How Do Your Scales Weigh In?

Renewed Focus

“Who wants to practice scales on the piano anyway?” Well, all too often, that is an attitude adopted by students. It’s become one of those “have to’s” that gets a bad rap. That’s actually a shame because the practicing of piano scales can prove to be a lot of fun and highly rewarding.

True, on their own scales are not songs. However, a number of songs include scales as a primary part of their identity. For instance, consider Joy To The World by Lowell Mason and Isaac Watts. The first two measures of this very popular Christmas carol are simply comprised of a major scale descending. In the key of C Major, that would be:

C   B   A   G   F   E   D   C

that means, once you are able to play all 12 of your major scales, you can play the beginning of  this classic song in all 12 keys!

In addition, you will note that just about the entire song consists of the major scale as well, often just segments of the scale.

This leads us to a very promising possibility when it comes to practicing our scales:

MAKE THE MUSICAL!

Consider playing them rhythmically. You can alter the durations of each member of the scales to keep them interesting. This is what makes those first two measures of  Joy To The World sound the way they do. The way the scale is played rhythmically is what gives the song it’s identity.

You could use Joy To The World as an incentive to learn your scales descending. Actually, it wouldn’t take all that much effort to play the entire song utilizing any scale you happen to be learning. Once you play the scale descending for those first two measures, your ears will guide you through the rest. This would be an excellent (and fun) eat training exercise!I

What’s Your “Why?”

Is the practicing of scales an absolute requirement to have fun at the piano or keyboard. Actually, no. However, when you understand the “why” of putting your attention on something, you are more likely to be inclined to follow through. Playing scales takes your fingers through many of the same technical situations you will encounter when playing songs of all levels. Also, if you aspire to write songs and/or improvise, the playing of scales will open all kinds of doors for you.

This Changes Everything

A key point here is to turn something that might otherwise seem like a chore into a fun privilege. When you make that kind of approach a habit, everything changes for you… for the better!