Scale sheets.

[elisianna]

Does anybody know where I can find some piano sheets of scales?  I just started teaching, I took another teachers students and she had one of them doing scales, but she would just SHOW her at the beginning of the lesson the scale, and I gues expect her to remember it.  I quizzed her on it today and she did PRETTY well, but I wanted to get a couple sheets for her (she doesn't need to buy a book for that yet I don't think.) I tried photocopying from one of my books with some really simple looking scales but the bottom keeps getting cut off. XD

Thanks in advance.

[jlh]

Here's what I used when learning scales.

[mike_lang]

I think that every pianist should have a copy of the Schmitt Preparatory Exercises - the third segment contains fingerings for thirds, sixths, scales, arpeggi, broken chords, etc.

[abell88]

www.practicespot.com lets you print out personalized scale manuals for your students (free).

[luvslive]

I say if she has some of the scales memorized than don't bother giving her sheets for those particular scales.  I teach some of my students their scales by showing them and they seem to keep them memorized better than those who use the book as a crutch.  Now arpeggios and such you should probably find a book, like others have said.

[elisianna]

Thanks for the links, comments and sheets guys! =)

[keyofc]

I love the practicespot.com too.  But I really think everyone should have a book with the scales.  I never had one when I was young and I forgot the minors until I was an adult and relearned them.
I think it's a good idea to make sure they have them memorized too, but what I do, is I give them sheets with the names of scales on them and ask them to put the fingering in them and also to write down which fingers play the same keys.  In other words, in C, finger 3 would play E and A.  This helps them memorize them after learning from book.

[penguinlover]

My teacher hand wrote them all out for my to learn.  But now we have computer programs that will do it for you.  Or even the Bastien series as a book with all the major and minor scales, cadences, and arpeggios in them.  That has been a simple help in my lessons.  It is in a book, which they tend not to lose as quickly as an extra piece of paper.  Or, if they have a notebook each week, write them out there.  I like the book idea better.

[whynot]

I teach the scales in just a few lessons, without written music.  I'm not against what people have suggested, I just bring this it up as an option.  I have a couple of ways I like to do it, but here's my fastest method.  I don't do it until the student has played for a while and is comfortable in 5-finger positions in all major keys (but we do that right away). 

It's almost faster to teach than to describe here, but I'll try to keep it short. 

1.  We build the tetrachord (I don't necessarily name it, depends on the person). 
2.  Using the fingers of both hands but no thumbs (I tell them, this is the only time we'll ever drop our thumbs right off the keys), index fingers touching side-by-side, we play one octave of a scale (4321, 1234), starting on C. 
3.  We move down to the lowest C and play C scales up from there in this 4/4 hand position, starting over on every C and moving all the way to the top of the piano.  They like this because they can get fast at it right away, and they find it exciting to cover all that territory. 
4.  Back to the bottom C, but this time, after playing the first C scale, put the LH where the RH was.  Now the LH tetrachord starts on G, playing exactly what the RH just did, and the RH will build a new tetrachord.  We work our way up the keyboard like this, going through all the major scales.  We run out of piano keys slightly before finishing, but we just jump back down a bit to finish it out. 

Anyway, that's it.  They do that every day for a week, and when I see them again, I show them one group of fingerings (Bernhard's)-- doesn't matter which ones, I just pick a group of similar "shapes"-- and follow up with others.  After a few lessons, they know all the major scales and have accidentally/incidentally learned the circle of keys.

[m1469]

I teach the scales in just a few lessons, without written music.  I'm not against what people have suggested, I just bring this it up as an option.  I have a couple of ways I like to do it, but here's my fastest method.  I don't do it until the student has played for a while and is comfortable in 5-finger positions in all major keys (but we do that right away). 

This is an interesting approach and I am going to try this right away !   I would like to ask a few questions just to clarify for the sake of my teaching :

1.  We build the tetrachord (I don't necessarily name it, depends on the person).

I assume that as you change tonal centers, students are finding the appropriate tetrachords primarily by ear (or is this something they already know because of 5-finger stuff that you do with them ? ) ? 

2.  Using the fingers of both hands but no thumbs (I tell them, this is the only time we'll ever drop our thumbs right off the keys), index fingers touching side-by-side, we play one octave of a scale (4321, 1234), starting on C.

