Graded pieces for Electric & Acoustic Guitar
As we consider what skills you need to work on to improve, and play the songs you want we must also dedicated some time to your influences, and give consideration to pieces that are suitable for you to learn in order to develop your skills as a guitarist.
Take a look and listen to the Graded pieces below. All song choices are official Rockschool and Trinity Rock and Pop graded pieces for electric/acoustic guitar with backing tracks to practice along with. The graded pieces you learn not only help develop your musicianship, technical ability and repertoire, they are great motivators which help you benchmark your progress. Most of all they are really fun to jam along with! Song Choice. Below are songs from the Rockschool & Trinity Rock and Pop Syllabuses. Take some time to listen to the songs you/we choose to work on - listening to each track many, many times! Make sure you really 'know' the song' as this will help you learn it much, much quicker!
Grade 0 / Grade 1 Pieces
Lily Was Here - Dave Stewart / Candy Duffer (Trinity Initial)
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum (Trinity Initial)
Wicked Game - Chris Isaak (Trinity Initial)
20th century boy - T Rex (Trinity Initial)
Mountain At My Gates - Foals (Trinity Initial)
Hole in my shoe - Traffic (Trinity Initial)
Orange crush - REM (Trinity Initial)
Where did you sleep last night - Nirvana (Trinity Initial)
Knocking on Heavens Door - Bob Dylan (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)
Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers (Rockschool Acoustic and Electric Debut)
Ho hey - Lumineers (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)
I'm yours - Jason Mraz (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)
Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)
Stand by me - Ben E. King (Rockschool Acoustic and Electric Debut)
Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix (Rockschool Electric Debut)
Hoochie Choochie Man - Muddy Waters (Rockschool Electric Debut)
Stay with me - Sam Smith (Rockschool Electric Debut)
Jerk it out - Caesars (Trinity Grade 1)
Love is the drug - Roxy Music (Trinity Grade 1)
I can't explain - The Who (Trinity Grade 1)
Oh Yeah - The Subways (Trinity Grade 1)
Ready to start - Arcade Fire (Trinity Grade 1)
September gurls - Big Star (Trinity Grade 1)
Sixteen Saltines - Jack White (Trinity Grade 1)
Mr Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan (Trinity Grade 1)
The Unforgiven - Metallica (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)
Let It Be - The Beatles (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)
Beautiful - Christina Aguilera (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)
Stella by Starlight - Ray Charles (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)
Someone like you - Adele (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)
Basket Case - Green Day (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Dakota - Stereophonics (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Green Onions - Booker T and the M.G's (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
The man who can't be moved - The Script (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
My Girl - The Temptations (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Rolling In The Deep - Adele (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Wishing Well - FREE (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Zephyr Song - The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Living on a prayer - Bon Jovi (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Sunshine of your love - Cream (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Wonderful tonight - Eric Clapton (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Run to you - Bryan Adams (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)
Grade 2 Pieces
Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie (G2)
Brass in my pocket - The Pretenders (G2)
Morning Gory - Oasis (G2)
Domino - Jessie J (G2)
Knock on wood - Eddie Floyd (G2)
Ex's & Oh's - Elle King (G2)
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (G2)
Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground (G2)
Twist and Shout - The Beatles (G2)
Resolve - Foo Fighters (G2)
You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi (G2)
Highway to Hell - ACDC (G2)
Supersonic - Oasis (G2)
Enter Sandman - Metallica (G2)
I Believe in a thing called Love - The Darkness (G2)
Helter Skelter - The Beatles (G2)
What makes you beautiful - One Direction (G2)
Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley (G2)
We are never ever getting back together - Taylor Swift (G2)
Shallow - Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (G2)
Let Her Go - Passenger (G2)
Other side of the World - K T Tunstall (G2)
Everybody Hurts - R.E.M (G2)
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (G2)
Sittin on the Dock of the Bay - Ostis Reading (G2)
Albatross - Fleetwood Mac (G2)
Grade 3 Pieces
Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love - Van Halen (G3)
Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran (G3)
Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival (G3)
