Rockschool Bass 2024 Exam Grade Book (Debut – Grade 8)

The Rockschool Bass Guitar 2024 syllabus covers everything you need to study, practise, and sit your graded bass exam — from your very first notes at Debut all the way to professional-level Grade 8. Each book comes packed with 9 tracks across rock, funk, blues, jazz, and more, plus technical exercises, supporting tests, and downloadable audio.

Grade Breakdown:

• Debut — Start your bass journey with core techniques for rock, pop, metal, country, indie, and hip hop basslines. Covers note values, string crossing, rests, major scale, minor pentatonic scale, and major and minor arpeggios.
• Grade 1 — Introduces staccato markings, simple syncopation, dotted note values, and eighth notes. Builds the essential technique and theory needed to progress to Grade 2.
• Grade 2 — Broadens your stylistic range with Latin and shuffle rhythms, syncopation, and scales including major, natural minor, and major and minor pentatonic.
• Grade 3 — Takes on walking basslines, improvisation techniques, minor and 7th arpeggios, and blues scales. A key step up in stylistic awareness and groove.
• Grade 4 — Develops expressive playing with ghost notes, dynamic control, and vibrato, alongside deeper music theory and solo/improvisation work.
• Grade 5 — Introduces slap-and-pop, hammer-on techniques, and complex syncopation. Brings together all prior skills for more sophisticated performance.
• Grade 6 — Earns UCAS points. Covers all five shapes of the minor pentatonic, changing time signatures, Dorian and Mixolydian modes, and advanced arpeggios.
• Grade 7 — Earns UCAS points. Introduces intricate fingerstyle, montuno lines, harmonics, Lydian and Phrygian modes, jazz melodic minor scale, and 9th arpeggios.
• Grade 8 — Earns up to 30 UCAS points. Pro-level content, including two-handed tapping, time signature changes, fast blues basslines, whole tone, diminished, natural minor, and altered scales.