 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Cr8trAnd
Date: 2006-11-28 22:17
I should have joined band when I had the chance! But since I didnt, I have to take a proficency (sp?) exam to get it and I need to know every major and minor scale. I know most of the majors but I dont know how to memorize so many and keep them straight in my mind. Does anyone have any tips.
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Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2006-11-28 22:35
Play them over and over again. Practice every day. If you know the whole music theory part to scales, that helps as well. These technique now let me know 12 major scales, 8 blues scales, 2 mixolydian scales, 2 bebop scales, and 3 dorian scales.
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-11-28 22:42
Play them over and over CORRECTLY ... making absolutely SURE you do not learn errors, as learned errors can be almost impossible to solve ... seemingly.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-11-28 22:46
Memorizing scales is mostly about muscle memory. Train your fingers to learn them and then your brain won't have to think about everything!
Slow slow slow practicing is the way to go. Quarter note at 50! While playing each note think about the finger movement required to go to the next note. Don't think about anything else like what's for lunch or your pet or anything!!!
That's maybe a longer-term approach than what you need, but it's the one that will stick the longest!
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Author: allencole
Date: 2006-11-29 03:52
One problem that I see with students is that of realizing which note is wrong. I recommend that you memorize a scale by playing up and down adding one note at a time. If it's the C major scale, here's how:
C-D-C
C-D-E-D-C
C-D-E-F-E-D-C
etc.
As Diz and Katrina have already remarked this is a matter of programming yourself with certain physical behaviors. Take it slow and try not to make mistakes.
Feel free to look at a written scale with all the accidentals marked. This is not about mental memorization. Playing the CORRECT notes again and again will train both your fingers and your ear.
Also, try to use the scale to play simple songs. I have most of my students play "The First Noel." (it starts and ends on note #3 of any major scale) It really helps with reinforcement.
Best of luck.
Allen Cole
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Author: BobD
Date: 2006-11-29 12:17
"a written scale with all the accidentals marked"
I believe I know what the writer means, still, are there really accidentals in scales?
Bob Draznik
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-11-29 12:37
BobD wrote:
> I believe I know what the writer means, still, are there
> really accidentals in scales?
When the scale's key doesn't match the key signature of the staff, there's hardly a way around them, no?
(And I often pencil in reminder accidentals for those notes far outside the staff)
--
Ben
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Author: BobD
Date: 2006-11-29 15:12
If we're talking about the major and minor scales of Western music then adding an accidental to one of them would alter its identity. T/F? I am still trying to learn and sometimes the nomenclature screws me up but I thought accidentals had no place in our conventional scales. I guess we're talking about scales and not key signatures....aren't we?
Bob Draznik
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-11-29 16:09
Any substantial clarinet method book will have all the scales written out. The "bible" is Part 3 of the Baermann Method, and you should definitely have a copy. Order it from Gary van Cott at http://www.vcisinc.com/clarinetmusicmethods.htm
The Stievenard scale book is also frequently recommended. http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?item=3146022&cart=337379043326841063
Really, though, you need to get the sequences of the generic major and minor scales learned and then apply them to each key. That is, the ascending major scale is made of the intervals whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. This applies whatever key you're in.
As others have said, practice the scales of each key as slowly as you need to, to get them perfect. Always work with a metronome. You'll probably find that in the extreme keys, you'll need to set the metronome to 40 to begin with.
Unfortunately, there are no short cuts. Fortunately, as you learn how the scales work, it gets easier.
Every professional player works through this. You can too.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Cr8trAnd
Date: 2006-11-29 23:06
Thanks everyone, my Clarinet teacher who I take private lessons from told me to buy the Rubank Elementary Method book to start out. allencole, playing songs like The First Noel as well as everybody elses tips, is a great one. I can play that song and now that I think aobut it all it is 2 scales again and again. Thanks again for everyones advice.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2006-11-30 06:07
On "Accidentals":
I apologize for the use of the term. It does at least seem to imply an alteration of the normal scale.
I should've said that during the scale-building process you can read a written scale with the proper sharps or flats (or even naturals if need by) marked. It may help to reduce the number of errors during programming, and doesn't really harm the learning process, since we all seem to agree that learning scales is more of a physical than a mental task.
One other reason to read scales during the building/memorizing process. A lot of students will make enharmonic substitutions for notes that they aren't comfortable with and this can cause trouble.
Often, I'll catch a student skipping the G while playing the E-flat scale. In most cases, the student thinks of the A-flat for note #4 as a G-sharp, and then makes the mental leap of sharping the G that should be natural as note #3. Reading the notes can help with little spelling problems like that.
Allen Cole
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Author: Bgoodson
Date: 2019-10-28 03:37
Hate to revive a decade old post, but in case any one stumbles on this like I did....
Bob, all major scales do not need accidentals, that is correct. However there are 3 minor scales... if you don't take modal music into account. Natural, melodic, and harmonic. The natural minor scale has no accidentals but the other two do. The melodic minor scale has a sharped 6 and 7 when ascending and natural when descending. So for A minor we would see a b c d e f# g# a going up and a g f e d c b a down. Harmonic minor has a sharp 7... leading to an augmented 2nd in the scale which is supposed to be"against the rules" too. The more you learn about music theory the more you realise that every rule has an exception.
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Author: Kaos
Date: 2019-10-30 02:43
I don't know if it's your case, but my problem about learning scales was not theorical since I studied and all, but more practical. I had troubles memorizing LH or RH fingerings for the many accidentals to keep playing the scale smoothly with the natural notes, so I had to mark them down on my scale's book during my practice and it took months and months to learn them. For ex. the melodic scale of E minor, when going up you have to remember to take the third line B RH, C# LH so you can play the D# RH. Even worse in scales with more accidentals. That was the hardest thing to learn for me.
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