Hello everyone, i am new here, and well, i am due to take A level music (popular) in September becasue halfway through year 10 this intense passion for music erupted after i got my new bass guitar. so this means i was unable to do GCSE music, but have been accepted onto the A level course after passing a grade 2 theory paper.

So, i baught this book First Steps in music theory by Eric Taylor, and its realy helping along with the practice papers i baught from my music shop. However, how come ABRSM do not do a bass guitar course? this means i can only take theory papers and i have to do rockschool bass grades which is a shame, becaue i find thge ABRSM papers a lot more challenging. The school expects us to be able to pass grade 5 theory and instrument by the end of the first year, i ithink i could do it.

so anyways just letting you know who I am and that i love music, theory more because you dont actually have to play anthing (and im a terrible sight reader !) and wondering when the Bass grades will arrive

Hello Weezul,

Just a suggestion - ask your music teacher to get hold of a booklet of Grade 5 Theory papers. They aren't that difficult but you are required to do some work - like chord identification, grouping unbarred music into bars and give a time signature and such things. Mostly it takes thought, experience and just practice.

Sight reading is sheer practice too.

I dare say that the AB has not embraced electric guitar for several reasons - at least one must be that very few electric-guitarists can read music (one teacher at the local AE instutute can't though he can read tab and chord ideograms!). Another must be the absence of a suitable standard repertoire throughout all the grades from which to choose pieces.

May I ask what bass you have?

Anyway, good luck!

um welcome!