Defining the Fundamentals: Practicing Scales is Money in Your Bank

Fundamentals - what exactly are we talking about? And why?

Post-olympics, there's a lot of talk about having strong fundamentals as the basis of anything we do, whether in sports, carpentry, or music. Fundamentals are defined with these catch phrases: underlying, basic, being an essential part of a foundation or basis, and being primary source. Like diagramming sentences (does anyone do this anymore?), these "basics" seem less glamorous, less "fun," yet essential parts of experiencing the joy of turning a fancy or inspiring phrase...so it's more than tempting to skip over them. Who has that kind of time, anyway?

Well, keep in mind this fantastic quote from Noa Kageyama's terrific blog on scale practicing:

“What people don’t realize is that professionals are sensational because of the fundamentals.” ~12-time MLB All-Star, 1995 MVP, and 1990 World Series Champion shortstop Barry Larkin.
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There must be some value in investigating fundamentals, right?

Consider any new skill we wish to acquire - let's try learning a new language. Often the best course of action is to start with essential skills that help us execute the eventual activity. We spend hours studying vocabulary, listening to native speakers to get the cadence and pronunciation in our ears, watch movies with subtitles, conjugate verbs...these are all like lifting weights to become stronger on the field. The goal is not to be a fantastic verb conjugator and weight lifter, but to be able to function in the moment with confidence and ease.

Convinced yet? Give it a try, and let's start with scales, since Florida requires all all-state auditionees to play ALL major scales in the circle of 4ths (go, Florida!). Why are scales fundamental? Scales allow us to become comfortable in a particular key, to hear and feel the pull toward home base, to get ready to play pieces or phrases in that key. The more we are "at home" in that key, the easier (more comfort, less stress and tension in our bodies, more musicality and freedom we can express) any phrase or piece will be. Scales are basically just formulas - plug in the correct notes and intervals (distances between pitches) according to the formula, and you're all set. Isn't that great? A simple yet powerful tool!

Already a scale convert? Try a few of these ideas to freshen up your scale encounter:

• Play tag-team scales with a friend - pick a tempo and note rate and alternate turns by beats, or even larger groups
• Play scales over reference tones (yes, that again!)
• Play one scale - let's try C Major - ascending, one octave, and continue to Db, past the C octave note. Descend from there to play Db major; bounce up to ascend on D major, etc. This works for arpeggios and different chord patterns, too. 
• Change up the rhythms and articulations in ways that you can repeat (not too random, unless you want to try that out for a bit!). The goal is to change up one aspect to make the scale feel different and stretch a bit further. You'll learn things on a deeper level by doing this!
• Along these lines, think of a phrase (let's stick with one in a major key for now) and try to imitate the style, tone quality, and articulation as you play the scale in the same key.  Play this phrase a few times to feel comfortable and able to execute it exactly as you'd like. Now transfer all those ingredients and qualities to the scale in the same key. Play the phrase again, then try the scale again to gain even more comfort. Does the scale become easier as you create a firmer musical context? Now apply all of this to your next key. There are countless phrases = countless ways of playing scales!
• Play your scales in a different order - try the circle of 5ths, chromatically (C, Db, D, Eb, etc.) or reverse chromatic (C, B, Bb, A, etc.), random order - "pick from a hat"
• Try to build up to playing all of your basic scales - all of your majors, then all of one form of your minors)  - each day. This may take a bit at first but after awhile you will gain fluency and agility, able to play these very quickly. Know that your go-to way can just be all slurred or all articulated, or a combination of the two - but the main point is your basic approach is ideally economical of time. Each day - like that apple to keep you healthy with no doctors in the way.
• Really listen to your playing of a scale. Record it, and play it back. How's the tone quality? Evenness? Space between each note/closeness of one note to the next, throughout? What about the intonation? Do you hear direction in the scale, shaping each gesture? Put the tuner and the metronome on to test yourself - yes, with the recording! Now try playing the same scale again with your new awareness - just once or twice, and continue moving on. The trick is to keep going - and continue listening and responding tomorrow (and the next day, etc.)!

So give some of these a try and start your very own scale notebook - have some ideas jotted down and ready to attack for the next day, or when you're feeling slightly less inspired. Take one step at a time - work to keep the load (mental and physical) simple so that you lessen any resistance of this new habit. As you gain fluency, start changing one thing at a time - perhaps try one of the new ideas from the above bullet-point list one day, and return to "go to" ease of playing the next day. The overall value is accrued over time. Each day is an opportunity to put money in that scale bank - you'll gain rich rewards! Try this for two weeks, even a month - and notice the difference fundamentals can make. As my husband just pointed out to me, practicing scales is a lot like playing pool - the two purposes of any pool shot is 1. to sink a ball (get it in the pocket) AND 2. to set up the next shot. So - let's be ready for that next shot. 

Some scale blogs to check out:
Why I'd spend a lot more time practicing scales if I could do it all over again
Why do I need to practice scales?
How to practice scales - 10 reasons why they are important
Practicing scales effectively
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