Some of you might know that I recently began pursuing a MM in Collaborative Piano at the University of Southern Alabama. Last week I had my first lesson with Dr. Robert Holm. I was a little anxious since I had not been the student in a piano lesson for over two years, and the first piece he had assigned me to work on before our first lesson was no walk in the park (Hindemith Trombone Sonata). However, I'm already convinced that this is going to be a great experience even if it does stretch me. I already have a stack of great music to work on and I can't wait to collaborate with soloists on these. I'm looking forward to all the new music I'll be introduced to. I've posted YouTube videos of the pieces I'm currently working on below. Enjoy!
Scales. Let me be completely honest. I hate playing them. I always have, and I probably always will. I love the theory side of them, and you ask any scale of me, in any form, and I could spell it out for you as easily as 1, 2, 3. But if you ask me to play them...meh. If you already think that you are going to completely disagree with this post, keep reading to the end, and I may just surprise you.
I have found there are basically two camps in the music teaching world (especially among pianists). One side says that scales are an absolutely essential part of any musical education, they must be learned in every form, and should be maintained throughout a players life. The other says that, while they can be useful to learn the notes in each key signature, they are basically a waste of time. My wife and I represent this dichotomy well. She falls under the first camp, and I fall under the latter. Of course, this is largely based on how we were taught growing up. She received a very thorough training of scales while she was in lessons and participated in many events where she was required to show her competency. As a young player, I learned my basic two octave major scales, but I never studied minor scales (GASP!!!!!). In college my professors were in the "scales are a waste of time" camp, so once again I never spent much times learning them. How could anyone believe that scales are a waste of time? Of course, no time spent on the keyboard could be called worthless, but there are some things that are more valuable than other. Those of us who are not quite sold on the value of scales have not chosen this stance simply because we hate playing scales. There are several reasons we feel that the time spent teaching scales in all their forms could be better spent elsewhere, but it all basically comes down to the fact that you rarely, if ever, see scales (the way we teach them) in the actual music you play everyday. When is the last time you saw a 4 octave parallel motion scale in your music? One octave? Sure. Two octaves? One direction maybe, but I doubt up and down. Three or four octaves? Ha! Scales rarely appear in their complete, basic form in music. What may start as an A major scale may end with a four or five note chromatic run. During a piece of music, scales often change direction once or more than once in the "middle" of the scale, creating dramatically different fingering patterns, especially is there are any skips involved. Scales very often start on a note other than the tonic or third of that scale. On the other hand, scales can be great for reenforcing key signatures, promoting facility, and balancing hand strength. I believe that they have their place in a pianist's education, but, in my opinion, that place is not the high and mighty pedestal where they have been placed. However... I do not have popular opinion on my side. Almost all student activities/contests/assessments have heavy scale requirements, and most universities have them on their undergraduate and graduate audition lists. My lack of training in scales came back to bite me just this weekend. I was at an audition, and part of this audition was four octave scales. Just my luck, I was asked to play the C# minor scales. I bombed. I couldn't get up and down fluently to save my life. Fortunately, my actually piano pieces and my sight reading saved me and I passed the audition. However, it was an extremely embarrassing event for me which I will never repeat again. Therefore, while I may not agree with the level of importance placed on scales by the piano community, I am going to become fluent in my scales and I am going to teach all of my students to be fluent in their scales. I want them to approach each piano performance in their life confidently and have no reason to be embarrassed when they walk of a stage. What are your thoughts on scale study? Vital or necessary evil? *Note: My position of this is completely opposite when it comes to stringed instruments. All string players MUST be fluent in their scales and practice them regularly for the rest of their playing lives. I'll try to write a post on why my standard is different for string players at another time. |
Victor AndzulisChrist Follower, Husband, Classical Musician, Professor, Collaborative Pianist, and Violist in Williamsburg, KY. Archives
September 2016
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