Trinity’s rocking test

While David had Delhi,Guwahati,Dimapur and Kolkata on his itinerary,his colleague Francesca Matthews,head of academic governance,went to Mumbai,Pune,Goa,Bangalore and Chennai.

“The workshops are covering the song lists,exam structure and marking scheme as well as support offered to teachers and candidates. It is an opportunity for us to interact with the music trainers as well as learners and explain to them the nuances of the Trinity College Rock & Pop courses. We are jamming together,talking about music and even the parents are participating,” Bobby,who himself is associated with the music industry for nearly 20 years,said.

Bobby studied music at Kingston University,Surrey,with piano as first study,played in a number of rock and pop bands over the years and is a sessions player.

According to him,there are many fabulous guitarists,drummers and other musicians without formal qualifications and this syllabus will help them develop their skills and showcase their merit.

“Candidates can perform their self-composed songs,too,to acquire accredited qualifications in bass,drums,guitar,keyboards and vocals across nine levels from Initial to Grade 8. There is also a list of carefully chosen and arranged songs,from which the candidates can perform. We will provide support material,music demo and backing tracks on CD,background information on the songs,performance nuances,technical focus and session skills tips. For a few songs,we even have videos to provide that extra bit of help. There is a panel of 75 examiners,all from the UK,who will travel to centres worldwide to conduct the exams,” Bobby said.

Jyotishka Dasgupta,the eastern India representative for Trinity College,who was also present to welcome Bobby in Kolkata,said,“The general perception for Trinity courses is that they are for serious,trained musicians. However,there are so many musicians and enthusiasts who just play or sing just because of the love for it. The enthusiasm in college moved on to weekly jamming sessions and then to performances on stage. These self-taught artists are now teaching others the same method they used. With this syllabus we have opened up a world for them,where they never existed.”

The Rock & Pop course is being launched in the UK,Ireland,India,Sri Lanka,United Arab Emirates,Hong Kong,Singapore,Malaysia,Thailand,Indonesia,Australia,New Zealand,South Africa,Spain,Cyprus and Malta.