Playing scales may seem tedious and scary. To most students, it is a dread to practice them.
However, there is a trick to playing scales. Once you understand this pattern, you will learn and play scales much faster and easier.
Watch the video and let Ms Berlin share more with you.
Let’s talk about major scales.
Before you play scales, you must remember the key signature table, which major key has which sharps/ which flats. Remember them and then you would know which black key you are supposed to play.
For example, C major.
It has no sharps or flats therefore, no black keys has to be played. Let’s start with your right hand.
Before you attempt the scale, find out where your finger 4 on your right hand has to land. Look at your scale book if you’re unsure.
For right hand, in C major, your 4th finger would be landing on ‘B’.
Therefore if the note is not B, you would not be using your fourth finger. So you either turn to your third finger or your thumb to continue up the octave. Just remember to use ‘B’ note as your check point. Finger 4 on ‘B’. Otherwise, no finger 4 is allowed on ANY other notes.
For the left hand in C major, the 4th finger falls on the ‘D’ note. So take note, only if it’s ‘D’, then you can use your finger 4, otherwise, same, turn to finger 3 instead. No other fingers should be used to turn.
The video above will show how to use the fingers correctly.
I hope this helps you tackle scales and allow you to enjoy practicing scales a little bit more.
All you need is a little more practice and a little more memory!
Press on and keep playing!