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GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH Your Personal Guitar Lesson |
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| BE SURE TO VISIT DOUG'S "SECRET VAULT" It contains many of Doug's Previous Guitar Technique Tips of the Month |
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It's SO much easier to read a printed article than to read it from the computer screen.
Scales
By Douglas Niedt
Copyright Douglas Niedt, All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be
considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Why practice scales? Segovia gives us his cogent answer in the preface to his Diatonic Major
and Minor Scales, published by Columbia Music Company (and believe it or not one of the best-
selling guitar publications of all time!):
These words are from the greatest guitarist of the last century and certainly one of its best
technicians. Anyone with any doubts about Segovia's technical prowess in his younger days
should listen to the CD Andres Segovia, The EMI Recordings 1927-39 to hear one of the most
impressive techniques of his time.
Jascha Heifetz, the great violinist, used to audition prospective students simply by listening to
them play nothing but scales! Heifetz believed the scale is the most important phase of
technique. "The foundation of everything is the scale." Granted, one could argue that scale
technique is more important in the execution of violin music than guitar music, but still I hope
you get the point. If you need any more encouragement to practice scales, read the words of
almost any great musician about the development of technique.
How one practices scales depends on one's objectives. In this article, I am NOT talking about
practicing scales for improvisation or for learning the fingerboard or for theory- related
objectives. I am talking about using scales for developing or honing very basic technical skills.
For those prone to hand problems, they are an ideal low-impact method to gently warm up the
muscles, joints, and tendons to prevent injury.
For most students in the first few years of study, it is advisable to practice them very slowly with
the objective of developing correct hand positions, finger movements, good tone quality, and
particularly hand coordination. Hand coordination is an often neglected problem. A lack of
coordination between the hands leads to very unmusical playing: choppiness, unwanted
glissando, fingernail noises, and disjointed, uneven shifts.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Scale Fingering
I would advise practicing your scales as Segovia has indicated in his booklet of scales. Use im,
mi, ma, am, ia, ai, and perhaps imam. Although Segovia only recommends using rest stroke, I
would also practice with free stroke. As far as left-hand fingering goes, the Segovia scale
fingerings are fine although Abel Carlevaro has a different take on scale fingering. Segovia's
fingerings of the three octave scales tend to bunch up all the shifts together one after another:
Carlevaro states that a shift is a "traumatic event" for the left-hand playing mechanism. He
believed it best to spread out the shifts as evenly as possible throughout the scale:
I think he has a point. If you try both fingerings for the three-octave G major scale, I think you
will notice the greater ease of the Carlevaro fingering. However, it could be argued that the
Segovia scale fingerings give you a better workout at mastering your shifting technique.
Rhythmic Patterns
As far as rhythmic patterns go, playing equal note values straight up and down is the one most
commonly practiced. However, many students automatically group scale notes into groups of
two or four. Practicing in triplets breaks that up and has the effect of helping smooth out the
scale:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
The next pattern is good for the reflexes and for helping left hand-right hand coordination and
to help in developing strict finger alternation:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
If a student needs work in developing right-hand alternation speed, try playing four of each
note:
The main purpose of practicing these types of scales is to improve
basic technique.
Here is a list of common problems that careful practice of scales can help fix
and skills they can teach:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
There are more, but those are the basics.
The Quest for Perfection
Skill #19 above is a somewhat intriguing and very important one. I don't think many of us realize
how difficult it is to play something absolutely flawlessly. To me, the flawless execution of a
scale means that there is not one buzz or click or extraneous noise from either hand, the tone
and volume of every note is even, shifts are inaudible, all the notes are perfectly connected,
and the rhythm absolutely even. That is REALLY HARD to do.
Just the quest for that perfection is an important facet of scale practice. If you begin
your practice session by playing scales with the goal of perfection in the forefront of
your mind, it sets the tone for your entire practice session.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Working on Scale Speed
To work solely on scale velocity (begin this only after mastering everything in the list above!) I
recommend working on chromatic scales and especially scale passages from actual pieces.
Passages from the first movement of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez are especially valuable.
Unlike a pianist, who can use virtually the same fingering for a scale in many different pieces,
the guitarist, because of the nature of his instrument, must use different fingerings for a scale
depending upon the context in which it occurs. Therefore it makes more sense, and will save
the player time in working on scale velocity, to work on scales with fingerings used in actual
pieces rather than mastering one particular set of fingerings which cannot be used in the
repertoire.
Do I Really Have To Practice Scales My Entire Life?
