There will come a time in your teaching career when you’re
just going to have to bite the bullet and do it. Yes, you’re going to have to teach scales.
And, if you’re smart, you won’t inflict your terror of these
unimaginable beasts on to your students.
Cos, actually, they’re not unimaginable, beasts or otherwise.
Scales are the building blocks of music, no matter what
style/genre/tradition you play[1].
How your students perceive scales is completely up to
you. If you talk about how hard you
found them, or how you avoided them, they’ll take this on. Because as you now know, knowing your scales
has made a huge impact on your own
playing, right? Just treat scales like
any other musical technique; like good posture or phrasing, and see the
difference in your students’ playing.
How you teach scales depends on your instrument. String and keyboard players have an advantage
in that they can see their fingers, and you have visual patterns you can learn. This is especially great for visual learners.
I first introduce scales when a student can play five
consecutive notes (on a flute, usually G A B C D, then F G A Bb C). You know your instrument best. Then, when we play a song with a scale in it
(“Little John” works well), I point out the scale and see if the student can
find another one. So straight away they’re
seeing that scales are a part of music, and if they can isolate that little pattern
and practise it, they’ll be able to play the piece so much better.
I like to show them a page from a concerto – it looks pretty
daunting, but when I point out the consecutive notes, they realise it’s just
scales (flute players, the first movement of the Mozart G major concerto is
perfect for this. Other instruments,
sort yourself out).
Once they’ve got that five-note scale sorted, I teach them
to play the corresponding arpeggio. The,
invite them to find it in “Little John”.
Then, every time you teach a piece with scales and arpeggios (i.e.
pretty much everything), point them out and isolate them, and point out how
much better the student is playing.
Eventually it’ll be time to introduce the theory of
scales. When to this this depends on
whether or not the student is ready.
Only you can judge this.
I’m not going to explain scale theory here. You already know that[2].
What order should you introduce scales in? That depends on your instrument and what
makes sense. C major is super easy for
pianists, but trickier for beginner flutists.
String players tend to like sharp keys, while brass players seem to like
flats.
Have a look at the syllabus for a couple of international
music examination boards. Which scales
do they include? Why?
Also, have a think about the keys of the pieces you’re
asking your students to play. Why not
learn those scales?
What types of scales do you learn first? Major?
Minor? Chromatic? Pentatonic? Again, it depends on your
instrument, the style of music you’re teaching and your students’ needs. If you’re a jazz guitarist teaching
improvisation, why not learn the minor pentatonic first?
[1]
Untuned percussionists, I’m one of you.
It’s ok, I haven’t forgotten about you.
I promise. I’ll do a post on
rhythm and you’ll be away laughing.
No comments:
Post a Comment