Worst Scales You've Ever Heard . . ., Hoping to make other worried teachers feel better . . . Options

[Dora]

My son is due to take his Grade 5 tomorrow and I told him about this. He's not too bad at scales (fingers crossed) and I think this made him feel a whole lot better, so thank you!
[/quote]

Good luck with tomorrow.
Dora

[Halka]

My son is due to take his Grade 5 tomorrow and I told him about this. He's not too bad at scales (fingers crossed)

Is it a requirement at grade 5 to play scales this way? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Crotchetymum]

[quote name='Dora' date='Jun 22 2009, 10:53 AM' post='840337']
My son is due to take his Grade 5 tomorrow and I told him about this. He's not too bad at scales (fingers crossed) and I think this made him feel a whole lot better, so thank you!
[/quote]

Good luck with tomorrow.
Dora
[/quote]

Thank you Dora.

[quote name='Halka' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:01 PM' post='840398']
[quote name='Crotchetymum' post='840303' date='Jun 22 2009, 09:04 AM']

My son is due to take his Grade 5 tomorrow and I told him about this. He's not too bad at scales (fingers crossed)
[/quote]

Is it a requirement at grade 5 to play scales this way? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)
[/quote]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[fsharpminor]

I got 3 out of 15 for scales in my LCM grade 2 , in about 1956 , still passed with 1st Class (= ABRSM merit) though. (I remember I played the first bit of Beethoven Sonatina in G).

[Mad Tom]

Liszt apparently recommended 2 hours a day of scales - and thought scales in octaves were especially good for you once you were past the beginner stage.

[Holz Gedeckt]

Liszt apparently recommended 2 hours a day of scales - and thought scales in octaves were especially good for you once you were past the beginner stage.

Oh crumbs! I'd rather spend 2 hours a day learning the repertoire....

[Mad Tom]

Liszt apparently recommended 2 hours a day of scales - and thought scales in octaves were especially good for you once you were past the beginner stage.

Oh crumbs! I'd rather spend 2 hours a day learning the repertoire....

No ... that is what you do with your other 8 hours of practice time ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Holz Gedeckt]

Liszt apparently recommended 2 hours a day of scales - and thought scales in octaves were especially good for you once you were past the beginner stage.

Oh crumbs! I'd rather spend 2 hours a day learning the repertoire....

No ... that is what you do with your other 8 hours of practice time ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

But of course! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[jenny]

My son is due to take his Grade 5 tomorrow and I told him about this. He's not too bad at scales (fingers crossed)

Is it a requirement at grade 5 to play scales this way? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) The mind boggles!!

[anacrusis]

As someone who both hates scales and can't see much point in learning them off by heart - never mind: they really aren't the be-all and end-all of music making. Sure, it gives facility in playing and thinking in keys, but at the end of the day we learn music which doesn't turn at the octave: we read from music which twists and turns, requiring different fingerings from standard scale ones. I'd have slightly more patience with the idea of learning them from the music, perhaps, so associating the patterns fingers need to make with the dots on the page, but I don't buy the idea that they're so important. (and since I don't practise two hours a day, I'm most certainly not going to sink all of whatever time I can grab to practise on scales (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)).

I failed my scales at grade 7, but got a distinction overall. Sure, it was a scraped one, but it still counts. After that, I moved to a board which recognises that different musicians have different talents, and exploited the ones I do have: I'd spent/wasted hours trying to memorise the grade 7 ones and they didn't do anything for my playing which the repertoire itself couldn't do more efficiently.

[Halka]

I am a parent (non-musical) who is, also, a bit doubtful about the value of scales.

My daughter is very good at scales (clarinet, cello, piano) and generally gets full, or near full marks for them in exams. She is also a very good sight reader. Her clarinet teacher says this is down to her excellent knowledge of scales. However, daughter refuses to learn any recorder scales, and can avoid them as her teacher uses TG exams. Nevertheless, she is a good sightreader on recorder too; in her last exam the examiner commented on her "fine reading".

So, why would she benefit from getting her recorder scales up to the same standard as those on her other instruments? I keep threatening her with the Associated Board scale book, and she has a birthday coming up soon! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[anacrusis]

I've seen more posts from recorder players complaining about how difficult scales are to memorise than from any other group of instrumentalists....even a flautist has said she felt they were harder on the recorder. Despite being a complete and utter flop at memorising the blighters, this doesn't seem to have stopped me moving on through grade 8 and ATCL to LTCL, which is why I'll continue to hold to my position for the time being. Who knows, I may have to change my mind if/when I can afford that much-wanted voice flute (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif). So why not let her go on doing Trinity? - they'll still prove she's a musician (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif).

PS I'm a sightreader too, so I'm not sure it can necessarily be down to knowing the scales...

[andante_in_c]

I've seen more posts from recorder players complaining about how difficult scales are to memorise than from any other group of instrumentalists....even a flautist has said she felt they were harder on the recorder. Despite being a complete and utter flop at memorising the blighters, this doesn't seem to have stopped me moving on through grade 8 and ATCL to LTCL, which is why I'll continue to hold to my position for the time being. Who knows, I may have to change my mind if/when I can afford that much-wanted voice flute (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif). So why not let her go on doing Trinity? - they'll still prove she's a musician (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif).

PS I'm a sightreader too, so I'm not sure it can necessarily be down to knowing the scales...

Hem, hem. Think I'm the flautist in question. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) They are a large degree of difficulty harder on the recorder, especially to someone to whom an F instrument will always be a second language. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

I have just switched my Grade 8 recorder pupil to one of the TG alternative exercises. She's done scales up until now, but she's doing the double tonguing study for Grade 8 which is a great improvement. She's played every scale she's likely to need on the recorder (and some!) so I'm happy with her taking a break. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Halka]

So why not let her go on doing Trinity? - they'll still prove she's a musician (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif).

Oh, I didn't intend to try to stop her doing Trinity. Just wondered if there was a good reason to coerce her into a few scales as well!

[Misti]

Not a teacher but...

I would say that improvising is a lot easier if you're familar with your scales. I guess if you're happy with chords (which I'm not) its less of an issue; but I find a solid knowledge of scales and appeggions substitutes for knowing chords quite well. At least, when someone announces we're playing in G minor I know which notes to stick with, which ones not to linger on, and which ones to definitely avoid. Is this as easy if you don't know which notes feature where in the scale?