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!

1. Lily Was Here - Dave Stewart / Candy Duffer (Trinity Initial)

2. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum (Trinity Initial)

3. Wicked Game - Chris Isaak (Trinity Initial)

4. 20th century boy - T Rex (Trinity Initial)

5. Mountain At My Gates - Foals (Trinity Initial)

6. Hole in my shoe - Traffic (Trinity Initial)

7. Orange crush - REM (Trinity Initial)

8. Where did you sleep last night - Nirvana (Trinity Initial)

9. Knocking on Heavens Door - Bob Dylan (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)

10. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers (Rockschool Acoustic and Electric Debut)

11. Ho hey - Lumineers (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)

12. I'm yours - Jason Mraz (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)

13. Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles (Rockschool Acoustic Debut)

14. Stand by me - Ben E. King (Rockschool Acoustic and Electric Debut)

15. Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix (Rockschool Electric Debut)

16. Hoochie Choochie Man - Muddy Waters (Rockschool Electric Debut)

17. Stay with me - Sam Smith (Rockschool Electric Debut)

18. Hello - Adele (Rockschool Electric Debut)

19. Jerk it out - Caesars (Trinity Grade 1)

20. Love is the drug - Roxy Music (Trinity Grade 1)

21. I can't explain - The Who (Trinity Grade 1)

22. Oh Yeah - The Subways (Trinity Grade 1)

23. Ready to start - Arcade Fire (Trinity Grade 1)

24. September gurls - Big Star (Trinity Grade 1)

25. Sixteen Saltines - Jack White (Trinity Grade 1)

26. Mr Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan (Trinity Grade 1)

27. The Unforgiven - Metallica (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)

28. Let It Be - The Beatles (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)

29. Beautiful - Christina Aguilera (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)

30. Stella by Starlight - Ray Charles (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)

31. Someone like you - Adele (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)

32. Free Fallin' - Tom Petty (Rockschool Acoustic Grade 1)

33. Basket Case - Green Day (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

34. Dakota - Stereophonics (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

35. Green Onions - Booker T and the M.G's (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

36. The man who can't be moved - The Script (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

37. My Girl - The Temptations (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

38. Rolling In The Deep - Adele (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

39. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

40. Wishing Well - FREE (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

41. Zephyr Song - The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

42. Living on a prayer - Bon Jovi (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

43. Sunshine of your love - Cream (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

44. Wonderful tonight - Eric Clapton (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

45. Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

46. Run to you - Bryan Adams (Rockschool Electric Grade 1)

1. Cissy Strut - The Meters (G2)

2. Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie (G2)

3. Brass in my pocket - The Pretenders (G2)

4. Morning Gory - Oasis (G2)

5. Domino  - Jessie J (G2)

6. Knock on wood - Eddie Floyd (G2)

7. Ex's & Oh's - Elle King (G2)

8. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (G2)

9. Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground (G2)

10. Twist and Shout - The Beatles (G2)

11. Resolve - Foo Fighters (G2)

12. You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi (G2)

13. Highway to Hell - ACDC (G2)

14. Supersonic - Oasis (G2)

15. Enter Sandman - Metallica (G2)

16. I Believe in a thing called Love - The Darkness (G2)

17. Helter Skelter - The Beatles (G2)

18. What makes you beautiful - One Direction (G2)

19. Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley (G2)

20. We are never ever getting back together  - Taylor Swift (G2)

21. Shallow - Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper (G2)

22. Let Her Go - Passenger (G2)

23. Other side of the World - K T Tunstall (G2)

24. Everybody Hurts - R.E.M (G2)

25. Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (G2)

26. Sittin on the Dock of the Bay - Ostis Reading (G2)

27. Rock 'N' roll Train - ACDC (G2)

28. Albatross - Fleetwood Mac (G2)

1. Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love - Van Halen (G3)

2. Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran (G3)

3. Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival (G3)

4. Cigarettes and Alcohol - Oasis (G3)

5. Paranoid - Black Sabbath (G3)

6. Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix Experience (G3)

7. Golden Touch - Razorlight (G3)

8. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon (G3)

9. Wherever I May Roam - Metallica (G3)

10. Steady, As She Goes - The Raconteurs (G3)

11. The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie (G3)

12. Landslide - Dixie Chicks (G3)

13. High Horse - Kacey Musgraves (G3)

14. Weather With You - Crowded House (G3)

15. Take on the World - You Me At Six (G3)

16. Wild Wood - Paul Weller (G3)

17. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (G3)

18. Sittin' on the dock of the bay - Otis Reading (G3)

19. I Knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift (G3)

20. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams (G3)