Cigarettes and Alcohol - Oasis (G3)
Paranoid - Black Sabbath (G3)
Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix Experience (G3)
Golden Touch - Razorlight (G3)
Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon (G3)
Wherever I May Roam - Metallica (G3)
Steady, As She Goes - The Raconteurs (G3)
The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie (G3)
Landslide - Dixie Chicks (G3)
High Horse - Kacey Musgraves (G3)
Weather With You - Crowded House (G3)
Take on the World - You Me At Six (G3)
Wild Wood - Paul Weller (G3)
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (G3)
Sittin' on the dock of the bay - Otis Reading (G3)
I Knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift (G3)
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (G3)
Grade 4 Pieces
The Thrill is Gone - B B King
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
Day Tripper - The Beatles
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis
Desire - U2
Bruno Mars - Treasure
Walk The Moon - Shut Up And Dance
James Brown - My Thang
Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Need You
John Legend and The Roots - Our Generation
Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
Thin Lizzy - "The Boys Are Back In Town"
Razorlight - "Before I Fall To Pieces"
Eric Clapton - "Edge Of Darkness"
Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
AC/DC - "Whole Lotta Rosie"
Joe Satriani - "Ice 9"
Bill Withers - Use Me
Alanis Morissette - Ironic
Eric Clapton - Layla
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Road Trippin'
Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago
JAMES BROWN - Cold Sweat
ALABAMA SHAKES - Hold On
NEIL YOUNG - Rockin' In The Free World
NIRVANA - Smells Like Teen Spirit
AMY WINEHOUSE - You Know I'm No Good
Grade 5 Pieces
Alive - Pearl Jam
James Taylor - Fire And Rain
"Surfing With The Alien" - Joe Satriani
People Say - The Meters
"The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
The Beatles - Blackbird
Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven
The Riverboat Song - Ocean Colour Scene
Eva Cassidy - Songbird
Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
Eminem - Lose Yourself
Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi
Beyoncé - Love On Top
Average White Band - Pick Up the Pieces
Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally
AC/DC - Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet Home Alabama"
Steve Vai - "The Crying Machine"
Velvet Revolver - "Fall To Pieces"
Kings Of Leon - "Radioactive"
Metallica - "Sad But True"
AC/DC - "Back In Black"
LENNY KRAVITZ - Are You Gonna Go My Way (TF)
LED ZEPPELIN - Heartbreaker
PARAMORE - Misery Business
RIVAL SONS - Pressure & Time
AEROSMITH - Sweet Emotion
RAINBOW - Since You Been Gone
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - Wake Up
Grade 6 Pieces
COLDPLAY - Adventure of a Lifetime
JOE COCKER - With A Little Help From My Friends
CHUCK BERRY - Johnny B. Goode
Extreme - More Than Words
AC/DC - Riff Raff
José González - Heartbeats
ALIEN ANT FARM - Smooth Criminal
THE POLICE - Synchronicity II
THE FOO FIGHTERS Rope
SANTANA Samba Pa Ti
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - The Wind Cries Mary
AC/DC - "You Shook Me All Night Long"
Nick Drake - River Man
Seal - Kiss From A Rose
Sting - Shape Of My Heart
Fats Waller - Ain ́t Misbehavin ́
Breakestra - Cramp Your Style
Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"
Alicia Keys - If I Ain’t Got You
Jill Scott - The Real Thing/The Way
Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days
Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover
Cream - Crossroads
Grade 7 Pieces
Foo Fighters - "Rope"
Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing
Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight"
Run DMC - Walk This Way
Newton Faulkner - Teardrop
Joe Bonamassa - Woke Up Dreaming
Pat Metheny - Our Spanish Love Song
Bert Jansch - Angie
Kaki King - Night After Sidewalk
Antônio Carlos Jobim - Desafinado
Jeff Beck - Cause We've Ended As Lovers
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Lettuce - Reunion
Rihanna - Umbrella
LED ZEPPELIN - Black Dog
KANSAS - Carry On Wayward Son
Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
MUSE - New Born
METALLICA - Orion
IRON MAIDEN - Phantom Of The Opera
JAKE BUGG - Slumville Sunrise
THE KILLERS - Mr. Brightside
Grade 8 Pieces
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns n' Roses
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles
Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
Die to Live - Steve Vai
ESPERANZA SPALDING - Good Lava
JOE SATRIANI - Always With Me, Always With Me (TF)
Reelin' In The Years - Steely Dan
FRANK ZAPPA - Peaches En Regalia
Spanish Joint - D'Angelo
RUSH - The Spirit Of Radio
Country Boy - Albert Lee
IRON MAIDEN - The Trooper
King's X - "We Were Born To Be Loved"
Metallica - "Holier Than Thou"
Tommy Emmanuel - Tears For Jerusalem
Robert Johnson - Kind Hearted Woman Blues
Brent Mason - First Rule Of Thumb
Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing
Hiatus Kaiyote - Breathing Underwater
Snarky Puppy - Native Sons
Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne
Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River