“Why is it so important to learn how to play & master musical scales?” After more than 20 years of being a private music instructor I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked this question, or a close derivation of it, both by parents and students. After all, practicing scales can be tedious, hard work. I’ve had students tell me “These are boring!” or “This is too hard! Can’t we do something easier that’s more fun?” But, as I tell them, there are many reasons why I as a teacher believe scales are so vitally important, not just for my students, but for EVERY musician, whether they be a beginner or a seasoned professional. There are so many great musical rewards waiting to be reaped by those who are willing to learn them!
While I will agree with my students that scales are not at the top of my “fun” list, when it comes to practicing, they are very much at the top of my “must do” list! This is because, in addition to my belief that scales are one of the most powerful musical tools available to enable students to learn some of the most important music fundamentals, they are just as important for me as a professional musician and music teacher to continually practice as well.
And so, without further adieu, here is a list of some of the reasons I believe every musician should practice scales.
* Scales are great for learning key signatures
Hey, wouldn’t it be great if music was all in the key of C? No sharps or flats, just 7 notes we’d ever have to learn–C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Wouldn’t that be terrific??? Actually, it’d be kind of boring. So, within one octave, instead of 7 different notes, we have 12. I could go into a lengthy discussion as to why key signatures are such a cool thing, but for now let’s stick with why we should learn them.
For the most part, music is played in one of 12 keys, and within those there are modes (mainly major and minor). While there’s no way around learning all 12 keys, there is some good news. You only need to initially learn the 12 keys in one mode (major is the most common). Once you know that, it’s easy to transfer your knowledge to other modes. For example, the C major scale, which has no sharps or flats, is the same scale as D dorian minor scale or A natural minor-they’re all the same scale, so you only need to learn one of them in order to know them all!
So many wrong notes have been needlessly played because the player forgot to check (or pay enough attention to) the key signature. This is my motto, as students of mine will attest:
BEFORE YOU PLAY A SCALE OR ANY PIECE OF MUSIC, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS CHECK THE KEY SIGNATURE FIRST!!
* Scales help students to learn how to play new notes
If you are a beginner or you never learned to play all the notes in the normal range of your instrument, practicing scales (especially the chromatic scale) is a great way to learn new notes and to constantly review others.
* Scales help all musician master difficult fingering combinations
There are right and wrong ways to combine fingerings. On instruments such as the clarinet or piano, it is very important to practice correct fingering combinations. Scales are a great way to begin understanding the concepts behind mastering these combinations.
* Scales are excellent to warm up on
Scales are great as a warmup exercise for your fingers and your mind. Once you’ve played through the 12 major scales you can then have the confidence of knowing that no matter what key the music is in that you’re about to play, YOU’VE already warmed up in that key. If you get a new piece in band thats in a tough key, play through the scale in that key FIRST (for example, if the band music is in 5 flats, play through the major scale that’s in 5 flats, which would be the D flat scale).
* A vast amount of music is based on scales and scale patterns
There have been many times when I’ve been sightreading music in some situation, and lo and behold, up ahead there’s 3 measures of 16th notes, loaded up with sharps and flats and my first reaction will be to think to myself “Uh-oh, looks like a trainwreck approaching. But then, when I get there, I suddenly realize, “Hey, it’s just the chromatic scale! I can play that!” Because I’ve practiced and learned the chromatic scale I’m able to get through it without any problems. As you get to know the scales you will begin to see them all sorts of music you want to play, from Bach to the Beatles. Being able to recognize these patterns is one of the keys to becoming a great sightreader. (of course it helps to know rhythms too, but I’ll save that for another article).
Summary
In a nutshell, here’s what you should do:
* If you don’t yet know your 12 major scales, work on them.
Time yourself on each scale after every practice session so you can measure your progress. Your ultimate goal is to be able to play all 12 scales with an equal amount of speed and accuracy.
* If you do know your 12 major scales, memorize them.
By doing this you will have the ability to practice going through the key signature of any piece put in front of you, thereby eliminating a lot of wrong notes!
* If you have your 12 major scales memorized, practice scale patterns.
As previously mentioned, scales and scale patterns are a very large part of what music is. By practicing scale patterns in all 12 keys you can further increase your ability to play with confidence whenever a new piece of music is put in front of you.
* Dilligently practice the chromatic scale.
The chromatic scale you practice from should include every note in the normal range of your instrument (although to begin you should practice the middle range, gradually expanding to the lower and higher ranges as you become more familiar with the fingerings).
The major scales and the chromatic scale for clarinet, flute, and saxophone are available for downloading and printing at my private students page, located here:
http://www.zacworld.com/privStudents.html
Believe me, you will get much more out of the music you play if you master your scales.
Good luck!
