj7, Dmaj7

• Minor 7: Am7, Dm7, Em7

The expanded chord vocabulary introduces students to seventh-chord colours while continuing to build clean chord changes and rhythmic control.

Group C – Acoustic Riff

Students perform the Grade 2 acoustic riff with a backing track. The riff introduced in bars 1–2 is repeated using the same shape but transposed according to the root notes indicated in the following bars.

This develops fretboard awareness, rhythmic accuracy and the ability to move a repeating riff pattern between different root notes.

Product Details

• Brand: Rockschool / RSL Awards

• Series: Rockschool Acoustic Guitar

• Instrument: Acoustic Guitar

• Level: Grade 2

• Syllabus: 2019

• Publisher: Rockschool Ltd

• Publication Year: 2019

• Pages: 56

• Product Type: Graded Music Exam Book

• Includes: Performance repertoire, technical exercises and supporting tests

• Audio: Downloadable MP3 audio and backing tracks