1. The Thrill is Gone - B B King

2. She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult

3. Day Tripper - The Beatles

4. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica

5. Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis

6. Desire - U2

7. Bruno Mars - Treasure

8. Walk The Moon - Shut Up And Dance

9. James Brown - My Thang

10. Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Need You

11. John Legend and The Roots - Our Generation

12. Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls"

13. Thin Lizzy - "The Boys Are Back In Town"

14. Razorlight - "Before I Fall To Pieces"

15. Eric Clapton - "Edge Of Darkness"

16. Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"

17. AC/DC - "Whole Lotta Rosie"

18. Joe Satriani - "Ice 9"

19. Bill Withers - Use Me

20. Alanis Morissette - Ironic

21. Eric Clapton - Layla

22. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Road Trippin'

23. Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago

24. JAMES BROWN - Cold Sweat

25. ALABAMA SHAKES - Hold On

26. NEIL YOUNG - Rockin' In The Free World

27. NIRVANA - Smells Like Teen Spirit

28. AMY WINEHOUSE - You Know I'm No Good

1. Alive - Pearl Jam

2. James Taylor - Fire And Rain

3. "Surfing With The Alien" -  Joe Satriani

4. People Say - The Meters

5. "The Pretender" -  Foo Fighters

6. The Beatles - Blackbird

7. Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven

8. The Riverboat Song - Ocean Colour Scene

9. Eva Cassidy - Songbird

10. Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On

11. Eminem - Lose Yourself

12. Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi

13. Beyoncé - Love On Top

14. Average White Band - Pick Up the Pieces

15. Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally

16. AC/DC - Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be

17. Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet Home Alabama"

18. Steve Vai - "The Crying Machine"

19. Velvet Revolver - "Fall To Pieces"

20. Kings Of Leon - "Radioactive"

21. Metallica - "Sad But True"

22. AC/DC - "Back In Black"

23. LENNY KRAVITZ - Are You Gonna Go My Way (TF)

24. LED ZEPPELIN - Heartbreaker

25. PARAMORE - Misery Business

26. RIVAL SONS - Pressure & Time

27. AEROSMITH - Sweet Emotion

28. RAINBOW - Since You Been Gone

29. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - Wake Up

1. COLDPLAY - Adventure of a Lifetime

2.  JOE COCKER - With A Little Help From My Friends

3. CHUCK BERRY - Johnny B. Goode

4. Extreme - More Than Words

5. AC/DC - Riff Raff

6. José González - Heartbeats

7. ALIEN ANT FARM - Smooth Criminal

8. THE POLICE - Synchronicity II

9. THE FOO FIGHTERS Rope

10. SANTANA Samba Pa Ti

11. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - The Wind Cries Mary

12. AC/DC - "You Shook Me All Night Long"

13. Nick Drake - River Man

14. Seal - Kiss From A Rose

15. Sting - Shape Of My Heart

16. Fats Waller - Ain ́t Misbehavin ́

17. Breakestra - Cramp Your Style

18. Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"

19. Alicia Keys - If I Ain’t Got You

20. Jill Scott - The Real Thing/The Way

21. Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days

22. Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover

23. Cream - Crossroads

1. Foo Fighters - "Rope"

2.  Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing

3. Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight"

4. Run DMC - Walk This Way

5. Newton Faulkner - Teardrop

6. Joe Bonamassa - Woke Up Dreaming

7. Pat Metheny - Our Spanish Love Song

8. Bert Jansch - Angie

9. Kaki King - Night After Sidewalk

10. Antônio Carlos Jobim - Desafinado

11. Jeff Beck - Cause We've Ended As Lovers

12. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

13. Lettuce - Reunion

14. Rihanna - Umbrella

15. LED ZEPPELIN - Black Dog

16. KANSAS - Carry On Wayward Son

17. Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way

18. MUSE - New Born

19. METALLICA - Orion

20. IRON MAIDEN - Phantom Of The Opera

21. JAKE BUGG - Slumville Sunrise

22. THE KILLERS - Mr. Brightside

1. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns n' Roses

2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles

3. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne

4. Die to Live - Steve Vai

5. ESPERANZA SPALDING - Good Lava

6. JOE SATRIANI - Always With Me, Always With Me (TF)

7. Reelin' In The Years -  Steely Dan

8. FRANK ZAPPA - Peaches En Regalia

9. Spanish Joint - D'Angelo

10. RUSH - The Spirit Of Radio

11. Country Boy - Albert Lee

12. IRON MAIDEN - The Trooper

13. King's X - "We Were Born To Be Loved"

14. Metallica - "Holier Than Thou"

15. Tommy Emmanuel - Tears For Jerusalem

16. Robert Johnson - Kind Hearted Woman Blues

17. Brent Mason - First Rule Of Thumb

18. Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing

19. Hiatus Kaiyote - Breathing Underwater

20. Snarky Puppy - Native Sons

21. Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne

22. Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River