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British Columbia

Rockschool Logo

British Columbia

Rockschool – Popular Music Qualifications

ALL music schools and students are welcome to be a part of the Rockschool curriculum and exams.

Rockschool music qualifications are tailor-made for the contemporary musician. Ranging from introductory grades to advanced levels of study, RSL Awards’ graded music exams ensure hard work is rewarded regardless of age or previous musical experience.

Rockschool offers qualifications for:

Accredited with the BC Ministry of Education for passing Rockschool Grades, 4, 5 and 6

Rockschool offers qualifications for:

Accredited with the BC Ministry of Education for passing Rockschool Grades, 4, 5 and 6

Rockschool – Popular Music Qualifications

ALL music schools and students are welcome to be a part of the Rockschool curriculum and exams.

Rockschool music qualifications are tailor-made for the contemporary musician. Ranging from introductory grades to advanced levels of study, RSL Awards’ graded music exams ensure hard work is rewarded regardless of age or previous musical experience.

Rockschool offers qualifications for:

Accredited with the BC Ministry of Education for passing Rockschool Grades, 4, 5 and 6

Rockschool Exam Information

RSL Classical Violin Recorded Video Technical Exercises

RSL Classical Piano Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Drums (2018) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Keyboard (2019) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Piano (2019) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Acoustic Guitar (2019) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Bass (2018) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Electric Guitar (2023) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Vocals (NEW 2021 Syllabus) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Vocal (2014-2021) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Ukulele (2017) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

Ukulele (2020) Recorded Video Technical Exercises

It is important for candidates to remember a few important things to ensure their exam does not break any rules:

  • The recording needs to be continuous with no editing permitted

  • If you make a mistake in a piece you can restart as long as you are not more than 1/3 of the way through. You can restart up to one piece and two technical exercises in your Graded Certificate

Just like with other Graded Exams, candidates can choose play all three pieces from the repertoire from the Rockschool / RSL Classical Graded Book, or choose to record up to two free choice pieces from the following sources:

  • Their own composition

  • Songs in the public domain, including hits from the charts. For example, a song by their favourite band or artist

  • Pieces from other accredited exam boards

  • Pieces from our Vocal wider repertoire pieces

For more details visit our dedicated Free Choice Peices page.

The exam video of 3 pieces and technical exercises will be submitted via your RSL Awards account shortly after your payment has been recorded.

Candidates will be marked by an official RSL Awards examiner in exactly the same way that they would be in a face to face exam. Additionally, the examiner will record a short video message to candidates that delivers feedback on the exam performance.

Free Choice Pieces

The following will be accepted as suitable free choice pieces without prior checks:

  • Pieces from previous RSL syllabuses at the same (or higher) grade

  • (Please note that candidates must provide sheet music for ALL previous RSL syllabuses: examiners will only have access to current syllabus material)

  • The following permissible interchangeable RSL instruments:

    – Current or (any) previous RSL syllabus Electric Guitar repertoire performed in Acoustic Guitar exams

    – Current or (any) previous RSL syllabus Acoustic Guitar repertoire performed in Electric Guitar exams

  • Vocal wider repertoire pieces

  • Pieces from other regulated music exam boards where accredited at the same (or higher) grade. As a note Rockschool Grade 4, 5 and 6 are equivalent to Grade 6, 7 and 8 Royal Conservatory

  • For more details and requirements please visit our dedicated Free Choice Pieces page

    It is not a prerequisite to have free choice pieces approved by RSL HQ, as the examiner will make a judgement about the suitability of the piece in the exam. If you are unsure about the eligibility of your piece(s) you can seek Free Choice Piece approval which incurs a fee of $20 per piece. In order to seek approval please e-mail us at info@rslawards.com with details (including sheet music) of the proposed piece(s), instrument and Grade. A full reply will be given no later than 4 weeks after payment of the approval fee which will be facilitated via an online link that RSL head office will e-mail to you.

In Person or Live Streamed Exams

Photo ID needs to be shown at the beginning of the exam for Grades 6-8

If the candidate does not have their ID on the day of the exam, the candidate will need to upload their ID within a 24 HOUR WINDOW of their exam or risk their exam being deemed invalid.

