There are many ways to practice scales and arpeggios, other than the basic “both hands together ascending and descending”. We can vary the direction, starting at the “top”, beginning with the descending pattern and then returning with the ascending, for both scales and arpeggios. We can also begin on notes other than the tonic and change direction on different notes mid-way through the scale or arpeggio. Changing direction is a good way to drill troublesome sections of a scale, repeating three or four notes at a time, then working them back into the entire scale, always in tempo and without stopping.
We can practice scales in thirds, sixths, and tenths (or more adventuresome intervals), and we can practice arpeggios with the left and right hand beginning on different notes (tonic and dominant, etc.). Scales can be played with octaves in both hands, either together or broken octaves (this drills the notes but not the fingering). Other interesting intervals result from the mirror-image technique, using the D above middle C as the center, and playing the scale in one hand and its mirror-image in the other hand, in the opposite direction. There is also the standard contrary motion, one hand playing the ascending pattern and the other playing the descending pattern.
Practicing staccato ensures that the hands are perfectly together, and we can use combinations of staccatos and slurs. We can use any dynamic patterns as well. The meter, accents, rhythm, and speed should be varied. We can invent different rhythmic patterns and directional changes in an improvisatory style. Taking the improvisation one step further, we can devise a harmonic progression with the tonic note of the scale or arpeggio as the bass of the progression. As the pre-determined harmonic progression changes, we change to the new key, regardless of where we were in the scale.
From Bob Logan, September 9, 2007
It's important to practice scales and arpeggios in a variety of ways, not just one. In addition to making them more interesting to practice, it prepares the pianist for a wider range of technical challenges. Scales and arpeggios can be practiced with various intervals between the hands (for example, thirds, sixths, or tenths for scales). One can practice them using contrary motion by starting on the same note with both hands and moving in opposite directions, and then moving back to the starting note. Another option is stopping briefly on a specific scale degree in each octave. Scales and arpeggios can also be practiced at varying volumes – for example, playing a scale or arpeggio at fortissimo and then pianissimo.
From Patrick Kenney, September 11, 2007
I have practiced my scales and arpeggios in a variety of ways. Usually, I will start with both hands on lower octaves, work my way up four octaves with a crescendo, and then descend the scale or arpeggio with a decrescendo. I work my way from major to harmonic minor to melodic minor to natural minor scales. I find that, when working on an especially awkward scale, playing each note forte and staccato keeps my left and right hands together when playing at a faster pace.
Also, repetition of certain sections helps drill especially difficult fingerings into my brain. I have also used the "ascending/descending" method (one hand ascends, the other descends). Playing at different speeds and intervals helps increase one's familiarity with a certain scale. While this practice may seem tedious at first, I take great personal satisfaction in working a scale to a rapid level.
Practicing various scale types will eventually help me become a better pianist, improving my dexterityand fluency on the keyboard.
From Kelvin Ying, September 11, 2007
Scales and arpeggios: the developing pianist's nightmare. Not only are they tedious to practice and perfect, but playing them is like playing Bach—you can never get them consistently perfect regardless of how many times you run through them. But the fact remains that scales and arpeggios are useful in learning standard repertoire as well as improving technique, and should be included in every practice regimen.
When we first learn scales, we should start with the five major scales that share the basic fingering: C, G, and D, A, and E major. These fingerings are the most basic among all scales and should be learned first. From there, we can continue around the Circle of Fifths, learning the fingerings for each subsequent scale. The same techniques apply to minor scales (start with f, c, g, d, a, and e minor) and arpeggios. Once we have touched upon all the scales and arpeggios, we can test our proficiency by following not the Circle of Fifths, but the Circle of Thirds (C major, e minor, G major, B minor, etc.). This cycle has the added benefit of hitting all major and minor scales and mixing up the order from the Circle of Fifths.
When running through scales and arpeggios, I find it easiest to envision the notes I will play before I place my fingers on the keys. If I have a clear mental image of what I’m playing on the keyboard, then I find that my fingers naturally follow a smooth and comfortable fingering; if I cannot imagine the notes that I’m playing, then my fingers feel lost. I find this method of mental imaging to be much more effective than memorizing fingerings for each separate key and mode.
From Hallie Houge, September 12, 2007
Scales are an important part of a musician’s life. Scales are not only useful in enhancing one’s technique, but also scales are a wonderful opportunity for a pianist to delve into a potentially liberating side of music. It is not always possible for a musician to have such freedom when it comes to developing good technique. This is because there are many different ways to practice scales, such as the normal ascending and descending patterns, parallel and contrary motions, adding crescendos and diminuendos to appropriate directions, the speed at which the scale is played, varying the intervals on which one begins the scale, either the standard octave, a third interval, a ninth, or a sixth interval, and not to mention the different finger patterns coinciding with certain groupings of scales. Also, there are different types of scales, such as major, three forms of minor, pentatonic, chromatic, and modes to name a few. Plus, it’s possible to change articulations of notes from legato to accented staccato or even dotted sixteenth note patterns so that the fingers learn where to place themselves. Scales are a wonderful exercise for every pianist and should be valued above other available warm-ups.
