Klarinet Archive - Posting 000384.txt from 1997/05

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: College Auditions)
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 16:08:38 -0400

On Sat, 10 May 1997 MattP69@-----.com wrote:

> While scales and arpegigios aree something most of us will evrentuall have
> memorized The method books are a big help. First off we don't always have
> the time to first write them down or practice them enough to have them
> memorized. Being able to see the music lets you focus more clearly on
> mastering the fingering and getting accustomed to the scale.

I feel I must disagree with this advice. To me, the first step is to
learn scales _without_ seeing them in written form. This removes the
distraction of having to deal with printed music, and allows us to focus
on the sound of the scales and the physical sensation of playing them.
After this has been accomplished, then they should be studied in written
form.

Too often, a student who learns scales by memorizing them from a scale
book will have memorized the position of the notes on the staff, and will
not have really listened to what they are playing. Such a student often
will play the wrong form of a scale, or play a wrong note in a scale and
not even realize it, because they are concentrating so much on the problem
of music reading that they really do not listen to themselves.

The "by ear" and "by tactile sensation" method of learning scales is what
I use myself, and what I teach my students to do. Nearly 40 years of
teaching has confirmed for me the usefulness of that approach.

Ed Lacy
*****************************************************************
Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
*****************************************************************