Performance Exam

  • Prepare 5 songs, of your choice, from the Rockschool book (up to 3 songs can be free choice pieces picked by you. See free choice tab below)
  • No other tests or exercises are required
  • Examiner will ask you at the beginning of your exam the song titles and order your performance
  • If you make a mistake in a piece you can restart as long as you are not more than 1/3 of the way through. You can restart up to two pieces.

Graded Exam

  • Candidates will prepare 3 songs
  • Candidate will prepare to play a selection (of the examiners choice) of the Scales, rudiments (Drums), Chords, Arpeggios as well as the riff (if applicable to the grade) from the back of the book.
  • Grade 6, 7 and 8 Candidates must also prepare one Stylistic Study piece of their choice
  •  Unseen Materials (given to the student at the exam and are not shown in the book. Unseen materials will be at the same level as the example the book):
    •  Candidates will also be asked one general musicianship question about their instrument (see back of the book for an example).
    •  Candidate will have the choice or doing Sight reading or Improvisation/ Interpretation. This will be given to the student at the exam and will be at the level of the example at the back of the book. The candidate will have 90 seconds to prepare before playing.

At an In Person or Live Streamed exam, the Candidate will be asked whether they want to do their Technical or Songs first as well as what songs they will be performing in the order of their performance. We recommend doing the technical first to help the student warm up and relax

Live Stream Video Exams Instructions And Guides (right click to download)

Getting Started Instructions

Equipment, Software Requirements and Guidance

Important Notes and Procedure Guide

Prerecorded Video exams can be marked for all grades. You do not need to have taken Rockschool exams from the beginning to take any graded exam. If you want to jump in at any Grade, feel free if you are performing and understand the material at that level. Currently there are no unseen materials for graded pre recorded video exams. No sight reading, Improvisation/Interpretation or Ear tests are required for the exam.

Candidates will need to play all scales, arpeggios, chords, riff as well as your choice of technical study (Grade 6,7,8)

Safeguarding, Recordings, Policies, Regulations and Guidance Click here.

Replacement Certificates

For lost certificates, a replacement certificate can be reprinted for $15 per certificate.

For incorrectly printed certificates (wrong grade or instrument), a replacement can be printed with picture proof that the original has been destroyed (torn up).

Procedure Guide for RSL Graded Syllabus Exams

For RSL video exams to be valid, there are a number of rules you must adhere to:

  1. The exam needs to captured as a single, continuous shot in real time – you must not stop or pause the camera in between pieces.
  2. You must not use video editing software to cut out takes or reduce the time between pieces – the video should represent an exam taken in person as closely as possible, so do not worry about taking a little time setting up between pieces.
  3. Your face must be visible in the video, so we can identify the person taking the exam – please refer to the framing guide for further details.
  4. Candidates should introduce themselves by their full name, the exam grade and discipline they are taking, as well as introducing each piece. For Grades 6-8 candidates should clearly display for at least ten seconds valid photographic identification (such as Passport, Driving Licence, Student Union Card, ID Card) at the start of the video recording in line with our policy.
  5. Another person is permitted to be present in the room in order to operate the camera. However, the other person is not permitted to interact with the candidate or intervene in the exam, with the following exceptions:1.to introduce the candidate 2. to introduce each piece and/or the technical exercises section (Graded Certificate only)
  6. Drummers supplying video exams using mobile phones or cameras where it has not been possible to create a successful balance between drums and backing track only need to supply video of their drum performance – but as well as introducing each piece should audibly mark the final bar of the count in before performance begins by clicking their sticks together. This will allow your examiner to sync the video to the backing track for assessment. Failure to indicate the count in could make the synchronisation between video and audio impossible and may result in the exam being deemed inadmissible for assessment by a marker.
  7. Check the video recording of your exam carefully before submission, making sure that each piece is introduced to camera, the picture and sound are of a reasonable quality and that the full exam has been captured.

