|
Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
|
|
79 members (AaronSF, apianostudent, beeboss, brdwyguy, benkeys, Abdulrohmanoman, accordeur, 19 invisible),
2,241
guests, and
447
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947
500 Post Club Member
|
OP
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947 |
My teacher gave me homework to learn how to play my scales differently. She couldn't remember what its called.
I'm only doing this in one octave with C scale:
The pattern is:
play up together, apart, back together, up together, down together, apart, back together, and down together.
I really like learning this just want to know what it's called! (formula, pattern etc.)
Becca Began: 01-12-11 Roland RD300NX
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148 |
You mean like similar motion scales followed by contrary motion scales etc, but not stopping between each type?
Neil.
Edit: No idea if there is a proper name for the whole thing but it sounds like similar motion and contrary motion joined together.
Last edited by neildradford; 01/19/13 02:44 PM.
Venables & Son Custom 133 Upright Acoustic Piano Yamaha DGX-640 Digital Piano Started learning: October 2011 Started lessons: January 2012 YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/neildradford
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203
7000 Post Club Member
|
7000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203 |
It's called the Grand Scale.
Up 2 Octaves Contrary Motion 2 Octaves Reverse Contrary Motion 2 Octaves Up 2 Octaves Down 4 Octaves
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148 |
Ooooooooo its got a proper name. So much to learn..........
Where would you start? Around the middle?
Neil.
Venables & Son Custom 133 Upright Acoustic Piano Yamaha DGX-640 Digital Piano Started learning: October 2011 Started lessons: January 2012 YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/neildradford
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947
500 Post Club Member
|
OP
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947 |
Yep you start where you normally would. I'm sure next week I get to go to two octaves. Thanks Jazzwee! Neil if you haven't tried it, you gotta. It's lot's of fun! I love you guys. Someone always has an answer.
Becca Began: 01-12-11 Roland RD300NX
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148 |
I think I'll do that actually Becca, it does sound like fun, watch my fingers fall over themselves!
Venables & Son Custom 133 Upright Acoustic Piano Yamaha DGX-640 Digital Piano Started learning: October 2011 Started lessons: January 2012 YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/neildradford
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,496
2000 Post Club Member
|
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,496 |
My teacher just calls them contrary scales. Of course only part of it is contrary. I've stopped doing regular arpeggios and just do these now. Surprising tough - particularly when your hands are at opposite ends of the keyboard.
- Debussy - Le Petit Nègre, L. 114
- Haydn - Sonata in Gm, Hob. XVI/44
Kawai K3
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148 |
Do you mean you've stopped doing regular scales? Arpeggios are something else aren't they? I can imagine it is pretty tough if your hands are at either end of the keyboard, must try this tonight.
Venables & Son Custom 133 Upright Acoustic Piano Yamaha DGX-640 Digital Piano Started learning: October 2011 Started lessons: January 2012 YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/neildradford
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947
500 Post Club Member
|
OP
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947 |
I think you might be pleasantly surprised Neil! I'm a beginner and doing it in c scale for one octave is very simple! (other scales, well I'm betting not so much lol.)
Becca Began: 01-12-11 Roland RD300NX
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203
7000 Post Club Member
|
7000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203 |
I think it starts two octaves below middle C, the two hands an octave apart and then the contrary motion starts when the LH reaches middle C. And then on the way back you continue up 2 octaves up.
So basically the full scale is a 4 octave practice. It is quite difficult to do well. Even after many years of doing this I can still improve.
BTW this is an example of where you have to move your bottom to play this well. If you sit without moving your body at middle D then you will be all twisted up.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 148 |
Wohooo, just did a 'Grand Scale' two octaves (exactly as jazwee wrote above) and it was A LOT of fun, like you said Becca. I know it's silly, but that was quite exciting haha.
Thanks guys!
Venables & Son Custom 133 Upright Acoustic Piano Yamaha DGX-640 Digital Piano Started learning: October 2011 Started lessons: January 2012 YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/neildradford
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203
7000 Post Club Member
|
7000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203 |
I think you might be pleasantly surprised Neil! I'm a beginner and doing it in c scale for one octave is very simple! (other scales, well I'm betting not so much lol.) BeccaBb, I see your teacher is introducing you to a subset of the Grand Scale then. I only do this in C scale (the full Grand Scale). Doesn't work easily otherwise with contrary motion.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203
7000 Post Club Member
|
7000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203 |
Wohooo, just did a 'Grand Scale' two octaves (exactly as jazwee wrote above) and it was A LOT of fun, like you said Becca. I know it's silly, but that was quite exciting haha.
Thanks guys! Well I think it would be 4 octaves to be called a 'Grand Scale' In case there's some lingo police around...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947
500 Post Club Member
|
OP
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 947 |
I figured mine was a simplified version. After I learn that I think I'll beg to try the full one. I have a pile of of other scales to learn too (speaking of I better get my butt in gear!) Later gators!
Becca Began: 01-12-11 Roland RD300NX
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 260
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 260 |
I'm playing the Grand Scale in C
Another variation my teacher has me doing is only playing the C, E and G notes on the scale ... it's a little more difficult than doing the full octave of notes ...
I've noticed that if I look at my right hand and think about my left while doing contrary portion I can make fewer mistakes when my left hand is out of sight
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,291
4000 Post Club Member
|
4000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,291 |
jazzwee, I play the Grand Scale with my body centered at middle D, and I don't experience problems.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 611
500 Post Club Member
|
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 611 |
I sometimes play the Grand Scale in C (I just learnt the name) and I find it difficult but fun. In other keys the problem is that my contrary motion scales are awful, I should practice them more but I really hate them. I don't remember having learnt them as a child, so they are quite new and difficult for me.
Last edited by torquenale; 01/19/13 04:24 PM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203
7000 Post Club Member
|
7000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203 |
jazzwee, I play the Grand Scale with my body centered at middle D, and I don't experience problems. By the time you get to the 4th octave, your fingers will be at an angle to the keys. Now as you play it faster and faster it will be a lot of gyration. I still can't play the grand scale at 150bpm (16ths) -- which I can do easily with the RH only. I fail at the top of the 4th octave. And as I examined the problem it's the LH that is severely angled. So the only solution is to move the body from side to side. I was taught to improve the angle of the fingers by moving my upper body (which as a consequence causes the lower body to shift).
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203
7000 Post Club Member
|
7000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,203 |
So here's another hand independence exercise I do in addition to the Grand Scale. You alter the LH note rhythm vs. RH.
For example you play a scale at a LH:RH ratio of 1:2 (2 notes on the RH for every 1 on the LH). Then you do it 1:3. Then 1:4.
I do this mostly with the C scale.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,291
4000 Post Club Member
|
4000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,291 |
If I play a four octave C scale, for example, starting with RH on middle C and LH an octave lower, I do lean my body, and I lean towards one side of my bottom and the other side unweights from the branch. But when you said you had to move your bottom to play these, I took you to mean that you actually moved your bottom from one spot to another on the bench.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
|
Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
|
|
Forums43
Topics223,405
Posts3,349,434
Members111,637
|
Most Online15,252 Mar 21st, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|