When practicing scales with my left hand, should I always start with the 5th finger?
That's my question; here's the reason I'm asking.
I started taking lessons about 2 months ago. I get the impression my teacher is old-school classical wheras my interests are definately leaning more towards jazz. I am following the http://www.rockschool.co.uk course (Grade 2) and for the summer exam I need to rattle off a few scales (Dorian, Mix, minor, and pentatonics).
My teacher has taught me that when doing an Ionian scale (left hand, sharp keys only), my 4th finger should only hit F#. This means I start a C scale with my 5th finger, a G with my 3rd, a D with my 1st etc. Let's call this "teachers method".
This also means that when doing Dorian, Phryg, etc, I need to start the scale with a specific finger. This is setting off alarm bells in my head. The RockSchool course suggests starting every scale with my 5th finger, regardless of the key or form of the scale (pentatonic, or 8 tone scale). This sounds like a more flexible manner of learning scales. Let's call this the "Rockschool method".
With the Rockschool Method, your left hand starts with the 5th finger and must then negotiate the scales characteristics (a mixolydian has a b7, a dorian has a b3 and a b7 ... etc ). I would have thought that practicing this way would help your brain get used to the differences between the different modes.
With my teacher's method, the focus appears to be "start out on the correct finger and let muscle-memory guide you though the rest".
I would greatly appreciate comments on the two fingering methods.
Thanks in advance,
Rob.