Syllabus infringements and resubmissions

In the event that your video submission cannot be marked because guidelines have not been followed correctly, candidates will be charged 75% of the entry fee to make a resubmission.  Examples of this include:

  • Audio and/or video quality is not sufficient for the examiner to be able to make a reliable assessment
  • Part of the video file is missing (eg. cuts off too early)
  • The video has been edited (eg. separate takes spliced together)
  • Audio does not appear to synchronize visually with the candidate’s performance
  • Another person (eg. parent or teacher) is offering prompting and advice to the candidate

For other more minor issues such as missing content (eg. technical exercises), wrong backing track being used, sheet music not supplied for free choice pieces, etc., examiners will mark on an ‘as seen’ basis and marking will be affected, reflecting the extent to which the outcomes of the exam were impacted by the infringement.  In such cases candidates will also be able to resubmit on payment of 75% of the fee if they wish.

Resubmissions in these cases are only permitted for the same instrument, grade and exam type as the original entry.

Audio Guide

The help videos will provide more detail, but following these simple guidelines should help you create videos with reasonable audio

1) Don’t set your volume too loudly when using amplifiers or PA speakers.

Mobile phones and video cameras record sound fairly well most of the time, but struggle with high volume sound sources. This can prove especially challenging when trying to record the sound of drums – so please read the Recording drums for RSL exams section below for further guidance

2) Spend some time getting a good balance between your performance and the backing track.

RSL needs to clearly hear your performance when examining, but equally we want your performance to feel connected to the accompanying backing track. It is worth experimenting and producing some test recordings to ensure the balance is good.

3) Avoid very noisy or reverberant (echo) spaces.

Your examiner wants to give your performance their full attention, so avoid recording your exam in a space where there is likely to be significant background noise. Also, whilst it may sound creatively pleasing, please avoid capturing your videos in very reverberant places. We want to hear as much of your signal as possible. If you do opt to use a microphone for vocal recordings avoid using excessive amounts of reverb and avoid long reverb times.

Pro Tip
While you can record reasonable audio using a mobile phone in most instances, there are a number of devices you may wish to consider if you want to ensure your audio is of a good quality. Please see below for a list of devices and apps that RSL recommends that can help you improve audio quality when creating your video exam.

Recording drums for RSL exams

The acoustic drum kit provides some challenges when trying to capture clear audio, especially when filming with a mobile phone. Whilst it is possible to record usable audio with a mobile phone with care, RSL highly recommends that drummers use a video device where they can have full control over the microphone’s sensitivity and volume. Mobile phones do not allow you this control by default, so it is worth installing an app that gives that that control, or using a microphone designed for use with a mobile phone that allows you to control the volume of the incoming signal. Please see below for a list of devices and apps that RSL recommends to help you improve audio quality.

We are also advising that, should you need to record your exam directly into a mobile phone, you avoid capturing your acoustic drum performance whilst playing to an audible backing track – the volume required will almost certainly make the recorded audio difficult to hear or result in audio  distortion. In this instance, it is permissible for you to record a video of  your drum exam with the backing track fed to you via either headphones or in-ear monitoring. RSL will synchronise the backing tracks to your performances for marking – but you will need to provide stick clicks to audibly mark the final bar of the count in before the performance begins, so we can easily synchronise the audio to the video. Please see the drum exam video video for a demonstration.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider performing your exam to video using an electronic kit, where you will have greater control over your volume balance. Many electronic drum modules provide the facility to plug in an audio device directly and allow the user to blend a backing track with the drum kit. However, we recognise that many drummers will prefer to play acoustic drum kits during assessment, so this approach is entirely optional.

RSL recommended audio / video devices and apps

Microphone for use with mobile phones (check for handset compatibility):

  • Zoom iQ7
  • Shure MV88
  • RØDE iXY
  • RØDE VideoMic

Mobile phone video apps that allow manual control of audio

  • FV-5 (supported Android devices)
  • Filmic Pro (IOS devices and some supported Android devices)

Dedicated video cameras for recording high quality audio

  • Zoom Q4
  • Zoom Q2n

We hope this set of guidelines has helped you understand the RSL graded syllabus video exam process and provided a clear set of guidelines for capturing and submitting exam material.

RSL AWARDS VIDEO EXAMS-HOW TO GUIDE

Recording drums for RSL exams

The acoustic drum kit provides some challenges when trying to capture clear audio, especially when filming with a mobile phone. Whilst it is possible to record usable audio with a mobile phone with care, RSL highly recommends that drummers use a video device where they can have full control over the microphone’s sensitivity and volume.

