OUT

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PEGS
STRINGS Turn these to get your strings

THE GUITAR
The guitar’s sound starts
here. When you pluck a in tune. The best way to tune
string it vibrates, making a your guitar is with an electronic
note. How high or low the tuner, or if you don’t have one
note sounds (its pitch) of these you could ask your
depends on where you teacher for some help.
press down on the
string.

A QUICK GUIDE FRET

FRETS
Frets divide

All you need to know about this amazing instrument

each string into
separate notes.
MARKERS
You can use these to quickly
work out which fret is which.
The following frets are
usually marked: 3rd, 5th,
7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th,
ELECTRIC GUITAR & AMPLIFIER 19th and 21st.

If you want to play electric guitar you should first plug it into
an amplifier (amp). You could play the guitar ‘unplugged’, but ACOUSTIC
it would be too quiet to hear properly. Here are all the parts
of the guitar and amp that you need to know about…
GUITAR
NECK Unlike the electric guitar,
The strings are the acoustic guitar sounds
stretched across the loud enough on its own, so
length of the neck, which is you shouldn’t need an amp.
PICKUPS shaped so you can place
your fingers and thumb
These are the bits you 2
The pickups have should know about…
magnets inside that sense around it and then play
the strings’ vibrations. These notes.
smart devices then turn the 1 LARGE BODY
vibrations into a signal that
can be amplified (made FRET STRAP Acoustic guitars have bigger
bodies than electric guitars.
loud) by an amplifier. BOARD PINS The body is hollow rather
This is the area on the
front of the neck
Attach a strap to these
and you will be able to
than made of one solid
piece of wood. This makes
1
where you place your stand up while the sound much louder.
fingertips. playing your
guitar.
2 SOUNDHOLE
BRIDGE ur g
uit a r ’ s p ick u p s
to
This hole on the top of the body works a bit like a
The strings are fixed at yo loudspeaker. It sends the sound – amplified by the
the body end of the guitar om acoustic guitar’s large hollow body – out of the body and

yo
a l fr

ur a
by the bridge. There are two into the air where it can be heard.
main types: hard-tail and s ig n

mp.
sa
tremolo. A hard-tail bridge keeps
r r ie TONE
the strings fixed against the Ca
body, whereas a tremolo bridge lE CONTROLS
lets you raise and lower the These are usually ‘bass’,

b
CA
pitch of the strings with a ‘middle’ and ‘treble’. Adding more
tremolo bar. VOLUME bass makes your guitar sound
CONTROL warmer and fatter. Treble is the
Turn this clockwise VOLUME opposite: it makes your guitar sound
bright and sparkly. Middle is between
(from 0 to 10) to
increase the volume of
& GAIN bass and treble. It’s hard to describe
Use the volume knob tone in words, so make sure you
JACK TONE your guitar. (sometimes labelled ‘master’) to play with all of these controls
PLUG CONTROLS increase the overall volume.
Some amps will have a second
and hear for yourself once
you’re plugged into
Plug a cable in here Turn these clockwise
(from 0 to 10) to increase control marked ‘gain’. Turning your amp!
then plug the other
the brightness of your this up will add a crunchy
end into your
guitar’s sound. sound to your guitar’s tone.
amp.

[Link]
 OUT TUNING
n ow ! STRINGS PEGS
Turn these to get your strings
The bass’s sound starts

THE BASS
in tune. The best way to tune
here. When you pluck a your bass is with an electronic
string it vibrates, making a tuner, or if you don’t have one
note. How high or low the of these you could ask your
note sounds (its pitch) teacher for some help.
depends on where you
press down on the
string.
FRETS
A QUICK GUIDE FRET
Frets divide the
strings into
separate notes.

All you need to know about this amazing instrument MARKERS

You can use the fret markers
to quickly work out which fret
is which. The following frets
are usually marked: 3rd, 5th,
7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th,
19th and 21st.
BASS GUITAR & AMPLIFIER
If you want to play bass you should first plug it in to an
amplifier (amp). You could play the bass ‘unplugged’, but it
would be too quiet to hear properly. Here are all the parts of NECK
the bass and amp that you need to know about… The strings are
stretched across the

double bass © [Link]

length of the neck, which
is shaped so
you can place your
fingers and thumb
PICKUPS around it to play
notes.
The pickups have
magnets inside that sense
the strings’ vibrations. These
smart devices then turn the STRAP
vibrations into a signal that
can be amplified (made
FRET PINS
loud) by an amplifier (or BOARD Attach a strap to these
amp). This is the area on and you will be able to
the front of the neck stand up while playing The first bass guitar was invented by a man called
where you place your bass. Leo Fender. It went on sale in 1951 – over 60 years
your fingertips. ago! – and was called the Fender Precision because,
unlike the upright bass, the Precision (or P-Bass) had
a s s ’ s p i ck u p s t frets so bassists would know precisely where to place
ur b o
yo their fingers to play each note. The P-Bass was such
m
fro

yo
l a success that it is still on sale today and most other
na

ur
ig basses are based on its design.