I just want to make sure I understand, so sorry if this sounds picky (and maybe I already know the answer) but, if thumbs are indeed not included in this, "1" is not actually part of the fingering equation, right ?  I am guessing it would be : 5432 2345 -- right ? 

... I show them one group of fingerings (Bernhard's)-- doesn't matter which ones, I just pick a group of similar "shapes"-- and follow up with others.

I am just not sure to understand what exactly is meant here.  Do you mean that after learning all of the scales as 2 tetrachords using *two hands*, then you show them fingerings for each  hand individually ?  And then, what do you mean by "one group of fingerings" ?  A certain one and then whatever scales fit that particular fingering ?

Thanks,
m1469   

[ingagroznaya]

I was taught all scales, chords and arpeggios by my first teacher by simple "show" techniques. It's almost sounds funny, looking back, but not all music books were readily available in soviet Russia.
I use Alfred's "Scales, Arpeggio and Cadences" book with my own students nowadays. We play them, drill them. Several months later no one remembers anything. They have a book to rely on. Interesting thread.

[m1469]

I teach the scales in just a few lessons, without written music.  I'm not against what people have suggested, I just bring this it up as an option.  I have a couple of ways I like to do it, but here's my fastest method.  I don't do it until the student has played for a while and is comfortable in 5-finger positions in all major keys (but we do that right away). 

It's almost faster to teach than to describe here, but I'll try to keep it short. 

1.  We build the tetrachord (I don't necessarily name it, depends on the person). 
2.  Using the fingers of both hands but no thumbs (I tell them, this is the only time we'll ever drop our thumbs right off the keys), index fingers touching side-by-side, we play one octave of a scale (4321, 1234), starting on C. 
3.  We move down to the lowest C and play C scales up from there in this 4/4 hand position, starting over on every C and moving all the way to the top of the piano.  They like this because they can get fast at it right away, and they find it exciting to cover all that territory. 
4.  Back to the bottom C, but this time, after playing the first C scale, put the LH where the RH was.  Now the LH tetrachord starts on G, playing exactly what the RH just did, and the RH will build a new tetrachord.  We work our way up the keyboard like this, going through all the major scales.  We run out of piano keys slightly before finishing, but we just jump back down a bit to finish it out. 

Anyway, that's it.  They do that every day for a week, and when I see them again, I show them one group of fingerings (Bernhard's)-- doesn't matter which ones, I just pick a group of similar "shapes"-- and follow up with others.  After a few lessons, they know all the major scales and have accidentally/incidentally learned the circle of keys.

ooooo... I just have to say, whynot, that your method (what I am doing of it) is working like a beautiful charm .  I would be very interested to know other ways you teach scales (you mentioned that you taught them a couple of different ways), if you would be willing to share.

Thanks,
m1469

[whynot]

Sorry, m1469, my computer blew up a while ago so I've been out of touch.  You probably figured out what I meant, although I see now that I didn't explain it that well!  I was referring to the pointer finger as "1" in this exercise, just numbering the fingers I actually use.  My students aren't confused by this because we don't talk about the numbers, I just show them which fingers we're using, but it was confusing to say it that way here--sorry.  About the groups of fingerings, yes, I meant scales that have some shapes in common.  If the student is wondering about it in some other order and asking questions, then I go in the order that answers their questions, if you know what I mean.  I think new information is easiest to remember when it solves a problem or answers a question for them, so sometimes I show things in a way that doesn't seem as logical/natural to me but seems to more closely follow the student's train of thought.

Let's see, the changing tetrachord question-- yes, usually I ask them to try it by ear, and if that goes well, we keep doing that and at the end we'll analyze the intervals and what they all have in common.  If they get stuck or discouraged, we count the intervals first and build them that way.  We've already played 5-finger position in every key, but that doesn't get them to the top of the scale, which is where the new tetrachords appear in this exercise, so it is a new thing.  But because they've played all over the place, they're not intimidated by the black keys, and they know what the major scale sounds like, so they're usually eager to jump in and figure it out.  I tell them that it isn't "cheating" to guess, follow hunches and play by ear.  Those are really helpful skills, and this is a good opportunity to hone those instincts because it's easy to hear when the scales are correct (or not).  Again, I do like to talk about intervals at some point, I just usually do the playing first, and then reflect back on what they all have in common, why they all sound the same (in a way).