Scale practise

zummerzet_lou · Post by **zummerzet_lou** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:43 am

After the birth of my children, I'm trying to pick my flute up again, with the aim of doing my grade 8, which was my "goal" when I started learning.

I was just wandering how do you all practise your scales? Do you do them in chromatic order? (i.e C, Db, D, etc)

all majors, then harmonic minors, then melodic minors?

Just trying to pick up a routine that will take some of the ardour out of scale practise, which whilst I know is good for my flute practise, is a bit of a chore.

Ta,

Lou

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:25 am

I have my students play them in the circle of fifths starting at the top and going clockwise. Then I have them learn them in chromatic order. I like for hem to play major, natural minor, harmonic minor then melodic minor for each key, but time limits this greatly in lessons. Hopefully, that is what they are doing at home. Personally, I like the system that Julius Baker used later in life which is to play sharps on even number days of the month and flats on odd number days. That keeps me a little more motivated to play daily.

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:50 am

I play scales, but mostly arpeggios related to the scales. It all depends what kind of practicing I am doing. If I am warming up I use scales and arps. If I am doing a practice session, I pull out the excercise books and do wierd intervals. Lately, I have been working out of these 2 books

CC1613 Chesky: Contemporary Jazz/Rock Patterns Vol.1
CC1614 Chesky: Contemporary Jazz/Rock Patterns Vol.2

These books take you through a sucession of 4ths, 5ths, arpeggios, whole tone, diminished, etc.... But not in the normal way. Do not let the Jazz/Rock thing fool you. I recommend these books to all of my students, and have gotten excellent results with sight reading, tone, and overall progress. Partly because there are no key signatures. All of the accidentals are displayed while you are doing the patterns. These books also give you the relative harmony for the pattern. Most of all, the patterns are not dry and boring. Between the sound and the difficulty, you will never get tired of these books.

If you can swing about $20, you should check them out. If you play though them, you will be back in the swing in no time.

Phineas

flutemaniac09 · Post by **flutemaniac09** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:17 pm

I practice scales out of the Taffanel and Gaubert daily 17 exercises. Also I use the Moyse Daily Studies and Altes and Andersen Etudes.