101 Reasons For Practising Scales Options

[skylark]

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We had two 87s - so we are already at 101 ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Can I add a Coda then (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)


A. Because when you first start learning the piano, you can get a huge sense of achievement by playing delicious-sounding scales even when you can't yet play a piece (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piano.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)

[itchy1]

71/ Because a 'good' music teacher can fill a good 10 minutes in a lesson with scales without having to think about music for more than 20 minutes of the lesson. So by playing lots of scales you're giving your teacher a welcome rest.

72) Because an even better music teacher can spend 2 x 30 minute lessons on C major scale (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)
Not only does the teacher get a rest but the pupil doesn't need to buy any music.

Please please don't tempt my teacher, he could easily fill a 1x60 minute lesson on C major scale, or any other scale, not to mention things like whole tone scales, dominant/diminished sevenths...

[Dulciana]

Okay - 101/ To check if you're sober enough to drive.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/morningcoffee.gif)

Do we go onto B now with Skylark's coda, or do we go to 102? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[skylark]

Okay - 101/ To check if you're sober enough to drive.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/morningcoffee.gif)

Do we go onto B now with Skylark's coda, or do we go to 102? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Yours is 102 Dulciana! Judith above said there were two at 87 so we'd already reached 101... had you better go and do a scale to see if you're sober??? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Cyrilla]

I teach JudithJ and she is VERY Good At Big Sums so I trust her on this one...

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[anacrusis]

Now the scales have finished, anacrusis can breathe a sigh of relief, and can we go on to some proper, pleasant, unboring, real music please?

[skylark]

Now the scales have finished, anacrusis can breathe a sigh of relief, and can we go on to some proper, pleasant, unboring, real music please?

For someone who professes not to like scales, you seem to spend an awful lot of time talking about them - you're the second highest poster in this thread and the top poster in the other current scales thread (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Methinks the lady doth protest too much (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[anacrusis]

My aversion to scales is what drives me to post, in the face of so much toeing-the-line about the only officially accepted way to learn music, to point out that there are other ways to learn, which can still produce results. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
I do accept that all musical achievement requires hard graft and sustained effort over a prolonged period of time, but I'd rather focus my efforts on putting in the hard graft where the actual output is, ie music itself. I will make up little exercises to get round complicated passages, more relevant to them directly than any scale, arpeggio or Hanon-equivalent technical exercise, and doing that has a positive knock-on effect for the rest of my music, so I'm not losing out doing it my way: arguably I'm saving a bit of time in fact. I'd just like to share with other scales-averse musicians that there are other valid approaches - it depends what you want your music for, of course: but in my case, and probably for most musicians, if we're honest, it's there for pleasure, a bit of intellectual stimulation, and a point of contact with other humans....and scales don't do any of those three things for me.
Plus, the thread was started in a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek vein, and it amused me that I was well placed to join in with that. I maintain the thread would have been a lot more boring if there hadn't been one or two maverick contributions.

[skylark]

I'd just like to share with other scales-averse musicians that there are other valid approaches

If that's the case, why not start a helpful thread - not everybody spends their time reading threads about a subject that they can't stand, so many scales-averse members may have missed any valid contributions in this respect that you may have made.

it depends what you want your music for, of course: but in my case, and probably for most musicians, if we're honest, it's there for pleasure, a bit of intellectual stimulation, and a point of contact with other humans....and scales don't do any of those three things for me.

That's fair enough - we can't all like the same things, any more than we can all have the same sense of humour. But for some people - many people, in fact - scales *are* pleasurable and intellectually stimulating. To some extent they even provide "a point of contact with other humans", even if it's only chatting about them online. There again, not everybody wants contact with other people. Each to their own, and just because *you* can't see the beauty in scales - any more than you can see other people's humour - doesn't mean that others don't get pleasure out of them or find them musical, or indeed that they're not intrinsically beautiful and musical and you just can't hear it.

Plus, the thread was started in a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek vein, and it amused me that I was well placed to join in with that. I maintain the thread would have been a lot more boring if there hadn't been one or two maverick contributions.

Yes, I agree, some of the other contributions have been amusing in a good-natured way. Perhaps I just don't understand why you feel the need to try and sound superior to people who do like scales whenever the subject crops up in this thread or others.

[anacrusis]

I was going to send a reply by pm, however your inbox is full.

[PianoDoodler]

My aversion to scales is what drives me to post, in the face of so much toeing-the-line about the only officially accepted way to learn music, to point out that there are other ways to learn, which can still produce results. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
I do accept that all musical achievement requires hard graft and sustained effort over a prolonged period of time, but I'd rather focus my efforts on putting in the hard graft where the actual output is, ie music itself. I will make up little exercises to get round complicated passages, more relevant to them directly than any scale, arpeggio or Hanon-equivalent technical exercise, and doing that has a positive knock-on effect for the rest of my music, so I'm not losing out doing it my way: arguably I'm saving a bit of time in fact. I'd just like to share with other scales-averse musicians that there are other valid approaches - it depends what you want your music for, of course: but in my case, and probably for most musicians, if we're honest, it's there for pleasure, a bit of intellectual stimulation, and a point of contact with other humans....and scales don't do any of those three things for me.
Plus, the thread was started in a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek vein, and it amused me that I was well placed to join in with that. I maintain the thread would have been a lot more boring if there hadn't been one or two maverick contributions.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

It could have been me writing this.

I have enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks to the more humorous contributors for the giggles.

[petrat]

I haven't read all of this thread but I think that one rather good reason for knowing and practising scales would be so that we, as teachers could name degrees of the scale correctly. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[Mad Tom]

I am lucky enough to have lots of practice time. If I could practice only an hour or two a day I would do very few scales.

[PianoDoodler]

I haven't read all of this thread but I think that one rather good reason for knowing and practising scales would be so that we, as teachers could name degrees of the scale correctly. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

Hmmmm. Not entirely sure a teacher should need to practise scales to be able to do this. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[petrat]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)