anyone got a drum grade?

[NUTHA JASON]

i'm starting up a job soon teaching drums in schools and i will be using the rock school grade materials. in the past i avoided grades because - well mainly out of ignorance. but now that i'm going to be working with them i've bought a few and how found them to be an excellent foundation and the pay along tracks are enjoyable.

but i also believe that i cannot be an effective teacher of grades and helping pupils pass a grade exam without going for one myself. so i decided to jump in the deep end. i've bought the grade 8 book. mucho challenge it is too. there is some sweet material and chops in there. i've got some work to do but i think it will be worth it. its nice having a goal as well. today was day one with the book. all i've done so far is litened and read each track a few times and rewritten the fills out on sheets so i can work out the sticking and begin practicing the chops.

i'm liking the first song '667'. nice metal. the challenge is not so much playing it but reading it and playing accurately what is written there. the song 'some you win' is deliciously jeff porcaro and i'm really looking forward to learning it.

so anyway, i like the challenge. i'm posting this to spur me on a bit...now that i have spoken i better put my money where my mouth is. when i am nearing readiness for my exam i will record the songs and post them on you tube.

anybody else done them. any pointers or suggestions, anything at all to do with grades will be up for discussion in this thread.

like, which is better 'trinity guildhall grades' or 'rockschool grades'?


j

[fijjibo]

I hope to do my first grade and last grade all this summer.

Im going to jump in at 7 (under my teachers advice) then do 8 when I have time.

Im also doing Young Drummer of the Year this time around.

Wish me luck!!!!

[mind_drummer]

I know that JazzGregg has his diploma from Berklee but obviously better him to confirm.

[drum.lad]

hey man i got a grade 7 and i got it from the london school of music just going for my grade 8 in a few weeks it looks do able.but i assume if you are goin to be teaching you will be easily able to go through the grades

[NUTHA JASON]

yep. i will teach the grades by i'm only going to sit one exam. even if it takes me a few months to brush up what'smissing or weak.

i don't know how or if grades and diplomas fit. i know grade 6,7and 8 are part of a phase which i think might match up with the drumtech diploma course but i'm shooting in the dark here. if someone knows this it will be helpful. i was considering going to drumtech but i have too variable work hours to commit to acourse at the moment. a drum grade is something i can work on in my own time. i just wonder if, having got a grade 8, i can go to drumtech laterand use the grade qualification to bypass a few terms there on my way to a diploma. anyone know?

j

ps good luck with your exams fellas.

[NUTHA JASON]

the end fill of 'some you win'. it's a monster. does anybody here play it single pedal at the song speed? may i use a d/pedal in the exam?

j

[voldak]

all I can say is wow...i've never heard of drum grades, never heard of a "drum diploma". Sounds awesome though. Where do you even do the tests for a drum grade? Also, what all do they have you do? just play alongs to songs in the books others have discussed?

sorry....i'm totally lost...

Edit: I'm guessing it's because i'm "across the pond"

[el_frenko]

i've got grade 8, on the oldschool Guildhall grades before they merged with trinity. i did some work with the rock school grades as well, (the old syllabus). the new trinity/guildhall grade 8 stuff looks really challenging, but fun at the same time. i think the idea of the rock school grades is to give a more modern approach (the Guildhall stuff i did did seem rather outdated). but both boards nowadays give you similar sorts of stuff.

one tip for when you take the exam- try to arrive early so you can do a sound check with the backing track (i planned on doing this, but due to transportation problems i ended up being 20 minutes late for my half hour exam! ooops! the examiner was canny though...but still!).

[fijjibo]

Originally Posted by NUTHA JASON

the end fill of 'some you win'. it's a monster. does anybody here play it single pedal at the song speed? may i use a d/pedal in the exam?

j

You might (if youve got enough time) want to check out Jojo Mayer on the MD fest 2005(?) DVD (or in DW vids section). He does this side to side foot motion that is easy to learn and really helps you get fast foot action.

I dont think your allowed double pedal, but if you are then thats great.

I want to do the Guildhall, as I think it sounds more prestigious.

