Scales - they're one of the hardest things to learn on almost any instrument. They're boring and repetitive, but crucial if you're doing a music exam. The higher the grade, the harder and more necessary they'll get.
1Buy a scale book. They're not too expensive, and can be a good investment. I wouldn't recommend these for beginner grades, as the notes are written on the staves and can include double sharps or flats
2Take a scale (ie. C Major) and write all the notes on a piece of paper (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C). Make sure there is a reasonable gap between each letter. Play the scale once through with all the notes showing. Then, cover up the first one or two notes with a post-it note. Play it through. Continue doing this until the whole scale is covered.
3Once you have gotten an idea of all of the scales necessary for your exam, write each scale name on a scrap of paper, and put these into a hat. If you want, you can also put chromatics, dominant 7ths and diminished 7ths in too. Pull a scale out of the hat, and play it. If it's right, write the scale name on a separate sheet of paper and put a tick next to it.
4Keep practicing. They'll get easy, and soon enough, your fingers should start playing the scale automatically.
5For every mistake, play the scale, or what you know if it, two or more times.
Questions and Answers
Give us 3 minutes of knowledge!
- Relax; being stressed about learning them won't help. Two ten minute practices a day, five times a week means you should be on your way to your scales
- Don't just play scales; scales are boring and repetitive things that almost nobody enjoys.
- Take a break, then come back to them.
- Don't overplay them.
- Once you're sure that the scale is right, don't play it again until another scale is mastered, otherwise you will play some more fluent than others.
Things You'll Need
- Scale Book (Optional)
- A Quiet Place to Practice
- A Music Teacher