am p .
s as
r r ie
Ca
LE

B
CA
VOLUME
CONTROL AMPLIFIER
This makes your bass sound
Turn this clockwise
much louder than when it’s
(from 0 to 10) to
unplugged. It has four basic
increase the volume of
BRIDGE your bass.
controls: volume, bass, middle and
treble. Volume makes the sound
The strings are TONE louder. The bass control makes the
fixed at the body
end of the bass by
CONTROL sound fuller and warmer. Treble is
Turn this clockwise (from the opposite: it makes your bass
the bridge. JACK 0 to 10) to increase the sound light and sparkly. Middle
PLUG brightness of your is between bass and treble.
Plug a cable in here bass’s sound.
then plug the other
end into your
amp.
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the DRUMS
CYMBALS
Usually there are two
TOMS cymbals in a drum kit. The
one to the drummer’s left is a
Most drum kits have
three tom drums: high, crash and the one to their
middle and low. You right is a ride. Each cymbal
has a different sound.

A QUICK GUIDE
won’t have to use any of
these drums in this
book.

All you need to know about this amazing instrument

PARTS OF A DRUM HI-HAT

The hi-hat is basically two
There are two key parts of a drum. The shell is the main part cymbals positioned one on
top of the other. These can be
of the drum and is usually made of wood. The head is brought together by pressing
attached to the top of the shell and is the part that you strike your foot down on the pedal
located at the bottom of
with your sticks. There is a second head attached to the the hi-hat stand.
drums that is fixed to the bottom of the shell.

DRUM
VOICES
STICKS In the Rockschool Drums
The drum kit is played with Method book you will sometimes
drum sticks. Sticks come in pairs: read the phrase ‘drum voices’. This
one for each hand. There are three is just a way of describing each part
main areas of a stick: the tip is the of the drum kit that can be used to
round part at the pointy end of the stick, make a sound. For example, the
the shaft is the area that you hold the snare drum is a drum voice;
stick by and the butt is the thick end of so too are the hi-hat and
the stick. In this book you will play the bass drum.
drums using only the tips of your

MEET sticks but it is possible to play

with the other parts too.

THE TIME
MACHINE!
A metronome is a device
with a loud click that sets
the pulse of the music you
BASS
play to. The pulse is also SNARE DRUM
called the beat and is what The snare drum sits more or The bass drum is the largest
you tap your foot to. less flat on a stand that’s placed drum in the kit. It sits on its side
Metronomes can be set between your legs. It has two heads on the floor and is struck by a
at different speeds (or which are fitted tight across the top beater on the end of the bass
tempos). This lets you Traditional metronomes and bottom of the shell. Small metal drum pedal. You press your right
practise at the correct are battery-operated or chains are fixed to the bottom head. foot down on the pedal to
When you strike the top head, the
tempo and will improve
your playing by making
wind-up machines that sit
on a desk or piano, but you chains rattle and help to make the THRONE play the drum.
loud, sharp sound that the The throne is the
sure it is always in time can also download name given to the
with whatever piece of metronome apps for your snare is known for.
stool that is designed
music you are performing. tablet or smartphone. specially for playing
drums.

[Link]
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HOW TO READ MUSIC

A QUICK GUIDE
You’ll be reading music in no time with The Rockschool Piano Method

The Stave
The Stave tells you what notes to play, when to Tempo, Bar Lines and Time Signatures
play them and how long to play them for. The stave Music is divided into groups of beats called bars. Vertical lines on the
consists of five lines. Notes can be placed on any of stave are called bar lines. They show where each bar begins and ends.
these lines or any space between the lines. The tempo of a piece tells us how fast or slow it is. The time signature
tells us how many beats there are in every bar, and what kind of beat it is.

