How to Practice Piano Scales

How to Practice Piano Scales A Practicing technique that can be used on all scales. Major scales, minor scales, blues scales and jazz scales. By Alana LaGrange

1. First write out the scale and add your fingering. See the articles on fingering, Right hand/Left Hand 2. Practice until you can play the scale up and down the piano a minimum of 2 octaves.

Plus 1 practice: Do you want to be able to play scales very fast up and down the piano? I call it zipping up and down the piano. You can't do it with the normal finger action practicing.

We are learning a method of practice that is similar to a hold then push. Have you ever been pushed. It creates a momentum and one can't stop moving. Also, instead of the normal up and down finger action, which is verticle, we will be using our wrist to roll our hand and the hand will push the fingers.

Of course plus 1 is exactly as it sounds, gradually practice adding a note at a time. Let's use C scale as an Example. The first note played in the scale will be struck hard, then you will hold until you are ready to move to the next key. 1. Start with C: Strike and hold, Play D and lift your hand. 2. Bring your hand down on the note C, hold, Play D and E as fast as possible. 3. Bring your hand down on the note C, hold, Play D, E and F as fast as possible, remember to start rolling your hand with the wrist. 4. Continue adding a note at a time.

Once you get the feeling of the hand movement, it will feel very natural, and you will be able to play with speed and accuracy.

Here is the plus 1 practice written in sheet music. Plus 1 practice for scales in pdf.


Thank you to Alana LaGrange