In this installment of our video lesson series, we’re exploring an excerpt from the RGT Rock Initial Exam Track – ‘Jump the Barrier.’
When taking the RGT Rock Initial Guitar Exam, you need to perform two rock tracks from the RGT Initial Stage handbook, one of these tracks being ‘Jump the Barrier.’
The chordal riff for this track is based on the E5 and A5 power chords, followed by a four-string version of G major and then D major. Apart from the D chord, all the chords can be fretted using just one finger.
The final four bars of the piece consist almost entirely of just the open E bass string, with just the G note on the third fret being added in the penultimate bar.
This piece is a good example of how rock music doesn’t need to be technically complex to play in order to sound effective.
If you’re unsure of any of the rhythms, check out the audio and video below to help guide you with how the piece should be played.
You can also click here to purchase the RGT Initial Stage Rock Exam book, which contains the full music to this piece, as well as all of the other musical requirements for this exam.
To view more articles in this series, please visit the “RGT Rock Guitar Video Lessons Archive.”
Jump the Barrier Lesson – Practice Tips
To help get you started with learning this song, here is a bit of advice on how to navigate ‘Jump the Barrier.’
“The opening chordal riff is repeated three times. Notice how there’s an extra strum needed on the A5 power chord compared to the E5 power chord. Use alternate up and down picking to play the open E bass string licks and make sure to observe the rests.”
Jump the Barrier Lesson – Audio Tracks
As well as studying the video lesson below, here are two audio tracks that can help you as you work with ‘Jump the Barrier’ further in the practice room and teaching studio.
It would be a good idea to practice with the audio track for ‘Jump the Barrier’ first, so that you learn to play along in time with the recorded guitar track.
From there, a beneficial practice goal would be to play along with the backing track for ‘Jump the Barrier’ only, in order to perform the song without the help of the guide track.
Here are both of those audio tracks for ‘Jump The Barrier’ to check out.
Click to download the full backing track for ‘Jump the Barrier.’
Click to download the backing track for ‘Jump the Barrier.’
Jump The Barrier Lesson – Video
Video presented by Chris Bird, Music Editor of Total Guitar Magazine
RGT Rock Guitar Initial Books
To find out more about the ‘Jump the Barrier,’ and the RGT Rock Initial Exam, please download the RGT Rock Guitar Exam Information Booklet.
You can also check out the Rock Guitar Initial Exam Book, which comes with a CD and contains notation and recordings of all the exam pieces, as well as diagrams for all of the chords and scales that the pieces are based on.
Not a Registered RGT Teacher yet? Visit the Join the RGT Page to find out the great benefits that membership has to offer.