Tempo

Time Signature Bar Line

The Clef The Musical Alphabet
= 90

This is the treble clef. It tells you Each note in music has a letter, from A to G. We call
which note each line and space this the ‘musical alphabet’ and you will find this on
of the stave represents. There the white keys of the piano.
are lots of different kinds of
Bar Bar
clefs which place the notes on
different lines and spaces. The
A B C D E F G
piano uses two – the treble clef
and the bass clef. Rhythm
The rhythms in musical notation are described on the stave by different
note heads and stems. These tell you where in the music each note
should be played and how long it should be played for. The lessons that
follow later in The Rockschool PIano Method book will cover different
notes and rhythms.
Note Head Stem

E G B D F F A C E

The Notes that fall on the lines of the stave can be remembered by the phrase ‘Every Good
Boy Deserves Football’ – or you could make up your own. The spaces between the lines can be
remembered easily because they spell the word ‘FACE’. If you get stuck, remember ‘FACE in the space!’
[Link]
 OUT TUNING
n ow ! PEGS

THE UKULELE
Turn these to get your strings
in tune. The best way to tune
your ukulele is with an
electronic tuner, or if you
FRETS don’t have one of these you
could ask your teacher
Frets divide
for some help.

A QUICK GUIDE
each string into
separate notes.

FRET
All you need to know about this amazing instrument MARKERS
You can use these to
quickly work out which
fret is which. The featured
image has fret markers
on the 5th, 7th and
UKULELE 10th frets.

A ukulele looks like a little guitar with only four

strings. In fact, the playing style is quite similar!
Once you have learnt one instrument it is quite
easy to switch between guitar and ukulele.
NECK PLAYING THE UKULELE
The strings are
stretched across the There are many ways you can hold a ukulele when you are
length of the neck, which is playing, but it is important to be comfortable and that you
shaped so you can place can use both hands without worrying about dropping your
your fingers and thumb instrument on the floor. You play best when your shoulders
around it and then
play notes. and arms feel relaxed. Don’t scrunch anything up!

FRET
BOARD
This is the area on
the front of the neck
where you place
your fingertips. 2

BRIDGE
The strings are fixed at HOW TO
the body end of the
ukulele by the bridge. There SOUND TUNE YOUR 1
are four different types of HOLE
bridges on a ukulele: slotted
bridges, tie bar bridges,
The sound hole projects
the sound that
UKULELE
pin bridges, and pull reverberates inside The easiest way to tune a
through bridges. STRINGS the body of the ukulele is to buy an electronic
The ukulele’s sound ukulele. tuner, or even to download It is a great idea to use a If you want to sit with your
starts here. When you pluck a free tuning app. It is nice ukulele strap. Keep the strap uke then it is best to rest the
a string it vibrates, making a to understand how your
note. How high or low the G C E A short so the ukulele head is body between your legs
note sounds (its pitch) instrument works though, and level with your shoulder. ​ so it feels secure. Raise
depends on where you ukulele tuning is particularly You can sit or stand with the your left leg and point the
press down on the interesting. ukulele in the same position.​ ukulele head at the sky.​
string.
The strings on most
instruments start low and get
Some banjos also have re-entrant tuning like progressively higher if you play
them in order but the ukulele
the Ukulele. Can you find out if there are any starts with a high note before
other instruments that use this tuning? dropping low! This is called
re-entrant tuning.
SO DO MI LA [Link]
[Link]
Music PRODUCTION
How a microphone works…
There are several types of microphones which each use different technology to
convert the acoustic energy into electrical energy. The most common types are:

Dynamic Microphones (Capsule) Condenser Microphones

Diaphragm Microphone casing
Microphone casing
Diaphragm
Output

Sound
waves Sound
in air waves Audio signal
in air

Direction Battery
Coil of coil Magnet Back Panel
movement

Dynamic microphones use a capsule which contains a magnet and an electrical coil. Condenser microphones create electrical current by using an
As the vibrations in the air move the diaphragm of the microphone, the coil moves electronic concept called capacitance. The diaphragm of the
around the magnet causing an electrical current to flow through the cable. microphone forms one plate of the capacitor with another inside
the capsule. One plate has a positive charge and the other a
Most dynamic microphones are constructed to be quite tough and are therefore negative charge. As the vibrations in the air move the diaphragm,
good in loud situations, such as close to guitar amplifiers or inside kick drums. the distance between the two plates varies with more current
The construction of the casing is also very hardy which is why they are often the flowing when the plates are closer together.
microphone of choice for live performances.

