Leaving Cert Music Practical - Guitar

jameshan

Ok so I need some help and advice.
My music practical is in two weeks time and I'm playing 4 solo guitar pieces and Technology.
At the moment, my choices are:
1. Angelina - Tommy Emmanuel (acoustic)
2. 12 bar blues shuffle (Played with a loop pedal and I'll add some different licks and say it's by BB King)
3. Ignorance - Paramore
4. Is There Anybody Out There - Pink Floyd (not yet learned but it shouldn't take me long)

However, I'm really looking for my A so I want to ace this. Anybody do guitar for their practical before? How do I get top marks? Does it matter that my first three are all 4/4 time?
Will I get marked down if the examiner is not a fan of rock and thinks Paramore is just noise?
Other songs that i COULD play (that I know off by heart already and seem high enough standard) are,
Many of Horror - Biffy Chlyro
Tenerife Sea - Ed sheeran
Cannonball - Damien Rice

evolving_doors

At it's very basic level it's "what you should know after 5 years study of your instrument".

So give consideration to showing off your technique as much as possible. In saying this, every song/tune should tell a story so there's no point in trying to struggle through a technically difficult piece and leaving the 'story' behind.

Also be careful, if you are singing and accompanying yourself on the guitar then you have to be marked on the guitar. So you could give a cracking rendition of a Bob Marley song with just light strumming on the guitar.... this won't necessarily get you the A.

I wouldn't worry about contrast between pieces too much. Just make sure each of them tells the story and brings the listener on a journey. Most important thing to work on I'd say is the louds and softs within the pieces.

jameshan

Thanks

I won't be singing so that shouldn't be a problem, although I am using a backing track for Ignorance