Initial

At the Initial exam, you can learn about dynamics, muting and rhythmic control. You’ll perform three songs and choose your Session skill – Improvising or Playback.

Choose your songs from our song list, including one of the Technical focus songs that develop particular skills. There’s an option for you to play your own cover version of a song or, if you’re a songwriter, one of your own songs.

You’ll find more information about how the exam works in the syllabus. 

Initial Bass song list

The Initial Bass songbook includes everything you need for the exam – sheet music for six songs, performance tips, technical support and guidance on Session skills, together with a CD of demo and backing tracks. If you want to buy individual songs, choose them from the list below.

• Black Betty Lead Belly
• Blitzkrieg Bop Ramones
• Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash
• I Am The Music Man (Technical focus) Traditional
• No Surprises Radiohead
• You Don't Love Me (Technical focus) Dawn Penn

Initial Bass demo video

Session Skills

Players choose Playback or Improvising.

Playback

You’ll perform some music you haven’t seen or heard before – you can sight-read from a song chart or play by ear from an audio track, or both.

Improvising

You’ll be given a song chart with chord symbols and song style and will improvise over a backing track.

Songs: Black Betty, Blitzkrieg Bop, Folsom Prison Blues, I Am The Music Man, No Surprises, You Don’t Love Me

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