Mobile phones do not allow you this control by default, so it is worth installing an app that gives that that control, or using a microphone designed for use with a mobile phone that allows you to control the volume of the incoming signal. Please see below for a list of devices and apps that RSL recommends to help you improve audio quality.

We are also advising that, should you need to record your exam directly into a mobile phone, you avoid capturing your acoustic drum performance whilst playing to an audible backing track – the volume required will almost certainly make the recorded audio difficult to hear or result in audio distortion. In this instance, it is permissible for you to record a video of your drum exam with the backing track fed to you via either headphones or in-ear monitoring. RSL will synchronise the backing tracks to your performances for marking – but you will need to audibly mark the final bar of the count-in before the performance begins by clicking your sticks together, so we can easily synchronise the audio to the video. Please see the drum exam video for a demonstration.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider performing your exam to video using an electronic kit, where you will have greater control over your volume balance. Many electronic drum modules provide the facility to plug in an audio device directly and allow the user to blend a backing track with the drum kit. However, we recognise that many drummers will prefer to play acoustic drum kits during assessment, so this approach is entirely optional.

Please note that where there is evidence from the video that the candidate is not listening to a backing track while performing, this may affect the marks awarded, as performing to a backing track (where one is provided) is a requirement of the exam.

Rockschool Exam Entry Form

*Please hold on to your pre-recorded Rockschool Video exam until you receive your results. We can only take payment of e-Transfer at this time. Please fill out the form below for further instructions or contact us here

Downloads

Your favourite Rockschool music books, tracks, and supporting tests on all your devices.

Visit the online store to purchase your book or digital PDF and take it with you wherever you go.

Downloads

Your favourite Rockschool music books, tracks, and supporting tests on all your devices.

Visit the online store to purchase your book or digital PDF and take it with you wherever you go.

Additional Classic Rock Songs For Your Next Exam (Guitar and Drums)

Music Production 

A 25+ year history of innovation throughout music education, providing aspiring producers and engineers with the most accessible music production graded syllabus.

On completion of a Rockschool Music Production grade, every candidate will own a wealth of technical, practical and theoretical knowledge that they can apply to real-world scenarios – whether it’s in audio production, electronic music production, mixing, editing, mastering or sound for media.

Music Production 

A 25+ year history of innovation throughout music education, providing aspiring producers and engineers with the most accessible music production graded syllabus.

On completion of a Rockschool Music Production grade, every candidate will own a wealth of technical, practical and theoretical knowledge that they can apply to real-world scenarios – whether it’s in audio production, electronic music production, mixing, editing, mastering or sound for media.

Music Production 

A 25+ year history of innovation throughout music education, providing aspiring producers and engineers with the most accessible music production graded syllabus.

On completion of a Rockschool Music Production grade, every candidate will own a wealth of technical, practical and theoretical knowledge that they can apply to real-world scenarios – whether it’s in audio production, electronic music production, mixing, editing, mastering or sound for media.

REPLAY

The next generation of interactive music books, Replay has some amazing features designed to give you absolute freedom and control over your practice. Practice at your own pace, stay motivated to practice and keep learning whether you’re a pro or just love to play.

Replay features a collection of digital tools that will help take your practice to the next level.

  • E-books

  • Enhanced Audio

  • Tempo Change

  • Synthetic Performances

  • Metronome

  • Fretboard & Keyboard View

REPLAY

The next generation of interactive music books, Replay has some amazing features designed to give you absolute freedom and control over your practice. Practice at your own pace, stay motivated to practice and keep learning whether you’re a pro or just love to play.

Replay features a collection of digital tools that will help take your practice to the next level.

  • E-books

  • Enhanced Audio

  • Tempo Change

  • Synthetic Performances

  • Metronome

  • Fretboard & Keyboard View

External High School Credit In BC

Rockschool is accredited with the BC Ministry of Education.

Rockschool students who pass grade 4, 5 and 6 exams can receive external High School credit (4 credits for each of these grades).

Simply bring your Grade 4, 5 or 6 certificate to your High School Counsellor and ask them to use the BC Ministry Trax Codes below for 4 extra credits on your High School Transcript:

Grade 4 : UROK10 (Grade 10 credit)
Grade 5 : UROK11 (Grade 11 credit)
Grade 6 : UROK12 (Grade 12 credit)

Click here to learn more about RSL Awards and Rockschool