Opinions on whether one should devote a lot of time to scale practice in one's advanced stages
of technical development are divided. Violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Joseph Szigeti felt that
after one developed a sound technical foundation, the benefit to be derived from scale practice
was limited. Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz, on the other hand, believed scales should be
practiced constantly all through one's life. Heifetz once stated that a student should devote
three-fourths of his practice time to scales! But again, that is violin playing. I personally still
practice scales ten to twenty minutes each day at slow to moderate speeds. I find a certain
comfort in their practice; a feeling of security is generated, as well as a high sense of
orderliness in technique. The mild warmup for the muscles, joints, and tendons is always a
good thing. And again, I always emphasize flawless execution to set the bar at a high standard
for the rest of my practice session.
But Not Everyone Practices Scales
Every artist has their personal practice routine and recommendations on how much time to
spend on technical work. And I think we have to be very careful when we hear great technicians
tell us they never practice scales or exercises of any sort. That may very well be true. But those
particular people are wired that way—they are born with a neuromuscular system that performs
with lightning speed and precision with very little training through formal technical exercises.
They can just DO IT. But for the rest of us, I believe there is no denying the importance and
necessity of assiduous scale practice in the early through intermediate stages of our technical
and artistic development.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
By Douglas Niedt
Copyright Douglas Niedt, All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be
considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Why practice scales? Segovia gives us his cogent answer in the preface to his Diatonic Major
and Minor Scales, published by Columbia Music Company (and believe it or not one of the best-
selling guitar publications of all time!):
- "The student who wishes to acquire a firm technique on the guitar should not neglect the
patient study of scales. If he practices them two hours a day he will correct faulty hand
positions, gradually increase the strength of the fingers, and prepare the joints for later
speed studies…In one hour of scales may be condensed many hours of arduous
exercises which are frequently futile. The practice of scales enables one to solve a
greater number of technical problems in a shorter time than the study of any other
exercise."
These words are from the greatest guitarist of the last century and certainly one of its best
technicians. Anyone with any doubts about Segovia's technical prowess in his younger days
should listen to the CD Andres Segovia, The EMI Recordings 1927-39 to hear one of the most
impressive techniques of his time.
Jascha Heifetz, the great violinist, used to audition prospective students simply by listening to
them play nothing but scales! Heifetz believed the scale is the most important phase of
technique. "The foundation of everything is the scale." Granted, one could argue that scale
technique is more important in the execution of violin music than guitar music, but still I hope
you get the point. If you need any more encouragement to practice scales, read the words of
almost any great musician about the development of technique.
How one practices scales depends on one's objectives. In this article, I am NOT talking about
practicing scales for improvisation or for learning the fingerboard or for theory- related
objectives. I am talking about using scales for developing or honing very basic technical skills.
For those prone to hand problems, they are an ideal low-impact method to gently warm up the
muscles, joints, and tendons to prevent injury.
For most students in the first few years of study, it is advisable to practice them very slowly with
the objective of developing correct hand positions, finger movements, good tone quality, and
particularly hand coordination. Hand coordination is an often neglected problem. A lack of
coordination between the hands leads to very unmusical playing: choppiness, unwanted
glissando, fingernail noises, and disjointed, uneven shifts.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Scale Fingering
I would advise practicing your scales as Segovia has indicated in his booklet of scales. Use im,
mi, ma, am, ia, ai, and perhaps imam. Although Segovia only recommends using rest stroke, I
would also practice with free stroke. As far as left-hand fingering goes, the Segovia scale
fingerings are fine although Abel Carlevaro has a different take on scale fingering. Segovia's
fingerings of the three octave scales tend to bunch up all the shifts together one after another:
Carlevaro states that a shift is a "traumatic event" for the left-hand playing mechanism. He
believed it best to spread out the shifts as evenly as possible throughout the scale:
I think he has a point. If you try both fingerings for the three-octave G major scale, I think you
will notice the greater ease of the Carlevaro fingering. However, it could be argued that the
Segovia scale fingerings give you a better workout at mastering your shifting technique.
Rhythmic Patterns
As far as rhythmic patterns go, playing equal note values straight up and down is the one most
commonly practiced. However, many students automatically group scale notes into groups of
two or four. Practicing in triplets breaks that up and has the effect of helping smooth out the
scale:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
The next pattern is good for the reflexes and for helping left hand-right hand coordination and
to help in developing strict finger alternation:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
If a student needs work in developing right-hand alternation speed, try playing four of each
note:
The main purpose of practicing these types of scales is to improve
basic technique.
Here is a list of common problems that careful practice of scales can help fix
and skills they can teach:
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
- 1. Lifting left-hand fingers too far away from strings.
- 2. Not keeping unused fingers pointing directly down at the strings.
- 3. Not keeping the fingers spread apart in a four-fret span.
- 4. Not placing the fingers close to the frets.
