When a classical musician begins their musical journey, the road to perfecting their instrument can be quite clear-cut – often involving a great deal of contact time with a teacher, punctuated by exams up to Grade 8 and beyond. But for those who grow up idolising Black Sabbath while dreaming of perfect rock solos, the journey to high-level playing can be quite different. Exams – from the likes of Rockschool and Trinity College London – certainly offer one route, but many popular musicians remain largely self-taught, rarely engaging with assessments.
A recent programme launched by the music hardware company Orange Amps – the Orange Rock Guitar Course – seeks to add to the options available to rock guitarists. ‘It is aimed at people who are invested in contemporary music, who might usually learn a classical guitar because there is no other choice,’ says Sara Shevlin, creative director of Orange Learn, Orange Amps’ educational division, who is telling me all about the company's new online accredited exams for budding rock guitarists.
‘It seemed logical to combine contemporary popular music with the option of exams, which parents tend to prefer as a measurement of progress. But it's personal preference. Some people just want to play for pleasure – they don't particularly want a qualification and that's cool too.’
This flexible approach, with content tailored to individual needs, is what the Orange Rock Guitar Course is based upon. Built around three difficulty levels – foundation, intermediate and advanced – students can dip in and out as they please. Foundation equates to the traditional levels of beginner to Grade 2, with intermediate spanning Grades 3 to 5 and advanced covering Grades 6 to 8.
Three levels
‘If you feel you are at Grade 2 level then you can certainly start at intermediate, or go further if you're already playing at Grade 5. You don't have to go through all three tiers,’ says Shevlin. ‘They are accelerated courses, and because of that students have to be aware that it is going to be quite intensive. But we are also developing the options to study Grades as well, as UK students are used to learning in that way, via small steps.’
The course repertoire features a mix of classic rock, pop, indie, metal and hardcore set pieces, including Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Florescent Adolescent’, Vampire Weekend's ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’, My Chemical Romance's ‘Dead!’, AC/DC's ‘Hells Bells’, and Iron Maiden's ‘Seventh Son’, among others. The aim is that students will find their tastes and favourite artists reflected in the offering, allowing them to learn the songs they love.
‘The whole point of this course is to make it relevant to people's daily lives,’ says Shevlin. ‘We want people to be encouraged to stay on the course because they like the music and want to progress further, rather than feeling that they have to.’
She adds: ‘When it comes to advanced pieces, it tends to become more metal based, since they are often more complex arrangements, whereas beginner pieces are more from the pop genre.’ In contrast, there are no set or recommended pieces for the exams, with candidates simply asked to choose pieces that comply with set parameters for each level.
Inspiring the next generation
The course also looks to inspire students by using famous ambassadors. Utilising Orange Amps’ large roster of artists – singer-songwriter Mary Spender, Good Charlotte rhythm guitarist Billy Martin, Every Time I Die bassist Steve Micciche, Beyoncé guitarist Francesca Simone and metal guitarist Devin Townsend, among others – the ambassadors act as a point of support for students, who receive videos and handwritten letters of encouragement from them when they join the course. It's a personal touch that counteracts the loneliness of learning online. A note from Townsend closes with: ‘Anyone who has succeeded has failed as many times in the process – go easy on yourself.’
‘The idea is to show that everyone is a beginner at some point,’ says Shevlin. ‘The artists are really on board with it as they know what it feels like to start from day one and progress from there. I'd love it if they were able to speak one-to-one with each student, but for the moment the focus is on sharing their stories.’
This fostering of personal relationships is something that Orange Learn plans to develop more as the programme grows, making the course not only about obtaining an official qualification, but also about networking with and getting to know other musicians.
‘Music is supposed to be shared’, says Shevlin, ‘so we would love to have a community platform. It's important for peers to encourage each other – for example, students saying, “I've completed this part of the course, would you like some help on it?” We are also keen to encourage collaboration, between those who are looking to get out there and play and perform with other artists.’
She adds, ‘Forums will be the easiest way for it to function because it is global, but we'll see if there is scope for putting on shows. Otherwise [studying online] can be a bit isolating, and that's not what we want to encourage.’
With or without a teacher
Shevlin emphasises that the course needn't just exist online and can be taught in person. Tutors can download the syllabus and learning materials to help prepare their students to take the exam or work towards personal goals.
‘We encourage our students to learn with a tutor if they have the means to,’ Shevlin says, ‘because there is so much value in that. But if you can't afford it, or if there isn't access to a teacher near you, you can follow the course online.’
Above all, the Orange Rock Guitar Course sets out to capitalise on the positives of allowing students’ goals and passions to drive a programme of study. As Shevlin explains, ‘There isn't just one type of musician. There are many, and that reflects in the students that join our courses. Everyone is individual and different.’
How it works
The Orange Rock Guitar Course offers exams as standalone purchases at four levels: debut (£30), foundation (£45), intermediate (£50) and advanced (£55). Entry is online, with candidates recorded live by the exam software for remote assessment later. Some parts of the exam involve interactive testing elements.
Supporting the exams, courses are sold that lead up to the exam for each level (except for debut, for which there is an exam but no course). Foundation (£79.99) covers open chords, power chords, scales, arpeggios and chromatic picking exercises, plus basic sight-reading and aural. Learners get a downloadable syllabus, course learning materials and 13 lessons containing quizzes, instructional videos, practice tests and tips. The intermediate and advanced courses are the same price, increasing the level of difficulty with similar resource packages. All course purchases include a 10 percent discount on exam entry. Users can also subscribe for £7.99 per month to access everything from all three courses at any time.
The only free-to-download resource is the syllabus, which details full exam requirements. Each exam contains a performance piece, a technical piece, technical exercises, sight-reading, aural tests, improvisation and a theory quiz.
To find out more about the Orange Rock Guitar Course, visit: https://orangeamps.com/learn
