Learning to love scales

Niall ORiordan on musical ways to master technique

S
cales and arpeggios are the foundation of a solid technique. get to hear the detail of the methods they used to get there, yet
I believe the way people practise scales is part of the reason this inspiration can be vitally important.
why some dislike them. They are often practised in an un- Not one person that I teach is apathetic towards scales.
musical and mechanical way with little expression or character, I always demonstrate the scales on which my students are
and without any sense of virtuosity. I have recently been working to give them an idea of the possibilities, character and
wondering where this apathy originates. Ive experienced both musicality that can be cultivated. None of this can be seen on
extremes of the spectrum, moving from disliking them, simply the written page of a scale book and, therefore, I feel it is an
because I couldnt play them well to really beginning to love essential part of the process. Recently I started playing games
practising scales because of the very audible benefits I began to with some of my students: we made a deal that I could not ask
experience. Now I can easily spend one to two hours practising them any scale I couldnt play myself over the range either three
scales and actually enjoy it more than practising a problem area or four times in one breath. They got to hear me improve, and
in a piece of music. When you start to sound good as you play they also got to hear that I, too am working on just the same
your scales it becomes exciting - and sometimes even a bit of things that they are, only at a different level. They also hear me
an obsession. Learning new music takes far less time because succeed and fail; it is good not to pretend we are perfect to our
you already have the technique before you begin. Trevor Wye students.
correctly points out that when you practise scales and arpeggios
you are also learning the basis of the majority of flute repertoire,
so it is time very well spent.

Some ideas about scale practice

It is not simply about playing the right notes
In the early years of learning our scales we are rewarded for
playing all the right notes. Too often, this is where we end up
getting stuck. The first step in practising scales is, of course, to
play all the right notes; but this is not is why we practise them
it is just the beginning. Get out of that mindset, then the real
work can begin: developing a nice touch on the keys, developing
an even sound over the range of the instrument, playing quickly
and virtuosically, playing slowly and sensitively with a good
legato, developing your articulation, tone colour and dynamic
control, playing with different characters and moods. These
are among the many aspects we can explore within our scale Stick to a scale method and a system
practice. Scales should always sound like music. My favourite scale book is Moyses Daily Exercises. Trevor
Inspire by example Wyes Daily Exercises are also a really good choice (my only
There are many stories in our musical community where reservation with this book is that the print is rather small), and
players describe the moment they first heard famous teachers so is the Alts method, which was favoured by Rampal and
practising scales and the inspiration they gleaned from it. I have Marion. Scales need to have a rhythmic symmetry that makes
heard such stories of Gaubert, Moyse, and Geoffrey Gilbert, them feel like a piece of music and not something abstract. In
and have experienced it myself with Sir James Galway. Until I the early stages, a problem with practising a one octave scale is
heard how scales could really be played, I had little motivation that it doesnt feel rhythmically anchored in a musical way; I
to work on them myself. I credit my much of my understanding think there are better ways of playing them, which I have given
of this whole topic to the teaching of Sir James Galway. We in figure 1. These alternatives provide more scope for musicality
often hear virtuosity in performances by fine players but rarely

