Trinity College London launches rock and pop music qualifications

Trinity College London, in a ground breaking move has introduced a new syllabus to its existing repertoire, that of rock and pop, which has been designed to reflect the diverse and often creative ways that rock and pop musicians learn. Speaking at the Sri Lanka launch held at Park Street Mews, Country Representative, Ramola Sivasundaram said that this novel syllabus was suitable for students of all ages and abilities. 

“Whether they are self-taught or taking lessons, learning for fun or heading for a career in the music industry, these new exams for guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keyboards will help musicians develop valuable playing skills and achieve their musical ambitions.  Extensive graded song-lists range from the classics to recent releases including the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, the Kinks, Kings of Leon, Radiohead, Muse, Rihanna, Jessie J and many more,” said Sivasundaram.

She went on to say that song-lists have been revealed as well as the first glimpse of the song books available from January 2012, including some sample audio and sheet music.  “The books will include six songs for each grade (initial to Grade eight) with professionally recorded backing and demo tracks, helpful background notes and performance hints and tips.”  The first tranche of early grade books have been on sale from late January 2012 in-store and online via the new rock and pop download store.  Sivasundaram went on to say that the release of the books and online downloads for the later grades will swiftly follow during the first half of 2012.

A team of experienced musicians worked on the arrangements and audio tracks include Ben Hillyard on bass, George Double on drums, Tom Fleming on guitar, Oliver Weeks on keyboards and Alison Symons, Bo Walton and Brendan Reilly on vocals.  The tracks were recorded at The Lime House Studios in London and were mixed and mastered by music producer, session musician and performing guitarist Tom Fleming.

The local launch saw artistes of the calibre of Ashanthi de Alwis, Dimitri Gunatileke and the Menaka Singers, Monique Wille and the Sintonia Band featuring Greg Pallegama on Drums, Nishan Daniel on Bass, Roshan Peter on the Guitar and Shannon Jacob on keyboards, as well as Shanelle Fernando, Dilini Perera of the The Revelations Academy of Performing Arts, Shehan Peiris on Drums and Ricky Bahar perform.

Academic Director Nick Beach said, “The new rock and pop syllabus from Trinity College London is a major breakthrough for music education.  It introduces an innovative approach to preparing for an exam which gives candidates a wide choice of styles, enables them to play to their strengths and even includes the potential to play songs they have written themselves.  This means that candidates can prepare their own set-lists to reflect their individual talents and ambitions.  These new exams are designed to support students in developing important technical skills through their performances and also through the Session Skills – Improvising and Playback.”

Chief Executive Sarah Kemp added “We are extremely excited about the opportunities it will bring students of rock and pop music all over the world, providing a progressive framework of learning with performance and individuality at its centre.”

Sivasundaram said she too was excited about the challenge of launching the new syllabus in Sri Lanka.  She was certain that there would be a lot of interest in this innovative syllabus, and hoped that the showcase event which was held on 16 March for the media, interested teachers and musicians from the industry gave an insight into the requirements of the examinations.

Trinity College London has been operating in Sri Lanka for well over a hundred years.  The administration and conducting of examinations is carried out by the local office under the name of Horizons International.  Qualified and accredited examiners from the United Kingdom assess thousands of Sri Lankan students each year in Music, Speech and Drama, Communication Skills and the English Language.  Trinity College London (Trinity) is an awarding body recognised in the United Kingdom by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).  The examinations are also recognised by the authorities in Northern Ireland and Wales. In addition, various arrangements are in place with governmental education authorities worldwide.