Electric Guitar Songs in Grade 3

this is like a UK thing. We don't have guitar performance as a class until college in the states, and then apart from specialized schools like Berklee and GIT its only classical guitar... but I would suggest learning something outside of your box that will demonstrate you've expanded your musical and technical vocabulary if you want top marks. Try a little chord melody, maybe a standard like "Cry Me a River". The experience of working this out and learning to perform it with fluidity and feeling will improve and inform your rock playing in positive ways as well as impressing your teachers. I know you asked for rock, but I know what I'm talking about and I think going with what you already know does not demonstrate learning and growth in an academic musical sense. Not in the sense I would be looking for as a music teacher. I also don't find most rock offers muchin the way of solo recital content unless you can channel Yngwie and shred some Paganini... even then it demonstrates technical growth and not an increased understanding of musical theory. If you are going to do a rock song try making it into something that stands alone as a solo guitar piece expressing both melody and harmony without accompaniment.

but that's just one man's opinion, I am sure someone else will pipe up

EDIT:

I forgot, what's the goal of the project? maybe you need to tailor the audition piece to show you can handle whatever curves the project throws you. Knowing what you're auditioning to do would really help here... like, I didn't show up to jazz band tryouts with a strat playing little wing, I brought an old guild starfire 1 and played the chart to "take the A train" pretty much verbatim.... as an adult I did an alt country audition with a tele, strat and matchless, no effects and I learned my 3 favorite tunes from the singer's last record as well as working out new parts so I could demonstrate that I can expand a live show beyond the album. When I sued to play in the local Rocky Horror backing band around Halloween I originally got the gig with 335 in hand, a amrshall and a knowledge of all the guitar parts exactly as written as well as kicking out a couple of the tastier Bowie licks of that era while jamming beforehand... use the tools that you will need on the job is the point, and that includes the tools that are inside your head. And don't BE a tool either. But by all means, if its a prog-metal audition play a song BY tool... sorry, I had to. Maybe if you're not sure you could come to the instructor and humbly tell him you really want the gig, know you can handle it but that you don't know how to show him that.... maybe could he give you some idea of what he's looking for? It never hurts to ask a question or for a favor from someone as long as you are respectful. If you don't ask you will never know whereas if you get a 'no' you are no worse off than if you had kept your mouth shut.

One time I asked a label owner if he would buy me a $5k vintage amp as a signing bonus since the band was already financing its own recording and handling its own booking and just need manufacture and promotion.... Iw as pretty sure he wouldn't go for it but you never know until you ask and the guy was just tickled by the ridiculous question and how sweetly I asked him about it... I mean, I didn't get that 1st year JTM45, but it did no harm to ask him for it and we were actually better friends afterwards because of the humorous situation and my sheepish grin!

Grade 3 ...an Excerpt from Trinity College

At Grade 3, you can learn about accents and how to play arpeggiated chords. You’ll perform three songs and build on your Grade 2 Session skills.

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.

Grade 3 Guitar song list

The Grade 3 Guitar 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.

All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks

Basket Case (Technical focus) Green Day

Creep (Technical focus) Radiohead

John Barleycorn Traditional

Sunshine Of Your Love Cream

Turn! Turn! Turn! The Byrds

http://trinityrock.trinitycollege.com/instruments/guitar/grade3

being a bastard, i'd pick the green day and play it like billie joe does, just to fuck with the he teacher.

That would be highlighting your proficiency with accents... the accents he hits in this song are percussive in their intensity... which would be exactly why they chose that song as an example.

...good point.

I love that Trinity have accepted Green Day and Radiohead as assessable examples of arpeggio and accent proficiency.

i mean, they are. which is awesome.