What is a B Major dominant 5th long arpeggio?

[jzp93]

My son is doing all scales and arpeggios by memory taught by his teacher. I assume the B Major 5th dominant long arpeggio is a combination. Is there a COMPLETE book I can purchase or print from a website that has all the combinations?

[faulty_damper]

Yes, check ABRSM's syllabus for scales and arpeggios that includes all of them.

The B Major Dominant 5th is simply a 5th scale degree arpeggio; it's a F# Major arpeggio.
There is no need for a book for any of the arpeggios.  In fact, for practical playing skills, I wouldn't recommend reading any of them until he already knows what the scale degrees are.  Only after he knows and can play them should he see how they look like on paper.

[jzp93]

Yes, check ABRSM's syllabus for scales and arpeggios that includes all of them.

The B Major Dominant 5th is simply a 5th scale degree arpeggio; it's a F# Major arpeggio.
There is no need for a book for any of the arpeggios.  In fact, for practical playing skills, I wouldn't recommend reading any of them until he already knows what the scale degrees are.  Only after he knows and can play them should he see how they look like on paper.

Thanks for answering faulty_damper. I'm trying to help and printed some from the website to see if he's making mistakes. When I showed it to his teacher she said "You dont need that. Children should memorize it, they have no trouble memorizing  scales and arppegios". I am so confused. You said you dont recommend reading them until he knows what the scale degrees are. Do you mind explaining why? And what are scale degrees? I play very little piano so I dont know these things. My son is 13 and plays some advance pieces but has stop his theory classes many times...

[nystul]

Is that really what the ABRSM calls it?  A major dominant 5th long arpeggio?  Major dominant 5th?  I wouldn't know what to play either, if someone asked me to play something with a stupid name like that!

[faulty_damper]

I'm trying to help and printed some from the website to see if he's making mistakes. When I showed it to his teacher she said "You dont need that. Children should memorize it, they have no trouble memorizing  scales and arppegios". I am so confused. You said you dont recommend reading them until he knows what the scale degrees are. Do you mind explaining why? And what are scale degrees? I play very little piano so I dont know these things. My son is 13 and plays some advance pieces but has stop his theory classes many times...

The principle reason you don't want to read before you can play is that reading requires visual recognition, visual association with the keyboard, keyboard-finger association, and then physical execution.  It's a lot of complex steps for the brain to process which take an incredible amount of time for someone who is learning each step.

Compare to learning by playing: mental recall, keyboard-finger association, and physical execution.

Once arpeggios can be executed, it makes the reading process of those arpeggios much easier because the playing steps have already been learned and well-practiced.  The student just has to learn to associate notes on paper to notes on keyboard.


Scale degrees are the notes within a scale.  In a B Major scale, B is the 1st degree (aka tonic), C# is the 2nd (aka supertonic), D# is the 3rd (mediant), E is the 4th (subdominant), F# is the 5th (dominant), G# is the 6th (submediant), and A# is the 7th (leading tone).  This works for any scale.  It's simply a way to label notes within a scale and it indicates the musical function.  E.g. a leading tone (7th scale degree) leads to the tonic.  If you play any ascending scale, and stop at the 7th, there is a strong tendency to want to end it on the tonic: Sol la ti.... Do!  Not doing so sounds unresolved.

[jzp93]

The principle reason you don't want to read before you can play is that reading requires visual recognition, visual association with the keyboard, keyboard-finger association, and then physical execution.  It's a lot of complex steps for the brain to process which take an incredible amount of time for someone who is learning each step.

Compare to learning by playing: mental recall, keyboard-finger association, and physical execution.

Once arpeggios can be executed, it makes the reading process of those arpeggios much easier because the playing steps have already been learned and well-practiced.  The student just has to learn to associate notes on paper to notes on keyboard.


Scale degrees are the notes within a scale.  In a B Major scale, B is the 1st degree (aka tonic), C# is the 2nd (aka supertonic), D# is the 3rd (mediant), E is the 4th (subdominant), F# is the 5th (dominant), G# is the 6th (submediant), and A# is the 7th (leading tone).  This works for any scale.  It's simply a way to label notes within a scale and it indicates the musical function.  E.g. a leading tone (7th scale degree) leads to the tonic.  If you play any ascending scale, and stop at the 7th, there is a strong tendency to want to end it on the tonic: Sol la ti.... Do!  Not doing so sounds unresolved.

faulty_damper, Thank you for taking the time to explain what was very confusing to me. I appreciate it. You explained it so well. Now, if only my son's Russian speaking teacher could speak English well and explain things to him like you do, my son would learn even faster. He says
he understands her but it is not the same.,

[faulty_damper]

You are welcome.