I had an interesting email from Hannah yesterday. One thing she told me is how she has started work on her Grade 7 scales and she is stunned at how many there are. Many people find their scales really hard and a chore. Once you’ve learnt all of your scales you realise just how easy they are. Honest. I just can’t understand why people just learn scales randomly for exams. Just learn them all – from being a beginner onwards. You’ll then understand how they work.
Here is what I suggest. Start with major scales and only one octave. You need to know 3 things – the order of sharps, the order of flats and that an arpeggio is made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th note of the scale.
To remember the order of sharps – Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
For flats it is the same sentence backwards – Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father.
With this information you are ready to play (and understand) all of your major scales.
Of you go – play C major (no sharps or flats in the key signature). Now play the arpeggio – CEG, play the G again and this takes you to the next scale G major, 1 sharp, F sharp. Play the scale and the arpeggio GBD – the D takes you to the next scale D major, 2 sharps F sharp and C sharp. Get the idea?
SCALE ARPEGGIO KEY SIGNATURE
C C E G nothing
G G B D 1 sharp F
D D F sharp A 2 sharps F C
A A C sharp E 3 sharps F C G
E E G B 4 sharps F C G D
B B D sharp F sharp 5 sharps F C G D A
F sharp F sharp A sharp C sharp 6 sharps F C G D A E
C sharp – or D flat this is when you need to change from sharps to flats and then life gets easier as you start to get rid of flats
D flat D flat F A flat 5 flats B E A D G
A flat A flat C E flat 4 flats B E A D
E flat E flat G B flat 3 flats B E A
B flat B flat D F 2 flats B E
F F A C 1 flat B
C we are back to the beginning! Easy.
(I’ve tried 3 times to set the above nicely as a table – sorry it is a mess. I’ll ask Andy how I can do it later).
Give it a try. It’s called a cycle of fifths. I really recommend you only play one octave (with a beautiful tone) until you feel really secure. As well as using your brain to work them out, let your ears help you, you should know when it sounds wrong, ie you play a wrong note. Once you are secure in the low octave, work on the higher octave then practise 2 octaves or 3 where appropriate. But don’t rush, take your time – mastering a little something new each day but reviewing what you did the day before is the way to make good progress.
Let me know your thoughts on this.
Happy scale playing!
5 Comments
I wish i’d done that when learning all my scales for Grade 8. I did everything chromatically so i knew i hadn’t missed any out! Once i had gone through all the scales for weeks on end, they came 2nd nature to me, but what i really love is scales in 3rds!
Has anyone got a favourite scale/set of scales?
Speak soon
Ellie xex
I sometimes do that – often as a way of warming up – playing the scales very slowly using different colours.
Also I have a set of what I call “scale boxes”. I have one which I put all of the scales in at first, then a right box and a wrong box. I take some from the start box every day and move them to the right/wrong box depending on whether I get them perfect or not and also practise all of the ones in the wrong box. Eventually when I run out I move them all back into the first box and start again (hoping that less end up in the wrong box this time!!) It really helps.
Ellie – I quite like the dominants! Oh and did you get the music for Herts Wind Sinfonia through the post today?
Emma.x
I use this method too. One of students told me another rhyme to help with remembering the order
the sharps:
Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket
and the flats:
Blanket Explodes And Dad Gets Cold Feet
Barbara
Emma – I got the stuff through for the course but travel is an issue because i live near Bishop’s Stortford! I agree Dominants are good scales!
My piano/bassoon teacher introduced me to scales boxes – it means i pratice the scales i hate! lol!
See you soon!
Ellie xex
Thanks for posting that Liz. I’ll try using it over the summer and i hope they will improve. Maybe even my teacher will be surprised in September!!!