Rockschool Ukulele Grade 6 – (2020)

Overview

Rockschool Ukulele Grade 6 (2020) is the official Grade 6 examination book from RSL Awards, designed for players progressing into late-intermediate ukulele study.

The book provides a complete preparation resource with six contemporary performance pieces, technical exercises, Quick Study Pieces, Ear Tests and General Musicianship Questions. At this level, students are expected to demonstrate greater technical fluency, rhythmic control, musical understanding, stylistic awareness and independent interpretation.

Key Features

• Official Rockschool Ukulele 2020 Grade 6 syllabus

• Six benchmarked contemporary performance pieces

• Wide range of pop, rock, jazz/soul and soundtrack repertoire

• Professionally recorded backing tracks and audio examples

• Fact Files and Track Walkthroughs

• Four groups of technical work: Scales, Arpeggios, Chords and Stylistic Studies

• Quick Study Pieces as the unseen test

• Melodic and Harmonic Recall Ear Tests

• General Musicianship Questions

• Suitable for Grade Exam, Graded Certificate and Performance Certificate pathways

Featured Repertoire

The six Grade 6 performance pieces are:

• Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles

• Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) – Bart Howard

• No One Knows – Queens of the Stone Age

• Feeling Good – Nina Simone

• A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

• He's a Pirate – Pirates of the Caribbean

The repertoire provides contrasting performance styles, from melodic and lyrical arrangements to rock, soul and cinematic material. Two pieces are arranged specifically to showcase the sound and resonance of the ukulele without full-band backing, while the other tracks use session-style backing with full band and vocal accompaniment.

What Students Will Develop

Students will develop:

• Greater technical fluency and instrument control

• More complex rhythmic coordination

• Stronger chord and harmonic awareness

• Advanced scale and arpeggio knowledge

• More confident stylistic interpretation

• Improved tone, dynamics and phrasing

• Individual and expressive improvisation

• Melodic and harmonic aural recognition

• Ability to interpret lead-sheet material

• Greater independence in performance and practice

At Grade 6, RSL expects students to have consolidated the key skills developed through Grade 5 and demonstrate more advanced technique, coordination, musical understanding, expression and stylistic awareness.

Technical Exercises

Grade 6 expands the technical section to four groups:

Group A – Scales

Students work with more advanced scale and modal material, including Lydian, Phrygian and Phrygian dominant modes, as well as scales played in sixths, campanella style, and linear patterns on individual strings. Chromatic and melodic-minor work is also introduced at this level.

Group B – Arpeggios

The arpeggio work develops further harmonic vocabulary and includes more advanced chord types and positional patterns, performed using eighth-note rhythms at the specified tempo.

Group C – Chords

Students develop more advanced chord vocabulary and chordal control, applying the required voicings and rhythmic approaches specified in the Grade 6 syllabus.

Group D – Stylistic Studies

Students select a stylistic study and demonstrate appropriate technique, musical interpretation and stylistic understanding. The selected style also determines the approach used for the Quick Study Piece.

Product Details

• Brand: Rockschool / RSL Awards

• Series: Rockschool Ukulele

• Instrument: Ukulele

• Level: Grade 6 / Late Intermediate

• Book: Grade 6

• Syllabus: 2020

• Publisher: Rock School Limited / RSL Awards

• Publication Year: 2020

• Pages: 60

• Includes: Performance pieces, technical exercises and supporting tests

• Audio: Online / downloadable audio and backing tracks