So What Exactly Are Piano Scales?

A scale goes from one key to the key that is an octave above that key. It consists of eight tones. There are different types of scales. Some of them are major scales and some of them are minor scales. Major scales have been described as sounding happy, while minor scales are said to sound sad or gloomy.

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.

Any time you talk about scales you will also find yourself discussing keys.  The piano has two different types of keys on it.  The word “keys” as it pertains to the piano could mean the physical ivory or wood keys on the keyboard or the keys that a song or scale is 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.

When you are learning scales, you can do it without learning all the key signatures. (Key signatures are the written notation of the keys, such as the key of C or the key of G.) You can begin by playing a C scale. A major C scale is all done on the white keys. Begin with your right hand in the Home Keys position. Remember that your fingers are numbered 1-5, with the thumb being 1.

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.

After you are comfortable with the C scale on your right hand, move on to mastering it with your left hand.  Rest your pinkie finger on the C key that is below middle C.  Your fingers should be mentally numbered from one to five beginning with the pinkie finger.  Play the keys as 5-4-3-2-1.  After you have completed this step, use your middle finger to reach across the other fingers and put it on the next available key.  Play 3-2-1 beginning at this location on the keyboard.  When you put it all together you are playing 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1, otherwise known as C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.

After you practice this for awhile, try to put the left hand and the right hand together. Play the C below middle C with your left pinkie at the same time as you play the middle C with your left thumb. Continue up the scale with both hands. It can be a little tricky at first because you are going over with your middle finger of your left hand and the under with the thumb of the right hand at different times. Practice awhile and it will come naturally.

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.