[NUTHA JASON]

i have been learning the swivel technique to be morecomfortable while playing samba. but i've got a few months of work before i get that kind of speed. i think i will give rockschool a call to find out if the d/pedal is allowed. thing is, i'm such a dyed in the wool single pedaller that ot is most likely that i would use the d/pedal for just that fill.

j

[fijjibo]

Originally Posted by NUTHA JASON

i have been learning the swivel technique to be morecomfortable while playing samba. but i've got a few months of work before i get that kind of speed. i think i will give rockschool a call to find out if the d/pedal is allowed. thing is, i'm such a dyed in the wool single pedaller that ot is most likely that i would use the d/pedal for just that fill.

j

You also add that youd prefer to use a single and show of your creativity by playing something else but equally impressive.

[NUTHA JASON]

I see there are three ways of achieving a grade 8

• exam: 3 pieces, technical exercises, quick study piece, ear test and musicianship questions

• performance: play 5 out of the 6 tunes in the book

• band: play 5 out of 6 with a band

i think i will go for the performnace one as a) my reading skills are probably not up to scratch enough to do the quick study b) the technical exercise is subdivisions of 1/4s from 2 to 10ths and i don't go above 5s or 6s at the present ( see below) c) don't know any grade 8 bass and guitarists.

j

[gcarlet]

Originally Posted by voldak

all I can say is wow...i've never heard of drum grades, never heard of a "drum diploma". Sounds awesome though. Where do you even do the tests for a drum grade? Also, what all do they have you do? just play alongs to songs in the books others have discussed?

sorry....i'm totally lost...

Edit: I'm guessing it's because i'm "across the pond"

I'm with you. I've never heard of this either, but it sounds really cool. Where can one learn more about this stuff?

[NUTHA JASON]

stuff like this (but extending all the way to 10s [decatuplets??])

[jonescrusher]

Originally Posted by NUTHA JASON

I see there are three ways of achieving a grade 8

• exam: 3 pieces, technical exercises, quick study piece, ear test and musicianship questions

• performance: play 5 out of the 6 tunes in the book

• band: play 5 out of 6 with a band

i think i will go for the performnace one as a) my reading skills are probably not up to scratch enough to do the quick study b) the technical exercise is subdivisions of 1/4s from 2 to 10ths and i don't go above 5s or 6s at the present ( see below) c) don't know any grade 8 bass and guitarists.

j

Would not having to be examined on these things be a good goal to improve these weak areas? That's what i found to be one of the best things about doing grades wh i did the Guildhall exams, rudiments had to be learned and i had to work at ear testing on time signatures. Seems strange that they give you a choice of the type of exam you can take. Surely a grade 8 acheived by doing 5 playalong pieces is not worth as much as the grade 8 taken in the exam form?

[NUTHA JASON]

I'm with you. I've never heard of this either, but it sounds really cool. Where can one learn more about this stuff?

it is supposed to be internationally recognised qualification. the books can probably be bought through amazon usa or similar. nice even as just play along and sight reading practice.

j

[NUTHA JASON]

Would not having to be examined on these things be a good goal to improve these weak areas? That's what i found to be one of the best things about doing grades wh i did the Guildhall exams, rudiments had to be learned and i had to work at ear testing on time signatures. Seems strange that they give you a choice of the type of exam you can take. Surely a grade 8 acheived by doing 5 playalong pieces is not worth as much as the grade 8 taken in the exam form?

i'm wondering that too. playing the 5 pieces is very hard though. it's just that in my drumming i have no use for any subdivision above 6 to be honest. i would rather spend time working on other gaps in my learning, things i know i will use well. just to play the 5 pieces i'm going to have to do a lot of work.

but not only that. i want to pass grade 8 with distinction.

j

[Kappow]

Sounds like cool stuff, I've never heard of this before... Where can I get the books?

[NUTHA JASON]

try amazon or ebay.

j

[k3ng]

I've got my G8 doing the older syllabus of rockschool. I now have a diploma, Dip.PP.AGM (gosh that sounds good =P) from the Australian Guild of Music.

Grades are great stuff. Especially for teaching students. Usually I spend my time teaching them technical stuffs, and to top off the lessons at the end of a few months or so, these graded studies provide awesome practical applications that students can relate to. I use graded books all the time when showing my students how to use whatever I've taught them.

