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Preparing for your Rockschool exam

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Preparing for your Rockschool exam

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Are you ready?

Grade books for each grade of the Rockschool syllabuses can be purchased from the "Buy Products" section of AMEB Connect. Before enrolling for an exam the student should be proficient in everything contained in their Rockschool grade book. Teachers can advise a student if they are ready to sit an exam.

Self-taught students are advised to have a few lessons with a teacher to check if they are ready.

Will I have to play from memory?

Only in Rockschool singing exams. Rockschool does not require students to play from memory in any other Rockschool exam.

What are Free Choice pieces/Free Choice elements?

A free choice piece is the alternative to playing a song from the grade books.

Each grade, except Debut and Premiere, has two free choice options. Performance candidates, except Debut and Premiere, have three free choice options.

Candidates can perform:

  • another item from the Rockschool grade book, or
  • their own composition, or
  • songs in the public domain, including hits from the charts such as a song by a favourite band or artist, or
  • pieces of the same standard from other accredited exam boards, or
  • a piece from Rockschool’s Hot Rock series

The pieces must conform to the free choice criteria.

Free choice pieces do not have to be approved in advance for any instrument.

If you are unsure about the eligibility of a piece, email a copy of the score with your part notated to rockschool@ameb.edu.au

Please note: all Free Choice pieces must be performed with a backing track that doesn’t include the candidate’s instrument part.

How do I enrol for my Rockschool exam?

Go to AMEB Connect to enrol for your Rockschool exam. Anyone over 18 years of age can enrol the candidate for these exams.

Need some advice on technical aspects of the exam?

The syllabus guide for each instrument provides a breakdown of the technical requirements for each grade. You can also email Rockschool and a syllabus advisor will answer your questions.

Use our Rockschool exam day checklist to ensure your face to face exam day runs smoothly.

Use this guide when taking Rockschool Graded exams via video submission