Are you supposed to learn Piano scales with both hands at the same time?

[macycrystal]

So i've been playig the Piano now for just over a month and am trying to self teach myself. It's going quite well for how long i've been playing and can play numerous Grade 1 pieces and some Grade 2 pieces fluentlyand can play all of my major scales fluently with each hand individually but i never really thought about playing both of them at the same time like you would a regular piece. So my question is are supposed to be able to play both hands of the scales at the same time like you would a regular piece or is playing them individually good enough?

[austinarg]

Well, if you mean to ask if they are required in exams, then yes.

Apart from that, it is always better to learn scales with two hands than with one hand.

[jayeckz]

Apart from that, it is always better to learn scales with two hands than with one hand.

Why?

[austinarg]

Again, my poor English fails to explain me

What I mean is that, if you can play a certain scale with both hands at the same time, you can play it with separate hands. It surely helps a lot when improvising, or playing fast unisons.

[jayeckz]

@macycrystal:  I'm curious.  Why no teacher?

[roseamelia]

You could try one hand first then the left hand get good at doing one hand at a time and then do both at the same time.

-Rose

[victoria_129]

If you're a beginner i would start playing scales with just one hand and then as you start learning grade 3 - grade 4 stuff start to play them with both hands

[mooticus]

I am studying for my grade three exam. At grade 2 I was required to play scales with one hand and both hands at the examiners choice. I find it a challenge to go back to playing scales with one hand now I am that used to playing with 2. I think is worth practicing both. I ask my friend to test me out like the examiner does in exams

[brogers70]

I think one should practice scales hands separate and hands together, for different purposes. Hands together scales help develop coordination and perfect timing of the two hands. It can be harder than you might think to get the corresponding notes in both hands to sound at exactly the same instant. Hands together you can play around with contrary motion, scales at the sixth or tenth, scales in different times (ie 2 octaves in eighth notes in one hand together with four octaves in sixteenths in the other).

However, if you want to increase speed, it's better to work a lot on hands separate. Getting the motions of each separate hand just right requires concentration on one hand at a time. Working on relaxation, feeling the weight, and all that are also best, I think, if you start the scales hands separate. Then you can put the hands together if you like.

Here's a link to a good, older post from Bernhard about scales:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=9211.0

Good luck.