Shure Shure Sontronics Sontronics

SM58 SM57 Aria Mercury
[Link]
Music PRODUCTION
Types of EQ
Equalisation, which is abbreviated as EQ, is the function that alters the frequency content of
the audio. Mixing desks will almost always have some form of EQ available and DAWs will
offer EQ as a plugin to be added where it is needed.
HF dB

Bell

HIGH 12k Fixed EQ – dB

+ kHz
This type of EQ has a fixed frequency band that the control affects. 5 10

You might have seen this as Treble, Mid and Bass on a sound system 2 14

or car stereo. Treble represents the higher frequencies, Bass the HMF dB 1. 5 16
Parametric EQ
lower frequencies, and Mid is everything in between. This is a kind of EQ which enables
–15 +15 the sound engineer to really focus
– + kHz the equalisation to the chosen
MID 2.5k 1.5 4.5

.8 6
frequency band. Three controls
are provided, frequency, gain and
Q (short for quality). This makes
Q .6 Hz 7

70 500 2k5 7k
BLK it very similar to Semi-Parametic,
–15 +15 30 100 200 1k 1k 5k 2k5 10k but with the addition of Q.
IN
LOW 80 LMF
The Q control enables the EQ to
dB
20Hz 200 120Hz 2k 500Hz 10k 1k5 20k

LF LM HM HF focus in on the chosen frequency.

– + kHz
When a high Q setting is used, the
frequency band is very narrow,
.8 1.5

meaning you can really find that

–10 +10 –10 +10 –10 +10 –10 +10 .3 2.0
–15 +15
Q .2 Hz 2.5
problem frequency which you
want to remove. If you use a low
Sweep / Semi-Parametric EQ Q setting, the frequency band is
This is a kind of EQ which enables the user to 100
Hz
300
wide, resulting in a much more
set both the frequency to be affected and how 50 375
natural effect.
LF
much it is affected by. There are two controls, dB 30 450

frequency and gain.

Bell

– +
[Link]
Music PRODUCTION
Mixing Desks
At the centre of many recording studios is a mixing desk. Most of these functions are also
available in DAWs or as audio interface hardware, so keep an eye out for these terms as they
are likely to function in the same way. Let’s explore a typical mixing desk channel strip.

Meter
Input Auxiliaries
This will normally be the first item you will find. When a Auxiliaries are the part of a mixing desk
VU
dB (with good level)

mixing desk has more than one input per channel, this which enables you to send part of a signal
AUX 1
MIC

button selects the source. Most mixing desks will have in a channel to an additional destination.
at least two inputs, one being the ‘microphone input’ (for -∞
AUX 2
10dB
Often used for sending some signal to an
connecting microphones) and the other being a ‘line input’ effect or headphones.
LINE 1
(for connecting line level devices). Some mixing desks may Auxiliary knobs

have more than one line input, in which case there may be -∞
AUX 3/FX
10dB
Pan
LINE 2 more than one switch labelled ‘line 1’, ‘line 2’ etc. The pan (panorama) control is used to
distribute the signal between the left
MIC LINE 1 LINE 2
Pad -∞ 10dB
and right speaker. This makes it possible
Sometimes a signal may be so loud that even the trim PAN
to make a sound appear as if it’s coming
PAD
control cannot reduce the level enough. The pad switch Pan knob from the left side of the room, the right
Pad switch
26dB is used purely to attenuate (make quieter) the incoming L R side, or anywhere inbetween.
signal.
MUTE

Routing
GAIN

MST
Gain knob 10

Gain/Trim The routing controls will vary in

1–2
10 60dB

The gain pot on a mixing desk or audio interface

5
complexity from one mixing desk to
Routing
another and some desks may not have
HIGH 12k 3–4

determines the amount of signal entering the channel. As a

0
Switches

microphone doesn’t have much power, the signal will need -5

5–6
any routing at all. Additional routing
–15 +15
amplifying so that it is loud enough to be heard, therefore
7–8
makes it possible to send the signal to
MID 2.5k
the gain control is used to raise the level. It is vital that the Fader
other destinations, such as a recording
EQ section
channel has the correct level to work efficiently and to -∞ device.
–15 +15
avoid noise and distortion.
LOW 80
1
Fader
Equalisation The fader is the part of the mixing desk
–15 +15
The equalisation or EQ is used to balance the tone of the which adjusts the level of the signal
signal in the channel. leaving the channel.