THE JOY OF SCALES A CURIOUS eBook By Dr Sally Cathcart ©2016 !1 CONTENTS Page 5 Page 11 Page 17 Page 24 Page 29 Page 35 Page 41 Page 47 Page 51 !2 INTRODUCTION How did you learn scales as a child? Were they presented in systematic and imaginative ways or did you struggle to get the point of why they had to be practised? Maybe you still do! I have to admit that when I was growing up scales were not at the top of my popularity list. I was a good girl however, and quite dutiful and usually got through them all, especially when an exam was looming on the horizon. It was only when I started teaching the piano that I began to appreciate their full value and began to explore how scales could be both played and taught creatively and musically. This ‘curious’ ebook brings together in all the blog posts that I have written on the topic into one place and within its pages I explore the playing and teaching of scales from all sorts of angles and perspectives. I consider how to teach the theoretical side of scales through the use of tetrachords, share some thoughts on the various technical aspects of scale playing, stress the importance of developing systems and strategies in scale work, look at ideas for gaining fluency, give some ideas on how to prepare scales for the exam room and explore creative approaches to scales and stepping into wonderful world of scales beyond major and minor. I have created a few short videos to illustrate certain parts of the ebook and Sharon has worked her magic to create some lovely resources to support the ideas. I hope you have fun reading and exploring all the ideas! Dr Sally Cathcart Director & Co-Founder !3 CHAPTER 1 What’s the Value? !4 Chapter 1 | What’s the Value Let’s start by having a look what some eminent pianists – both past and present and some of our curious experts – have to say about exactly why we should play scales. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF PLAYING SCALES? 4 central themes emerge: 1 Scales as tools 2 The physical benefits of scales 3 Developing evenness of tone through scales 4 Engaging the brain Let’s look at each one in turn. SCALES AS TOOLS Many writers are in absolute agreement about the importance of scales as a Fundamental tool for any pianist. Kendall Taylor says that both scales and arpeggios ‘are both indispensable as a foundation for technique’ [1] although Murray McLachlan warns that ‘scales themselves are not central to technical understanding. Rather, they are tools which can be used to develop, enhance, illuminate and inspire healthy, dynamic progress.’ [2]. Graham Fitch – one of our Curious Experts – points out that as well as developing the technical side ‘Scales are literally the ABC of musical theory; we become familiar with the major and minor keys as well as keyboard geography by studying them, and we develop and refine our technique’. [3] So it appears that scales, whilst not replacing technical work, can be used to support and develop it whilst also helping to develop our sense of key relationships and tonal structures. !5 Chapter 1 | What’s the Value? THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF SCALES The way that scales can be used to help players develop a sense of keyboard geography has just been mentioned. This essential physical sensation is all too easy to overlook and assume sometimes. Yet it forms a vital part of our relationship with the keyboard. As we play scales in the different keys we build up in our muscle memory a sense of how the pattern of each key ‘feels’. As this develops so does our facility to react to the unseen and yet highly familiar tonal shapes that make up much of the repertoire. This awareness of the body at the keyboard is one that many argue should be established from the first lesson onwards. For Ilga Pitkevica and Heli Ignatius Fleet (both Principal Tutors on the Piano Teachers Course) the development of an easy and graceful physical sense at the keyboard is a vital element right from the start. Ilga points out that young children are very flexible and that it is the perfect time to develop velocity ‘the freedom of moving on the keyboard’ [4]. In just the same way Heli points out that ‘scales are a marvellous training ground for aural skills and velocity’. [5] As scales move beyond the early, hands separately stages, the demands of co-ordinating the hands and fingers come into play and physically much is absorbed through mastering the dance of the hands and fingers as they move through the different octaves. !6 Chapter 1 | What’s the Value? DEVELOPING TONE THROUGH SCALES Essential to all this is the increasingly instinctive response of finger patterns using 3 l 4 grouping. Kendall Taylor tells us that ‘the fingering of scales in groups provides the most important single principle of fingering’. [6] whilst Gieseking and Leimer advise pianists that ‘scales are to be played with a view to training the fingers, so that they do their work evenly and smoothly’ [7]. Although separated by a few decades another Curious Expert Tim Topham expresses the same beliefs whilst acknowledging the difficulties of achieving it: ‘The value is fluidity of motion and evenness of sound through efficient use of the fingers’ [8]. So scales can be used in order to develop a refined awareness of sound and the differing role of each finger within that scenario. ENGAGING THE BRAIN There have been some interesting blogs recently about the mindful nature of playing the piano (Piano Dao, Bulletproof Musician, Practising the Piano) and playing scales is no exception. Without getting caught up in notation reading, playing scales allows us to focus on the sensation of the body and the ensuing sound. For this to happen a high degree of relaxed concentration is required because playing on automatic with the brain switched off ‘is a very roundabout way of obtaining results’ [9]. !7 Chapter 1 | What’s the Value? So for a final say on the subject of why scales are valuable let’s finish with a couple of quotes from two of our Curious Experts both of whom in their individual ways, sum much of the above: Pam Wedgwood suggests that scales are valuable for the following reasons: ‘Technique-Touch-Fingering awareness-coordination, stretching your weaker brain side’ [10]. And here’s what Elissa Milne shared with us [11]: " If you want to read more about Elissa’s views on why we require our pupils to learn scales, you can read her blog post Scales as Propaganda. !8 TIME TO REFLECT… CHAPTER 1 WHAT’S THE VALUE? 1. Which of the quotes in this chapter do you agree with the most? Why? 2. Do you disagree with any of the statements? Why? !9 CHAPTER 2 Singing & Tetrachords !10 Chapter 2 | Singing and Tetrachords First, I would like to say that I don’t have the magic key or solution when it comes to teaching and learning about scales! I know that not everyone will necessarily agree with some of my ideas along the way and that is just fine – no, honestly it really is. What would be healthy though is to keep an open mind and a curious outlook as we explore and test out ideas. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING – SIDE BY SIDE? There are two sides to learning scales. One side is concerned with developing an understanding of the theoretical properties of scales whilst the other focusses on the physical act of playing them. Quite often in lessons these are tackled together but this has real problems and can often lead to a lack of deep understanding and a restricted physical sense when playing scales. Separating the teaching of these two elements makes so much more sense and is far easier for the pupil to grasp. As Uszler and her co-writers point out ‘recent pedagogy is more careful to distinguish that learning to build a scale and learning to play a scale are two different experiences’. [12] This week I want to share my thoughts and approaches of how to teach the more theoretical side of scales. As Graham Fitch pointed out in the last chapter ‘scales are literally the ABC of musical theory‘ [13]. For me scales are the essential building blocks of music – understand the construction of a scale and how one relates to another and many things begin to fall into place. !11 Chapter 2 | Singing and Tetrachords ‘LET’S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING’ Unsurprisingly, for me an understanding of scales has to start with the development of a sense of the relationships between notes through singing. Although many of you might recognise the above quote as being from The Sound of Music you might have forgotten (I certainly had!) that Maria goes onto say: ‘Doh ray mi fah soh lah ti doh are only the tools we use to build a song. Once you have the notes in your heads you can sing a million songs’. She is absolutely right! Click here for full lyrics THE BENEFITS OF USING SOLFA (SINGING NAMES) Personally, I have absolutely no doubt that building an understanding of the relationship between notes happens most effectively through the use of solfa (click here to find out more about the use of syllables in singing). Cyrilla Rowsell, one of the UK’s leading Kodaly practitioners, believes that solfa is the ‘language’ of music. She initially struggled to understand the theoretical side of scales, when they were presented as an abstract concept.