Rockschool Ukulele Grade 2 – (2020)

Overview

Rockschool Ukulele Grade 2 (2020) is the official Grade 2 examination book from RSL Awards, designed for students who have progressed beyond Grade 1 and are developing greater technical control, rhythmic awareness, coordination and musical understanding.

The book provides a complete Grade 2 preparation resource, combining six contemporary performance pieces, technical exercises, sight reading or improvisation, ear tests and general musicianship questions. The 2020 syllabus describes Grade 2 as typically suitable for students who have been learning for around one to eighteen months, although actual progression depends on the individual learner.

Key Features

• Official Rockschool Ukulele 2020 Grade 2 syllabus

• Six contemporary performance pieces

• Contemporary repertoire across different musical styles

• Professionally recorded backing tracks

• Downloadable audio

• Fact Files and Walkthroughs

• Technical Exercises covering scales, arpeggios and chord voicings

• Sight Reading

• Improvisation & Interpretation

• Melodic and Rhythmic Recall Ear Tests

• General Musicianship Questions

• Complete preparation material for the Grade 2 examination

Featured Repertoire

The six Grade 2 performance pieces are:

• Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie

• Trouble – Coldplay

• Mr. Brightside – The Killers

• Hold Back the River – James Bay

• How Far I'll Go – Lin-Manuel Miranda, from Moana

• Happy – Pharrell Williams

The repertoire gives students experience across contemporary rock, pop and soundtrack styles while developing accuracy, rhythmic consistency, tone and technical control.

What Students Will Develop

Students will develop:

• More secure chord-based playing

• Greater rhythmic accuracy and coordination

• Consistent pulse and timing

• Improved tone and sound control

• More confident strumming and accompaniment

• Scale and arpeggio fluency

• Expanded chord vocabulary

• Basic improvisational skills

• Melodic and rhythmic aural recall

• Greater understanding of musical structure and notation

• More expressive and stylistically appropriate performance

At Grade 2, RSL expects students to demonstrate greater use of technique, rhythms, coordination and musical understanding compared with Grade 1.

Technical Exercises

Grade 2 technical work is divided into three groups:

Group A – Scales

• D Major

• B♭ Major

• C Minor Pentatonic

• C Blues

• C Major on strings 3 & 4

Group B – Arpeggios

• D Major

• B Minor

• B♭ Major

• G Minor

Group C – Chord Voicings

• B♭ Major

• G Minor

• Gmaj7

• G7

• Gm7

• Suspended-chord exercise

Groups A and B are performed to a click at 80 bpm, while the chord-voicing work follows the specific requirements given in the Grade 2 syllabus.

Product Details

• Brand: Rockschool / RSL Awards

• Series: Rockschool Ukulele

• Instrument: Ukulele

• Level: Grade 2

• Syllabus: 2020

• Publisher: Rockschool

• Publication Year: 2020

• Pages: 56

• Product Code: RSK200127

• Includes: Performance pieces, technical exercises and supporting tests

• Audio: Digital / downloadable audio and backing tracks