Practising scales

[choykaiwen]

How do you practise your scales? Do you just play them over and over with both hands trying to perfect it?

I am reading a book by Walter Gieseking & Karl Leimer (Piano Technqiue). In it they said its a grave mistake to allow both hands to play together. In short, they advocate devoting time to perfecting each hand solo, while just occasionally practicing them together to accustom the ear to the precise striking together of the tones of the two hands.

Whats your take on it?

[zheer]

  AS you can imagin there has been countless threads on this topic, so to summerize it all, practice scales hands separatly at first once you start learning the piano very briefly then move on and develop piano skills through working on music.

[steve jones]

I dont practice scales to much. But when I do, I try to practice getting the thumb passing to be as seemless as possible. Quite often I hit the thumb down on the next note to hard, and it is clearly audiable. But Im getting better now and can usually play more evenly and smooth.

But that is more a technique thing. If you are practicing to learn the actually scales themselves rather than the technique of playing them, then a different strategy would ofcourse be recommended.

SJ

[lisztianick]

Scales are one of the most fundamental aspects of piano playing. They are just like the core thing of technique. If your scales are good, then your technique is good !!

I don't practice much scales except for before ABRSM exams. Besides that, I just use them for warming up. I warm up with so many kinds of scales (unison, thirds, sixth, contrary, arpeggios, chromatic,....etc.) I do this to keep my mind and my fingers fresh with all those techniques.

And yes try to practice them HS first (but not all the time !!!)

[bernhard]

  AS you can imagin there has been countless threads on this topic, so to summerize it all, practice scales hands separatly at first once you start learning the piano very briefly then move on and develop piano skills through working on music.

Zheer is right. Have a look here for starters:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2313.msg19807.html#msg19807
(Speed of scales – the important factors in speed playing - an alternative fingering for scales).

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2533.msg21955.html#msg21955
(an structured plan to learn scales and arpeggios – includes description of repeated note-groups and other tricks -  complete poem that inspired La fille aux cheveux du lin)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2619.msg22756.html#msg22756
(unorthodox fingering for all major and minor scales plus an explanation)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2701.msg23134.html#msg23134
(Teaching scales – the cluster method and why one should start with B major).

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2758.msg23889.html#msg23889
(scales & compositions – the real importance of scales is to develop the concept of key, not exercise)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2920.msg25568.html#msg25568
(how to play superfast scales)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2983.msg26079.html#msg26079
(Best order to learn scales – what does it mean not to play scales outside pieces)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2998.msg26268.html#msg26268
(Scales HT, why? – why and when to practise scales HS and HT – Pragmatical  x logical way of teaching – analogy with aikido – list of piano techniques – DVORAK – realistic x sports martial arts – technique and how to acquire it by solving technical problems – Hanon and why it should be avoided - Lemmings)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3499.msg31548.html#msg31548
(using scales as the basis for free improvisation)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5003.msg47438.html#msg47438
(summary of links on the importance of working on scales)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4752.msg47443.html#msg47443
(Antoher summary of scale links)

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,2619.msg104249.html#msg104249
(Scale fingering must be modified according to the piece – Godard op. 149 no.5 – yet another example of the folly of technical exercises)


Best wishes,
Bernhard.