The Music School Bangalore Hosts the Indian Launch ofthe RSL Rockschool Guitar, Bass and Drums Syllabus2024
- Swathi K Nair
- Jun 8
- 4 min read
December 2024 | The TMSB Stage, The Music School Bangalore, Bangalore
The Music School Bangalore (TMSB) was honoured to host the Indian launch of the RSL Rockschool Guitar, Bass and Drums (GBD) Syllabus 2024 on the 11th of December 2024, bringing together educators, students, and music enthusiasts on the TMSB Stage for an event that marked a significant moment in the evolution of graded music education in India.
As India's only RSL VQ Delivery and Assessment Centre, TMSB was the natural and
fitting home for this landmark launch, an institution that has built its identity around the highest international standards of music education and its deep, long-standing relationship with RSL Awards.
What is the RSL Rockschool GBD Syllabus?
The Rockschool Guitar, Bass and Drums syllabus is the foundation of RSL Awards' graded music examination portfolio, and one of the most widely used graded music education frameworks in the world. GBD represents the foundation of Rockschool, and these three instruments, electric guitar, bass, and drums, form the backbone of modern music, regardless of genre. The 2024 edition of the syllabus represented a significant and carefully considered update, while retaining the same class leading assessment experience, the new syllabus introduced new original compositions, refreshed repertoire, and upgraded technology designed to meet the needs of contemporary musicians and educators.
The 2024 syllabus features shared repertoire across all grades, allowing students to experience how different instruments interact with one another within a musical setting. The syllabus also offers integrated video content in interactive e-books, designed to support students between lessons.
For guitar and bass students, the 2024 syllabus introduced an exciting partnership with IK Multimedia, through which students can use AmpliTube 5 technology to access guitar and bass tones for every song in the Rockschool grade books from Debut to Grade 8, with presets downloadable and usable directly within AmpliTube 5. Students continue to have the choice of a Graded Exam or Performance Certificate, assessable in a face to face or digital setting, including recorded and live stream exam formats.
The Launch at TMSB
The Indian launch of the RSL GBD Syllabus 2024 took place on the TMSB Stage, the
professional performance space that had been inaugurated just four months earlier in August 2024, and which had already established itself as the most significant live performance platform in TMSB's history. The event brought together a room full of educators, students, and music enthusiasts, all gathered to explore the innovations and enhancements that the new syllabus brings to graded music learning in India.
The atmosphere was electric. The launch combined insightful presentations on the new syllabus with live demonstrations that brought the new material to life, giving attendees a direct, practical understanding of what the 2024 GBD syllabus offers students and teachers alike. Andy Sankey of RSL Awards and S. Priyan, Head of Business Development for South India at RSL Awards India, were central to the event, presenting the new syllabus, guiding discussions, and ensuring that India's music educators left with a comprehensive understanding of the changes, innovations, and opportunities that the 2024 edition represents.
About RSL Awards
RSL Awards, Rockschool Ltd is one of the United Kingdom's most respected music
examination and qualification bodies. RSL Awards' graded music exams motivate and encourage musicians of all ages and abilities through a system of progressive mastery, from introductory Debut grade through to advanced Grade 8, across guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals, and more. RSL qualifications are regulated under the OFQUAL framework, the same regulatory body that governs A-Levels and undergraduate degrees in England, ensuring the highest standards of assessment, consistency, and international recognition.
TMSB's relationship with RSL Awards is one of the most significant in the institution's history. As India's only RSL VQ Delivery and Assessment Centre, a status held since 2019, TMSB is the sole institution in the country authorised to deliver and assess RSL's full suite of internationally accredited Vocational Qualifications. The hosting of the GBD Syllabus 2024 India launch was a natural extension of that relationship — a recognition of TMSB's standing within RSL's global network and its commitment to bringing the highest international standards of music education to India.
What This Launch Meant for Indian Music Educators and Students
The RSL Rockschool GBD Syllabus is one of the most widely adopted graded music
examination frameworks in India, used by thousands of music teachers and students across the country as the benchmark for structured, internationally recognised guitar, bass, and drum education.
The launch of the 2024 edition at TMSB was therefore not just an institutional event. It was a resource for India's entire graded music education community, giving Indian music educators their first direct, in person exposure to the new syllabus, its innovations, and the pedagogical thinking behind it.
By hosting the launch on the TMSB Stage, the institution reaffirmed its role not just as a music school but as a hub, a place where the Indian music education community comes together to learn, evolve, and raise its standards.
A Statement from the Founder
Milton Lance, Founder and Director of The Music School Bangalore, reflected on the
significance of hosting the RSL GBD Syllabus 2024 launch:
"Hosting the RSL GBD Syllabus 2024 launch at TMSB was a profound honour, and a moment that reaffirmed everything we have built our relationship with RSL Awards around. This new syllabus represents a genuine step forward in graded music education, and the fact that India's educators and students were able to experience it first on the TMSB Stage says everything about the trust and partnership that exists between our two institutions. We are proud to be the home of RSL in India. "
A Natural Home for RSL in India
The 11th of December 2024 was not the first time TMSB and RSL Awards had shared a
significant milestone, and it will not be the last. As India's only RSL VQ Delivery and Assessment Centre, TMSB's connection to RSL Awards runs deeper than a formal agreement. It is a shared commitment to a standard of music education that asks more of students and teachers, and in doing so, produces musicians who are genuinely ready for the world. The RSL GBD Syllabus 2024 launch on the TMSB Stage was one more chapter in that story. And there are many more to come.
For more information about RSL graded music exams and TMSB's internationally accredited programs,
visit www.themusicschoolbangalore.com or
call +91 7848828829
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