- 5. Lifting a finger the wrong direction. For example, on the descent, lifting a finger
towards the floor when it should lift in the direction of the next lower pitched string where
it will be needed next.
- 6. Audible shifts. If someone is listening to you but not watching, they shouldn't be able to
tell when you shift. - 7. Lifting a finger from the wrong joint. It should lift from the back joint, not the tip or
middle joint.
- 8. Learning to place a finger on the very tip close to the fingernail, or slightly off the tip,
or way off the tip for string damping. We don't just place a finger on a string—we choose
precisely how and where we want the finger to land.
- 9. Learning correct technique in playing past the 12th fret.
- 10. Correcting left-hand thumb technique and positioning.
- 11. Learning to exert as little pressure as needed to play a given note.
- 12. Playing loudly, playing softly, and controlling crescendos, decrescendos, and tone
color changes.
- 13. Basic right-hand finger control and technique—moving from the correct joints, small
finger movements,strict finger alternation.
- 14. Tone production and correct use of fingernails. That is a BIG ONE.
- 15. Consistency of tone and volume from finger to finger.
- 16. Independence of movement of each finger from the other fingers.
- 17. Vibrato technique.
- 18. Playing legato (all the notes connected smoothly with no dead space between them).
- 19. Learning to play something flawlessly.
There are more, but those are the basics.
The Quest for Perfection
Skill #19 above is a somewhat intriguing and very important one. I don't think many of us realize
how difficult it is to play something absolutely flawlessly. To me, the flawless execution of a
scale means that there is not one buzz or click or extraneous noise from either hand, the tone
and volume of every note is even, shifts are inaudible, all the notes are perfectly connected,
and the rhythm absolutely even. That is REALLY HARD to do.
Just the quest for that perfection is an important facet of scale practice. If you begin
your practice session by playing scales with the goal of perfection in the forefront of
your mind, it sets the tone for your entire practice session.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
Working on Scale Speed
To work solely on scale velocity (begin this only after mastering everything in the list above!) I
recommend working on chromatic scales and especially scale passages from actual pieces.
Passages from the first movement of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez are especially valuable.
Unlike a pianist, who can use virtually the same fingering for a scale in many different pieces,
the guitarist, because of the nature of his instrument, must use different fingerings for a scale
depending upon the context in which it occurs. Therefore it makes more sense, and will save
the player time in working on scale velocity, to work on scales with fingerings used in actual
pieces rather than mastering one particular set of fingerings which cannot be used in the
repertoire.
Do I Really Have To Practice Scales My Entire Life?
Opinions on whether one should devote a lot of time to scale practice in one's advanced stages
of technical development are divided. Violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Joseph Szigeti felt that
after one developed a sound technical foundation, the benefit to be derived from scale practice
was limited. Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz, on the other hand, believed scales should be
practiced constantly all through one's life. Heifetz once stated that a student should devote
three-fourths of his practice time to scales! But again, that is violin playing. I personally still
practice scales ten to twenty minutes each day at slow to moderate speeds. I find a certain
comfort in their practice; a feeling of security is generated, as well as a high sense of
orderliness in technique. The mild warmup for the muscles, joints, and tendons is always a
good thing. And again, I always emphasize flawless execution to set the bar at a high standard
for the rest of my practice session.
But Not Everyone Practices Scales
Every artist has their personal practice routine and recommendations on how much time to
spend on technical work. And I think we have to be very careful when we hear great technicians
tell us they never practice scales or exercises of any sort. That may very well be true. But those
particular people are wired that way—they are born with a neuromuscular system that performs
with lightning speed and precision with very little training through formal technical exercises.
They can just DO IT. But for the rest of us, I believe there is no denying the importance and
necessity of assiduous scale practice in the early through intermediate stages of our technical
and artistic development.
You are on DouglasNiedt.com
BE SURE TO VISIT DOUG'S "SECRET VAULT"
It contains many of Doug's Previous
Guitar Technique Tips of the Month
It contains many of Doug's Previous
Guitar Technique Tips of the Month
Have a comment?
Question?
Suggestion for the website?
We would love to hear from you.
Question?
Suggestion for the website?
We would love to hear from you.
We have a Printer Friendlier (PDF) version of this article that's also easier on the eyes.
It's SO much easier to read a printed article than to read it from the computer screen.
It's SO much easier to read a printed article than to read it from the computer screen.
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Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.
Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH
Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on the
Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.
Be a better guitar player or teacher. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH
Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on the
Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.
Purchase a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to:
DOUGLAS NIEDT'S GUITAR TECHNIQUE TIP OF THE MONTH
Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on the
Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written tips run
over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and the
production is excellent. Check out the free tips in Doug's Vault for a sampling.
A one-year subscription (12 tips) is only $24. That is only $2 per tip.