Friday, 4 May 2012

NOT ANOTHER SCALE!


Many children are excited about starting keyboard lessons but as the year progresses and we are learning a new scale they begin to wonder whether scales will ever end!

One of the questions that always gets asked when a student is learning to play the piano is “Why do I need to play scales?” There are many benefits of learning to play a scale when taking piano lessons.

They will help to increase finger strength and agility. They are a great warm up exercise and perfect time to focus on a good hand position. They will also help the student learn and play in different key signatures which will help in overall performance. Once the notes of a scale are mastered, they can also be used to practice different techniques.

Here are some ideas to help make things more interesting when practising scales:
Play different rhythms
Play different dynamics
Play legato / staccato
Play different tempos

Children learn to play scales during all beginner Music for Young Children classes. In the group setting, the scale is one of the first things the class is able to play as an ensemble with a steady beat.

Ms. Teresa Moser

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