Piano Scales – What Exactly Are They?
A scale on the piano consists of the eight notes that lay between one note and the same note but an entire octave higher. The scales are all different. There are minor scales as well as major scales. The more upbeat and lighter sounding scales are known as the major scales. The more melancholy or deep and gloomy sounding scales are what people refer to as the minor scales.
If you spend a part of your practice time playing scales, you build muscle memory in your hands. This means that, after much time practicing, your hands go more easily to notes in the scale you are playing at any given time. You only have to see the piano sheet music or think of the melody and your hands know what to do.
Anytime you mention scales you will most certainly also mention keys. When a pianist hears the word keys, they think of either the ivory or wood keys on the keyboard or quite possibly the keys that a melody or scale is being played in.
If you have ever spent any time in a lounge or piano bar and hear a singer take the stage and address the pianist with “let’s go with the key of D”, then you might have been confused by his or her statement. What they are telling the pianist is that they would like to start with chords that start with the D key. They then know exactly where they need to begin to play their music. If a chord in a wrong key is played it can drastically affect the overall sound of the song.
As you start your training in mastering the scales, the key signatures do not all need to be learned. (The written notation in regards to the keys is referred to as the key signatures. This is referred to as the key of G, for example). Start your training off with the C scale. When playing a C scale all on white keys you will be playing the major C scale. You should start by putting your right hand in the Home Keys position on the keyboard. You should put an imaginary number on each finger beginning with the thumb and going up from number one.
Begin playing following the 1-2-3 pattern. Once you have completed this pattern you have keyed the notes C, D, and E on the piano. When you get to your ring finger in the count, place your thumb on the F key by sliding it under the other fingers. Once your thumb is there, reposition your other fingers in order and begin the sequence again. You will be playing 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, or C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. You have done it. Your first scale has been played. Be sure to take some time to practice what you have learned.
If you would like to learn to play the C scale using your left hand, begin by placing your little finger directly on the C that is below the middle C. Place your other fingers in order from one to five traveling up the keyboard. Push the keys in order, 5-4-3-2-1. As you get to one, pull your middle finger over your pointer finger and put it on the next available key. Begin again by playing 3-2-1 from that position on the keyboard. When you are finished you have played C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C or 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1.
After you practice this for awhile, try to put the left hand and the right hand together. Play the C below middle C with your left pinkie at the same time as you play the middle C with your left thumb. Continue up the scale with both hands. It can be a little tricky at first because you are going over with your middle finger of your left hand and the under with the thumb of the right hand at different times. Practice awhile and it will come naturally.
Learning how to do this fluently can make it much easier for you to play the remaining major scales. If you think about the steps and half steps that make up a major scale then you will have no problem. A major scale is traveled up in the following order: first note – step – step – half step – step – step – step – step – half step. As your fingers hit the B to C key combination and the E to F key combination, this is considered one half step because there are no black keys that are found between them.
A scale can be started from any place on the piano keyboard. You can choose to start with a white key or a black key. If you follow the sequence that was discussed above and pay attention to the half and whole steps when you go up the scale of eight notes then you will be fine. Try beginning at very last key on the left and carrying the scale to the last key found on the right side of the piano. Major scales will seem very simple after you have spent some time practicing them.
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