bloke's secret to learning scales ( bloke's kid's secret )

[KevinMadden]

A little late on the thread, but I have a response I'd like to add to the whole Reading v. By ear debate.

I never learned to effectively play by ear, I always read all my music, and still do. (though I'm trying to change that) While reading all my music has given me a fairly good ability (IMHO) to play what is written on the page, I have issues when what I'm playing sounds different than what is on the page. What I mean is this, I've developed a really keen aural connection to the visual notes. When playing Rochut, Z.B., I have a harder time hearing it down an octave than I do just reading at the written pitches. When I play Eb, if I'm looking at some exercise written in C I have to play without the music, I can't read in C but play in Eb. even Eb Treble clef is slow for me to pick up, despite the fact that I'm fluent in trumpet fingers, its just sounds wrong. I guess the answer that I'm trying to support is that a person needs to learn both, equally. play the scales from memory, but be able to read them too.

[sloan]

In my little universe,sight reading is very low on the list of needed skills.I can't remember the last time I was required to sight read anything for money.

Yes, but...

When you are *testing* someone (at an audition, for a class, or a degree) you don't always test the exact skills required for success in the field (or, what the student was told to study to prepare for the job/test). Instead, you try to test a simple, isolated, easy-to-judge skill that you believe is highly correlated with success at the actual job.

Sadly, too many students "learn to the test", and teachers have been know to "teach to the test". This defeats the whole purpose.

When we "audition" faculty candidates, we take them out to dinner. You would be astonished to know how much information you can gather about someone in a 2-hour dinner (AND how relevant that information is for future performance in the job).

I think that "sight reading" (and to a lesser extent "scales") are tests like this. Yes, you *can* do the job without ever sight-reading anything (just as you can do the job without playing all 12 scales around the circle of 4ths at All-State tempo and articulations). But, if you have to sort 50 players into roughly the correct order of "who will perform best in the ensemble", sight reading and scales are very effective.

Signt reading tells you a lot about the musicianship of the player. At the high school level, testing scales tells you a lot about the students' work ethic. Any idiot who really wants to can learn to play All-State scales in 2 weeks - but of course this is "learning to the test". It's tougher to prepare in advance for sight-reading (but you'll see lots of career advice saying "play everything you can get your hands on - who knows when it might turn up as 'sight reading' at the audition")

I think All-State auditioners should use the bloke test: start up a drum machine, sing the head of a tune and then point to the auditionee and yell "take it".

That would separate the men from the boys.

Studying scales is like studying the Calculus - most jobs don't really need that skill; what they need is the maturity and development demonstrated by having that skill. Plus, the great unwashed masses have the same plaintive cry: "why do I have to know *that*?"

[MikeMason]

Just stating an observation.I certainly jumped through all those hoops along the way.Several of the things you mentioned I participated in but have since let drop off my resume Good times...

[tubafatness]

I thought I'd chime in with the way I learned scales.

When I first picked up the tuba, the main person I looked to in terms of inspiration was my older brother, who was at the time a pretty good tuba player. One day, he brought me a "borrowed" [stolen] copy of the scale and exercise book that the local high school band director used with his freshman band. So, one day, (it was a Sunday, I remember,) I took that book and played out of it for close to 5 hours. I didn't learn the notes-I learned the patterns. And I have more or less had those under my hands ever since. When I learn new scales, I just modify the old patterns, or learn the new patterns. It's all fingers after all, (well, not all; you have to listen, too, but I base my listening on the finger patterns.)

Just my two cents...
Aaron H.

[sungfw]

However, I knew what a major scale was, and I could play a chromatic scale, so I played it for him...in quarter notes at about MM=60. I got the first oboe chair. The guy actually laughed a little when I managed the scale, and said, "I love that trick!"

I switched, after that. If someone asked for a major scale, but didn't specify a key, I always played a Bb scale. I'm not a complete idiot.

ROTFLMAO!

[jbaylies]

Awesome thread! I'm in the process of perfecting all my scales for an audition this Wednesday. So I made flash cards! http://flickr.com/photos/mostlytuba/2503695964/ Click on "All Sizes" to get a bigger picture.