Rockschool Guitar Grade 3 (2024)

Overview

Rockschool Guitar Grade 3 (2024) is a developing-level graded guitar book for students who have established their fundamental technique and are ready to build greater stylistic awareness, expressive playing and technical control.

The 2024 edition features nine performance pieces covering classic rock, contemporary pop, soul, reggae and modern guitar styles, together with technical exercises and supporting tests. Students are introduced to more expressive techniques including pedal tones, bends, pre-bends and cross-picking, while developing their scale, arpeggio and barre-chord vocabulary.

RSL describes Grade 3 as suitable for students who have typically been learning for around 18 months to two years, with the basic skills and preliminary techniques established at the earlier grades.

Key Features

• Official Rockschool Guitar 2024 Grade 3 resource

• 9 performance pieces

• 6 contemporary and classic hit-tune arrangements

• 3 Rockschool Original compositions

• Major and natural minor scales

• Major and minor pentatonic scales

• Blues scales

• Major and minor arpeggios

• Barre chords

• Dominant 7th chords

• Open-string pedal tones

• Bends and pre-bends

• Cross-picking

• Riff playing and transposition

• Playback and performance skills

• Fact Files and recommended listening

• Downloadable audio

• Supporting examination tests

Featured Repertoire

Rockschool Guitar Hit Tunes

• On Broadway – George Benson

• good 4 u – Olivia Rodrigo

• Is This Love – Bob Marley & The Wailers

• Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf

• Getting Started – Sam Fender

• Knock On Wood – Eddie Floyd

Rockschool Originals

• Camden Square

• Restless

• Longbeach Skyline

The repertoire gives students exposure to contrasting approaches including funk/soul, reggae, classic rock, contemporary pop and modern guitar styles.

What Students Will Develop

Students will develop:

• Two-octave major and natural minor scale fluency

• Major, minor, pentatonic and blues-scale vocabulary

• Major and minor arpeggio patterns

• Barre-chord technique

• Dominant 7th chord vocabulary

• Open-string pedal-tone playing

• Bend and pre-bend control

• Cross-picking

• Riff transposition

• String coordination and picking accuracy

• Greater rhythmic control

• Stylistic articulation and expression

• Basic solo and improvisation skills

• Playback and performance confidence

• Sight-reading and aural skills

Compared with Grade 2, the focus moves beyond primarily rhythm-based development towards more expressive lead-guitar techniques and stronger fretboard control.

Group B – Arpeggios

Tempo: ♩ = 90 bpm

One-octave arpeggios:

• Major: G, A, B

• Minor: G, A, B

Group C – Chords

• Major barre chords

• Minor barre chords

• Dominant 7th: A7, C7, D7, E7

The dominant 7th chords are performed first as individual strummed chords and then picked/arpeggiated.

Group D – Riff

Tempo: ♩ = 90 bpm

Students perform the Grade 3 riff from the book with a backing track. The riff introduced in the opening bars is repeated using the same shape against different root notes, developing transposition, fretboard awareness and rhythmic synchronisation.

Product Details

• Brand: Rockschool / RSL

• Series: Rockschool Guitar

• Instrument: Guitar

• Level: Grade 3

• Syllabus: 2024

• Publisher: Rockschool Ltd / RSL

• Publication Year: 2024

• Product Type: Graded Music Exam Book

• Audio: Online / downloadable audio

• Language: English

The official RSL edition includes PDF sheet music, MP3 audio and supporting tests in its digital content.