What are Piano Scales Exactly?
Scales in music are the building blocks of music. Similarly, when you play a piano, the knowledge of scales makes you even better at composing different musical themes and you can even learn any song just by listening them.
These scales are played on different pitches. For example: – Western notes Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si are usually played on notes C to B respectively. But this is only for the basic C scale. You can play them even in different high or low-pitched scales like D scale of C# scale.
Why Piano Scales are Important?
There are innumerable reasons for why piano scales are important. First of all, they are the foundation of any kind of music. Music of any type are composed with the help of scales as any song can be played on one scale at a time. Therefore, by learning scales, you can simply understand and play any piece of music with ease.
Secondly, scales help you to develop your technique. By practicing different scales, you are memorizing and developing your finger co-ordination, dexterity and also improving your finger strength. This will eventually make you a better pianist and help you to compose or play complex music pieces.
Thirdly, scales also develop your musical ear. When you practice different scales, you also start to learn the pitches and position of each notes and how they relate to each other, which further helps you to easily identify different notes of a musical piece more easily and accurately, with better intonation.
At last, they help you to improve yourself. Improvisation is the secret trick to create music continuously. When you are aware of the scale of your piece, you have the information and pattern of the fundamentals of the piece. This will improve your creative musical side.
8 Reasons Why You Should Practice Piano Scales
1. You can improve your musical technique and piano finger dexterity by practicing your scales.
One of the best ways to enhance your finger dexterity and musical technique is to practice piano scales. You can build a solid foundation for playing any piece of music by studying and practicing scales, which are an essential component of music.
Your fingers will get stronger and your general dexterity will increase when you play scales. This is crucial for playing the piano in all genres, including fast passages and chords.
You will start to build finger pattern muscle memory as you practice scaling on a regular basis. Playing scales and other musical instruments will become easier as a result of not having to worry about where your fingers should go.
2. "Within a specific key or tone centre" is how music is composed. The notes in the C Major scale will make up the majority of the music in an C Major sonata.
A composer selects a certain set of notes and chords to use when writing music in a given key. Because every note and chord in the song is connected to every other note, this gives the composition a sense of coherence and unity.
The notes of the C major scale, for instance, are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. These are the seven notes that a composer chooses to use when writing in the key of C major. The C major scale will serve as the basis for the composition, though they may also use other notes, such as chromatic notes.
The way the key system functions in practice can be seen by the statement, “The notes in the C Major scale will make up the majority of the music in a C Major sonata”.
A composer chooses to use the notes in the C major scale as a foundation for their work when they write a sonata in that key. The C major scale will be the most significant set of notes in the sonata, though they may also use other notes, such as chromatic notes.
3. Practicing your scales will develop your musical ear.
One of the best ways to improve your musical ear is to exercise your scales. You train your ears to detect the various intervals between notes when you practise scales. This will improve your intonation and make it easier for you to recognize the notes in a piece of music.
When you exercise scales, you are learning the various note sounds and how they relate to one another. This will make it easier for you to recognize the notes in a piece of music.
The capacity to comprehend and experience music through your ears is known as aural skills. There are several ways in which practicing scales can help you become more proficient in hearing.
4. Scale practice will increase your sense of confidence.
Scale practice can boost your confidence in a variety of ways. First and foremost, practicing scales helps you improve your finger dexterity and musical technique. You’ll become a more skilled pianist overall and be able to perform more difficult compositions. This feeling of achievement can give you a greater sense of confidence.
Second, you can improve your musical ear by learning scales. This translates to improved intonation and an easier time distinguishing the notes in a piece of music. When you perform in front of an audience or play with other musicians, this can help you feel more confident.
5. Scale practice will help you become fluent at the piano and improve your muscle memory.
One of the most crucial things you can do to develop your muscle memory and become fluent at the piano is to practice scales. The fundamentals of music are scales, and by regularly practicing them, you will gain the abilities and understanding required to perform any piece of music.
The capacity to perform specific patterns without having to think about them is known as muscle memory. You are building finger pattern muscle memory when you practice scaling repeatedly. Playing scales and other musical instruments will become easier as a result of not having to worry about where your fingers should go.
Scales are frequently employed in sight-reading drills. You will find it easier and more accurate to sight-read new music if you are familiar with scales.
6. Your sense of rhythm and timing will improve, particularly if you practise with a metronome.
Timing and rhythm are fundamental elements of music. You can play the notes in a piece of music at the right tempo and in the right order if you have good rhythm and timing. It also makes it possible for you to perform in unison and harmony with other musicians.
Enhancing your timing and rhythmic awareness can be achieved by practicing with a metronome. A metronome is an apparatus that generates an even beat. You are training your hands to play the notes in time with the beat and your ears to hear the beat when you practice with a metronome.
When using a metronome to practice, you have to play the notes precisely in order to keep up with the beat. This will help you to improve your overall accuracy.
7. Learning scales will help you become familiar with the piano's "map."
Learning the scales also teaches you about the various piano notes and their relationships. It’s similar to learning the piano’s map. Knowing the layout of the map will make it easier for you to find the notes you need to play on the piano.
In music, scales are the fundamental blocks. Since scales are the building blocks of all music, mastering them will make it easier for you to understand and play any type of music.
Notes on a scale are composed in a particular order. You can learn how the various notes relate to one another in terms of pitch by studying scales.
Notes are arranged in repeating patterns to form scales. You can become familiar with the various piano patterns by studying scales.
8. Understanding your scales entails understanding your keys, which will improve your sight-reading.
The key is a collection of notes that have some connection to one another. The basis of a key is its scale, which also aids in defining its sound.
Understanding your scales will help you understand how each note in a key relates to the others. You also know how a key’s various scales relate to one another.
This understanding is important for sight-reading as it enables you to recognize notes in a piece of music fast and with ease, as well as comprehend the composition’s general structure.
Knowing your scales will help you quickly determine which notes are most frequently used in a given key. This will assist you in figuring out the key.
Written by: – Mukund Choudhary (7th Graded, Electronic Keyboard, Trinity College London) St Joseph’s High School, Navi Mumbai.
