Y
Rcf oN THE cD 'Q rr.rcxss-sa
Grade 0 tlatpicking
This month the Registry Of GuitarTutors' examinations
director Tony Skinner presents the second pa rt i n his
guide to the RGT s Grade 6 acoustic Aultar exam...
someone else singing or
playing, is a core skill that
every acoustic guitarist should
have, and tiis is whythe RGT
acoustic exams feature an
'Accompaniment' section as a
impofiant part ofeach exam.
On the following page you'll
find the notation for The Rakes
Of Kildare anil The Blaclthorn
Stick. Both are taditional
Celticjigs and should be played
'segue' in the exam - with no
gap between the pieces.
These tunes are designeil
be played with a pick -
although as long as you can
achieve a strong tone therc is
no reason why you couldn't
play fingerstyle. To capture t}le
style ofthese fiddle tunes they
need to be played at a fast
tempo. The time signature is
6/8 - six eighth-note beats per
bar, with a main pulse oftwo
beats perbar. This means tllat
the firct and, to alesserertent,
the fourlh beat of each six in
each bar should be accented
slightly. The Rakes Of Kildare
is notated using a G major key
signature, with the tune being
m based on the A Dorian scale (second mode
in G major). The Blackthorn Stick is in D.
In this section tie examiner will play an
O a Moderate eight-bar melody on guitar, while you're
tNto ] wtLL rNrnovrvoun given a chord chart that matches t]1e
melody to look over. The range of chords
KEY: Gto D I uAccompanir.nt *o,k will reflect the chorils set for the grade,
TEMPO: ll2 bpm I TFlatpi(krnq ability which at Grade 6 may include various Bpes
CD: TRACK 55-56 7 Peformance skills
of seventh chords and will require the use
ofbarre chords. After you've heard the
THIS MONIH WE'RX going to cover a meloily twice you should play through the
piece arranged for pick players, as well as chord chart accompalying the examiner
an e:rample from ihe accompanimenl while he plays the melody twice more. The
section ofthe Grade 6 exam. Being able to GT CD provides an example ofthe type of
provide a really effective accompaniment, accompaniment test that will occur in the
whetierjust to yourselfsinging or to Grade 6 exam. You can use any style of
TMCI( IEC0BD There aremany greatacousllc playors who use flatpicking as well as fingerstyle - check out bluegrass players like Dan
Tyminski0r [0n Block 0f Union Station 0rthe amazing Tommy Emmanuelwho covers allmanner of stylos, But British guitarist Glive Gamollis a
marvellous musician. Sometimes r€ferred to as the 'Guthrle Govan 0f the acoustic guitaf, his latest album Sixth Sens€ rvill amaze you!
86 Guitarlbchniques November 2008
strumming or fingerpicking as long as what
you play suits the mood, style and timing of
the melody, although to achieve the highest
marks at tJfs level you1l be expected to
include some dyramic and rhl.thmic
variations in your playing. At Grade 6 there
will be a different chord in each bar ofthe
chord chart, plus one bar will be a 'split bar'
containilg two chords. The time signature
may be either 3/4,4/4 or 6/8, so make sure
you check the time signature before you
start to play (the CD example is in 3/4
time). Ne),t month we1l be starting an
overview ofthe RGT Grade 7 acoustic
to guitar exam. E
l( These tunes are designed
to be played with a pick,
although there is no reason
why you couldn't play them
usingfingerstyle S$
Elt&friit INFO
The RGTacoust c exams are the on yfu ly
accred ted exams spec fi cally for acoustic
guitar sts. RGTGrade 6 and above have
been given dlrect equjvalen.e toA' evels
on the NationaiQuallficat ons Ftamework
a d.' " La. 'o'a -o.\a o . '.o' ,
entrance. RGT exarns are held al acrossthe
LIL/ . do a..o. o. d do.. ,to,o. 9--
eram nfo pa.k detal inq the requirements
foi all grades frorn w\,!w. RGT.o r!1. ! k.
A istofreglstered
teachers who can he p
you prepare for the exams
is avai able on the RGT
website.The grade
handbooks are ava lable
frorn mu5lc stoTes or
on ine at w!^/w.
BooksForGu tar..om
 tL[TPtCl(il0 t[&H$IffiffiZOI'IE

EXAMPLE THE RAKES OF KILDARE ANDTHE BLACKTHORN STICK GDTRACKS5

The important thing in performing a piece like this,s to maintain flow aimtokeepyourplayingdynamicbutdon'tstrayfromtheessentialrhythm.

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November 2008 GuitaxTechniques

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88 GultarTechniques Nov-.mber 2008

 ILATPICKIIIG LTARI,|IIIGZOIIT

CHORD CHART THE RAKES OF KILDARE ANDTHE BLACKTHORN STICK

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MELOOY RGT GRADE 6 ACCOMPANIMENT EXAMPLE CD TRAGN 56

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AMIITAIl
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