Over many years of playing piano, as in anything in life that you want to [eventually] perform effortlessly, practice; over and over again (until it becomes second nature). That's just 'my' method. (Everybody has a different method). My first teacher drilled this regimen into my head until it began to leak out of my ears. However, some people do not like to "practice" for hours on end, and I get it. The repetitious nature of this discipline does not sit well with many of the musicians I've known. They have said that they'd rather actually "play" than commit to the rigors of practicing. Let's face it, there are some actors that can "memorize" long, complex passages of script dialog, while other actors have a very difficult time. So, for some musicians, memorizing scales seem to come easily, while people (such as myself) had to spend a lot of time at that dang instrument. I must confess, that when I was a young pup, I absolutely despised "practice", and hated my teacher even more. But, after I finally became comfortable with scales, I'm grateful to have put in the time and effort.

 

I have exactly the same questions and haven't found the answers either,

Since I have shallow knowledge about music theory and nobody other then the internet to guide me with this stuff,
It was actually Auto-tune which pointed out that 80 % of my personal work had more affection with the white keys.
If it's a minor or c majors, I can only guess but it is there.

What intrigues me more is that, when I fiddle around with a guitar(s) (I'm not at all a guitar player) this doesn't occur at all.
so for me it seems to be more a comfy type of thing in terms of handling, then it that is about pleasant sounding.
It's rather my brain that lures and tricks me again ( as usual)

I do all my midi scoring in fl studio (yeah yeah I know), whats cool about that is that is guesses what key I'm playing in right from the start.

Also, kontakt has a function to constrain to certain key which you could apply to any libarary/preset,
I know it sounds like working with boundaries but it could actually bend my path to something new and undiscovered.
and after the first ideas are written one could lift the restriction at any time.

In addition I could also start off with constraining to a key and pitching it some semitones up or down.
so I learn to find a certain key by ear rather then remember the location on the keys.

to be honset I can't really fill in the blanks, it isn't my ambition to play an instrument, or a to be a producer for that matter.
I do think useful knowledge for tracking/recording

 

That statement really resonates with me. But, I suspect that if our days were 30 hours long, we would 'still' not have enough time to fit in all of the stuff that we intend to accomplish. But, back to the subject... Being that the question you pose is a pretty important one, for both professional and non-professional musicians. For example, I came across an interesting bit of information about the international concert pianist, Lang Lang. Talk about extremes! "At the age of five, he practiced six hours a day. At nine his father told him to kill himself. At 12 he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Ruled by a father obsessed with success and terrified of failure, Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang had no ordinary childhood, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way..."

Imagine spending six hours a day, not only practicing scales, but also complex classical solo and orchestral pieces. I think I would have followed my father's advice and did away with myself. <lol> As you say, knowledge of scales definitely allows one to stretch out of their comfort zone and create some new and unique things that are not restricted to just one or two keys. No doubt.

 

Repetition. Muscle memory.

 

You mean this?
https://audiosex.pro/threads/well-k...rd-or-using-the-piano-roll.21402/#post-146210

 

Yes, repetition and muscle memory, and I will also add that unique feeling which can also be felt that each different scale can affect in you. I know, it is a subtle kind of thing, but emotional memory can also be utilised in this aspect. Not everybody learns the same way, and not everybody remembers the same way.

 

This photo is from @Beth
Look at the wall :} To me, that's the first step to memorize, and then as Baxter said, repetition and muscle memory.

 

I remember the black notes, e.g. A has 3 and G has 1 .. but I also "cheat" sometimes and transpose my keyboard so there are only white notes

 

They said it above, muscle memory more than anything. It's no big deal actually, at least that's how it happens.
You play/practice and eventually it gets in you and remains there. And I don't think there's a trick or something like that in order to memorize it quicker, it just happens and I think that if you force it it does not help much.

 

Ha.... I see you noticed my cunning little memory trick. Blue-tack is a wonderful little invention.

I am a very 'visual' learner so it really helps me memorise things when I see them all the time on front of me until they become ingrained in the grey matter !

My muscle memory is primarily guitar based and now its learning to tinkle the ivory, well plastic semi-weighted in this case, too.

Good job I didn't leave anything too personal like skimpy underwear in the background huh. How embarrassing would that have been !

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 3, 2016

Of course repetition is important. If you are not familiar with it it takes time. To get familiar, I record the scale and play as backround. I use this scales with different chord progressions. If I know several songs they use this scale I hear this songs a lot of time as backround music. Even If this songs are different genre than I used to hear.

But also important is to repeat in a different context.
This means what I do is to write a melody in this new scale.
I am using the new scale it by improvising it and record it.
I repeat it in different time of the day.
I repeat the scale directly after get out of the bed (the most difficult).
I imagine in my mind by playing it (You will get used to do after several times trying.
Singing the scale (if you achieve to memorise
Write the fingering or different fingerings.
Playing the scale in a different instrument (It's also a check if you master it)
Learning in small steps. This means start with first 3 notes, then 4 notes then 5 notes - 3 Octaves. The most important is to do it in the beginning slowly.
After you master it you should start to increase the speed using the metronom.
After you start to master it try to play the Czerny exercises about it.

After doing all the above items I mentionned it you will master your scale and you will not be borred to learn a new scale.
Do not start with Czerny exercises because they are so boring and you will lose you passion about this scales.

 

There are too many scales, better memorize the basic patterns and how to construct any scale. Learn the tetrachords and explore all scales that you like in the key of C. Then transpose their patterns to other tonalities
www.scales-chords.com.

 

visualize it.
that's what blind people do.
then come the audition.

even if notes are naturals, the geoometric aspect that come into play with instruments is man-made.

just keep in mind that scales come with chords progression, and have an emotional meaning, even if you're free to mix them.

if you want to avoid (too many) years of practice, set a goal,
it will lead your self-teaching in a specific direction, so will there be specific learning
(even if the direction changes with times)

 

If you just memorize how many sharps in each key it helps, from there you can easily add augmented/diminished notes for harmonic and other scales.
Once you know all the major scales, its super easy to find the relative minor of each
http://paulthom.com/MUSIC/THEORY/UNIT09/UNIT09.HTM

 

Try some of this stuff it will really rock your world



I think about music in relative terms, so I always want to know where every scale degree is, e.g. the tonic, dominant, ect,. and you could even assign the colors as they are used here, and have some ready made song tutorials to study .. http://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab

 

Luv it ! ...I have blue tack and even white tack.....now a whole rainbow of possibilities opens up for me
Do they glow in in the dark ?

Like that hooktheory site too...thanks my friend!

 

They are 6. For making a scale we usually need 7 of them. Where is the number 7? You know I don't believe in Blues scale.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 3, 2016

We already had white tack so that makes a scale

....or going into more detail:
"The chromatic scale (twelve notes) The whole tone scale (six notes) The pentatonic scale (five notes) The octatonic or diminished scales (eight notes)" etc......