do you read your scales?

[florentin]

Do you read your scales, or do you memorize them and play them by heart?
What is better?

[timothy42b]

I have tried to read scales to make my teacher happier <grin>.

But I just can't seem to do it, it doesn't make any sense.

Scales are so logical, once you know the key signature and what finger to start on, what purpose does looking at the page serve?

If you think there is value to it let me know, I'll try harder. 

[pianistimo]

definately memorized.  then you can get creative and start doing things like adding chords at the end, putting them into rhythms and patterns - one octave- speed, two - octaves double speed, three octaves - triple speed and so on.  there's a fun exercise for C major scale where you start two octaves below mid-C with lh - go up two octaves, out two octaves (contrary motion), in two octaves, up two more octaves - and then the complete reverse.  in some of the jazz books out there, you can start introducing patterns (once the first year is done and all scales learned).  doing some chord work with the lh couldn't hurt, too, as you are doing scales with rh and visa-versa.

[fuel925]

I have always been taught to memorise scales without using the sheet music at all. Like someone else said earlier, once you know the key signature (and anything that has to be raised and lowered for minor scales), then you don't need the music. I am told the name of the scale, Bb melodic minor for instance, I work out which notes to play then practise until memorised (which is virtually straight away for scales). Therefore I never even look at the sheet music

[gorbee natcase]

They are easy to memorise, might as well add a few more strings to your bow

[xvimbi]

I read only one scale, and that is in the bathroom when I step on it every morning. Could look better

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[timothy42b]

I read only one scale, and that is in the bathroom when I step on it every morning. Could look better

Sorry, couldn't resist.

You weigh every day? 

The diet books tell you not to do that, because you'll be thrown off by the variation of a single measurement.  So they tell you to weigh once a week.  Obviously they were thrown out of math class - a single measurement is still a single measurement, whether you do it once a day, once a week, or once a year. 

I weigh once a month just to keep a record, but any time I am serious about changing my weight I weigh every day, and calculate a five day running average.  This has caused an argument with a chemist friend of mine, who weighs every day and calculates a seven day running average, on the theory it compensates better for weekly cycles of activity.

So where do stand, xvimbi?  Five day average?  Seven?  Something else? 

[xvimbi]

Successfully hijacked the thread

So where do stand, xvimbi?  Five day average?  Seven?  Something else?

I don't really calculate any average. Only in my head, sort of. My weight seems to be within 3 pounds, depending on what my hydration status is and whether I had a big meal in the evening before or not. I haven't worked out in the past five weeks, so I actually lost about 8 pounds over that time. That's pretty depressing.

[florentin]

I have tried to read scales to make my teacher happier <grin>.

But I just can't seem to do it, it doesn't make any sense.

Scales are so logical, once you know the key signature and what finger to start on, what purpose does looking at the page serve?

If you think there is value to it let me know, I'll try harder. 

as you can see from other posts in here, I am working very hard to improve my sight-reading abilities. I was thinking maybe reading scales, not for technique, but for note recognition, might help with that.

maybe not?

[xvimbi]

as you can see from other posts in here, I am working very hard to improve my sight-reading abilities. I was thinking maybe reading scales, not for technique, but for note recognition, might help with that.

maybe not?

Getting back on track... I don't think reading scales will help too much. The pattern is absolutely linear in intervals of seconds. Your brain will know after the first two notes what to do next. That is not the purpose of learning how to sight read. Sight reading is the ability to instantly deal with any note that is thrown at you in what seems like a random fashion. You can stay within a single key and even within a single hand position, but try to find music that varies a lot. There are plenty of exercises that are designed that way. Here is a link to a website where you can download dozens of these little snippets: https://www.practicespot.com/sightreading. Alternatively, simple Bach Preludes, Bartok's Mikrokosmos, the series "A Dozen A Day", and the like will offer plenty of material too.

[florentin]

thank you for your suggestions.

A dozen a day... I played from those books, way back in highschool. Boy, I remember...
Bach preludes? which preludes specifically?

[timothy42b]

Oh, for sight reading.

I think you are right, it would help to read them, but I just can't do it. 

Here's how I think scales might help sight reading.  Be warned, this is another of my wacko ideas.  There appears to be an inexhaustible supply of these.

Part of my problem with sight reading is really knowing the keyboard without having to look.  I've been using Bernhard's black key with eyes shut exercise every day, but progress is slow.  So I've also started doing scales with one finger.  Or two fingers, 1 and 5 in octaves.  I'm hoping that will help.  For this purpose it does not matter if I look at the sheet music, but I do have to play with a mental image, not just by sound.