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 Teachers Portfolio

and character. Some other scale methods extend the scales over key to improvement. It is better to pick just a few scales a day
the whole range of the instrument, and this can also give an and to really practise them, rather than skimming over a large
unresolved feeling because of the way the extra notes fit into the quantity. For this reason I find it very useful to set my alarm for
sequence. It is for this reason that I prefer practising according 20 min and then begin working through the cycle of fifths. I
to the Alts method of organising scales in thirds in 3/8; this practice the scales Im working on in great detail and at the end
can create a more musical result. of the 20 min, I take note of which scales I have practised so
that later I can take up where I left off. Depending on your own
Should we extend them up beyond B and C?
schedule, you can decide how long you want to spend each day
This is your choice; here are my observations. I currently
practising your scales, but I recommend 20 minute time blocks,
only practice up as far as B, in line with Moyses Daily Exercises
marked out with an alarm.
in which all the scales extend to either Bb or B. Trevor Wye
provides the extensions in brackets, which is useful. There are Embouchure
of course benefits to extending them further, but it could be Playing scales with a good tone quality is vital. If you start
that just extending to B is challenge enough. Why not push on a scale passage with an out of focus tone, it will just spread
further once you have mastered this, instead of setting yourself through that passage. Start with a good tone and instead spread
up for early disappointment? this through the passage. Some people start and end with a
good tone, they wiggle their fingers and forget about whats in
From memory?
between Sir James pointed out to me in a lesson, continuing,
Its good to have your scales committed to memory, but first
they hope it will miraculously get better, but you have to make
memorise the patterns of the system you are currently working
it better.
from. In the beginning, learn to read them: the Royal Academy
You will note in my examples that I add a little stress on the
of Music has recognised the benefits of doing this, insofar as
beginning of each group. Use this note to set your embouchure
it can greatly help sight-reading. At the Academy, students are
and find your good tone at the beginning of each group. In
permitted to use the book in their technical exams.
Further Scale Ideas, you will see some suggestions on how to
Character explore this F major scale in a more detailed way. Beginning the
Take a piece of music and play all your scales adopting its scale in different registers or starting by descending both provide
character and mood, for example, choosing the opening scale challenges for the embouchure. Once you have mastered this,
in Mozarts D major concerto or the famous solo in Daphnis you can also begin practising the F major scale beginning on
et Chlo by Ravel. Use pieces of music to inspire how you other notes of the scale. There are similar examples in Taffanel
approach your scales. You will discover that different keys and Gaubert method (take a look at EJ 3).
provide different challenges for you to overcome. Working on your scales in this systematic way is really an
investment in your playing, so dont procrastinate - start today
Prelude and improvise
and reap the benefits.
Making up little preludes and improvising is also an
important aspect of the scale journey. Use the scales to explore
More from Niall at www.niallflute.com and @Niall_ORiordan
your emotions and the instrument. Use them as tools to express
Special thanks to Tom Miller for his help in notating the
yourself. Make them your own.
examples overleaf.
Where to begin?
Begin where you are. No matter what level you are at,
OTHER RESOURCES
I always think its a good idea to have the idea of playing the
Other useful scales resources based on Moyse can be
scales over the full range of flute in mind. It is never too early
found at www.jennifercluff.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/
to begin this approach, and I have outlined some ideas for
james-galway-morning-scale-class.html
you in the examples that follow. The examples are intended
This site provides downloadable pdfs of sections
to show a method of approaching Moyses Daily Exercises,
of Exercices Journaliers simplified for novice and
but can be applied to any method. The first example shows F
intermediate players, as well as a less taxing revision of
major scale over the full of the range of flute up to Bb. This
Moyses proposed practice schedule.
is followed by various learning strategies which will eventually
A simple method for scale practice as suggested
help you master this scale. In 2a-c, I begin on G, thus gradually
by Sir James Galway is published at http://www.
extending the scale upwards. By following this approach, we
larrykrantz.com/5notes.htm
soon cover the full range.
The technique books referred to in this article are:
Not enough time? Marcel Moyse, Exercices Journaliers (Leduc)
Take your time with this, exploring each of the five steps. Trevor Wye, Complete Daily Exercises (Novello)
Dont try to play all the scales in one go; detailed practice is the Taffanel and Gaubert, 17 Daily Exercises (Leduc)

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Niall ORiordans Love Your Scales suggestions

Further Scale Ideas

F major scales over the range ascending and decending

Fig. 1
Why?

Why Not

or

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 Approaching Moyse Daily Exercises

1a

1b

1c

2a

2b

2c

3) Add step 1 & 2 together (i.e. playing from F' -A''')

1. Add steps 1 and 2 together (i.e., playing from F to A ), working through the rhythms
l lll
working through the rhythms that correspond to letters a, b, & c
that correspond to letters a, b, and c.
2. Apply the same working principles to the scale over the range of the flute, as given at
4) Apply
the top ofthe same working principals to the scale
the page.
3. Gradually
over increaseof
the range thethe
speed, eventually
flute at theworking
top towards
of therepeating
page. the whole scale
two to four times in one breath.
5) Gradually increase the speed, eventually working
towards repeating the whole scale 2-4 times in one breath.
September 2013 47