A scale on the piano consists of the eight notes that lay between one note and the same note but an entire octave higher. The scales are all different. There are minor scales as well as major scales. The more upbeat and lighter sounding scales are known as the major scales. The more melancholy or deep and gloomy sounding scales are what people refer to as the minor scales.
Practicing keying scales is very important as the muscles in your hand must form a memory of where the keys are in relation to each other. As you spend some time practicing your scales you will find that your fingers seem to move on their own as they have developed a pattern and are following suit. As your eyes move across the sheet music or as you play back a favorite song or tune in your head, you will find that your fingers are moving right along, almost without any thought on your part at all.
To talk about scales, you must talk about keys. There are two kinds of keys when you are learning to play the piano. There are the physical blocks of ivory, or some look-alike material, and wood. There are also keys that scales or songs are played in.
You may hear a singer who is about to give their big performance lean over to the piano player and whisper “The key of C please”. The singer is telling the piano player where he or she wants the pianist to being on the keyboard. The keyboardist will know which keys to begin with as well as the chords that will need to be played to accompany the singer. Playing in the correct key is a vital part of any good musical piece.
As you start your training in mastering the scales, the key signatures do not all need to be learned. (The written notation in regards to the keys is referred to as the key signatures. This is referred to as the key of G, for example). Start your training off with the C scale. When playing a C scale all on white keys you will be playing the major C scale. You should start by putting your right hand in the Home Keys position on the keyboard. You should put an imaginary number on each finger beginning with the thumb and going up from number one.
Play 1-2-3 as usual. This is C-D-E on the keyboard. Then, instead of playing the next note with your ring finger, slip your thumb under the fingers and play F with your thumb. Reposition your hand so that your thumb is 1 on F and your pinkie is 5 on the C above middle C. Then, continue to play up the scale. So, you are playing 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, or C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. You have just played your first scale. Practice it a few times.
If you would like to learn to play the C scale using your left hand, begin by placing your little finger directly on the C that is below the middle C. Place your other fingers in order from one to five traveling up the keyboard. Push the keys in order, 5-4-3-2-1. As you get to one, pull your middle finger over your pointer finger and put it on the next available key. Begin again by playing 3-2-1 from that position on the keyboard. When you are finished you have played C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C or 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1.
Combining the functions of both hands at the same time is the next step once you have spent some time practicing with each individual hand. You will be playing the C below middle C using your pinkie on your left hand just as you are using your right hand thumb to play the middle C. Travel up the scale using both hands. The task may seem a little challenging until you have gotten over having to maneuver one hand over and the other under to finish the scale. After you practice you will find that it comes much easier.
After you have mastered this scale you will find that it is much easier to grasp the other major scales. Be sure to concentrate on the order of the half steps and the whole steps that occur in a major scale. If you are following the right order up the major scale you will be playing like this: starting note-step-step-half step-step-step-step-half step. Keep in mind as you follow these steps that there are no black keys found in between the B and C and the E and F so they are considered to be half steps.
You can play a scale anywhere on the piano. Just pick a note to start on. It does not matter whether it is a white key or a black key. Use the given sequence of steps and half steps to go from there up an eight note scale. You can even start from the left of the keyboard and continue the scale all the way to the right. With a little practice, you will be proficient at playing major scales.
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