I don't know much about the trinity guildhall stuffs but from the look of it, the technical stuff there seems easier. I think.

Good luck with the exams Nutha.

[dale w miller]

i'm not sure what grades are, but at Berklee they do ratings and i avoided them like the plague. i had a hard time having someone rate how good i was or wasn't. that said, there probably were/are some weaknesses they could have exposed to me but do i really need them to tell i can't really sight read or play latin all that well? i think i know that. :)

[DuxTer]

I never knew of grades until I moved to France and ended up on this international school that uses an English system. In 3 years I still don't know what to think of them... On one side it's good so you can challenge yourself, but on the otherside, there are probably a lot of people that have grade 7 but do not really play grade 7, I mean it's like learning a few pieces in an unlimited amount of time? (isn't it? I dont actually know, but never heard anything about a time limit)
I know a drummer who also attends my school and he's all shoow off that he's been playing for 11 years and has grade 7, but really, his drumsolos that he 'composes' are probably not even worth a grade 4, that applies to anything else he does with his band/on drums as well... It might be just him though, but, I'm still not really keen on grades.

[jonescrusher]

Originally Posted by thefeckcampaign

i'm not sure what grades are, but at Berklee they do ratings and i avoided them like the plague. i had a hard time having someone rate how good i was or wasn't. that said, there probably were/are some weaknesses they could have exposed to me but do i really need them to tell i can't really sight read or play latin all that well? i think i know that. :)

Just to explain; 'grades' describe a system of exams that are usually entered into by school-age children. They are not part of mainstream education and so are usually done under the guidance of a private tutor. The exams are graded from 1 to 8, so kids will often brag about having got grade 8. They are especially good fro young people as they provide some attainment in their instrument. That said, the marking often doesn't take into consideration the feel and touch of a player. A kid with grade 8 might have great theory knowledge, know his rudiments and be able to sight read in odd signatures, but will make a poo sound on the kit.

[k3ng]

Originally Posted by jonescrusher

Just to explain; 'grades' describe a system of exams that are usually entered into by school-age children. They are not part of mainstream education and so are usually done under the guidance of a private tutor. The exams are graded from 1 to 8, so kids will often brag about having got grade 8. They are especially good fro young people as they provide some attainment in their instrument. That said, the marking often doesn't take into consideration the feel and touch of a player. A kid with grade 8 might have great theory knowledge, know his rudiments and be able to sight read in odd signatures, but will make a poo sound on the kit.

I agree with that. I know a kid who scored fairly well in his Rockschool G8, but he could barely play anything other than the songs there. When we wanted to jam he'd be at a total loss. Could hold a beat, but wasn't very musical. Grades 1-8 are guidelines, not bibles.

[caprisun3484]

Do they do this drum grade thing in America because i don't think they do

[dale w miller]

Originally Posted by jonescrusher

That said, the marking often doesn't take into consideration the feel and touch of a player. A kid with grade 8 might have great theory knowledge, know his rudiments and be able to sight read in odd signatures, but will make a poo sound on the kit.

one of the many reasons i didn't do ratings at school. besides the fact, i didn't want to be in a room playing some chart of Autumn Leaves with some stale stiff player whose only reason for being at Berklee was they were in marching band or HS Jazz band .

[jonescrusher]

Originally Posted by thefeckcampaign

one of the many reasons i didn't do ratings at school. besides the fact, i didn't want to be in a room playing some chart of Autumn Leaves with some stale stiff player whose only reason for being at Berklee was they were in marching band or HS Jazz band .

I think their uselfulness comes down to the standard of the teacher. When I took grades my teacher was careful to make sure what I was learning was relevant, and that he wasn't just pushing me through them.
Traditionally the grade system is established in orchestral instruments. I'd say it's unheard of for a kid learning classical piano, violin etc. not to take grades. Drum kit isn't obviously suited to the system, which I suppose is why the rockschool system is quite popular. It's a bit more relevant to the purpose of the instrument.

[NUTHA JASON]

i agree. also it is matched up with performance indicators within the national curriculumn. although the music is written, there are loads of spaces for feel and improvisation. the books encourage creativity and for the drummer to play 'in their own style'.

j