Scales are a necessary part of playing any musical instrument well. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but failure to play scales and arpeggios results in poor technique. Like a bodybuilder lifting weights, scales are “weights” for musicians. For any musician who wants good technical progress, scales are a must. Scale practice is NOT limited to classical musicians! The question is… Do you want to improve? If so, then start a scale practice regiment!
To practice scales, here are some tips:
- Scales make up a good part of most music. If you practice scales with a “musical” mindset, they will sound better when played to real music.
- Part of the goal of practicing scales is to try to make each note sound the same. Each note must have a good tonal quality. Listen carefully to “how” each note sounds.
- Always start slow. It is better to practice slow and precise than fast and careless.
- Slander! The reason for this is that the finger “blips” will not appear when “articulating”. This is the same for arpeggios. For wind players, connect the notes by NOT playing them with your tongue. For other instruments, how soft can you play?
- Octave scales are best for pitch practice. Set the metronome to a quarter equal to 60.
- Play two-octave scales to develop technique. Practice at least two octaves at a speed that is comfortable for your hands.
- ALWAYS play scales and arpeggios with a metronome. It doesn’t lie about the tempos. Choose a speed with which you can play ALL the scales you know. In other words, don’t change the metronome for every scale. Choose the velocity for your slowest scale and play all scales at THAT tempo!
- For scales (and arpeggios) you’re just learning, you can start without the metronome (ugh!). Get your fingers cemented into your hands. Once you can play them at a constant (but slow) speed, THEN you can add the metronome.
- When practicing new scales, “work” them separately from scales already learned. Once the new scales are up to speed with the other scales, add them to the scale warm-up routine.
- Oh yeah…please don’t be afraid of scales with lots of sharps and flats. The only reason they are difficult is because we don’t practice them enough. The more you practice, the better they will get!
- The goal is to finally play all twelve major scales (and finally the minor ones) at the SAME constant speed.
- Keep your hands relaxed and your fingers close to the instrument. The general rule of thumb is not to increase the speed of the metronome until your fingers can stay relaxed on all scales.
- For other warm-ups and studies, have a specific warm-up routine that involves areas YOU need to work on.
- The basic warm-up routine should consist of long tones, tone studies, scales, arpeggios, articulation exercises, and possibly studies (or other technical exercises).
- Consider adding sight-reading into the warm-up. This will help with rhythm and learning music faster.
Are you a rock or pop musician? If so, you can learn to play scales without reading music. The scales are meant to increase your technical ability. If you know the basics of building a scale, you can do it by ear. However, the same rules apply in that you MUST practice slowly and precisely and with a metronome.
Happy practice!