What Are Piano Scales?

A scale on the piano consists of the eight notes that lay between one note and the same note but an entire octave higher. The scales are all different. There are minor scales as well as major scales. The more upbeat and lighter sounding scales are known as the major scales. The more melancholy or deep and gloomy sounding scales are what people refer to as the minor scales.

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.

Anytime you mention scales you will most certainly also mention keys. When a pianist hears the word keys, they think of either the ivory or wood keys on the keyboard or quite possibly the keys that a melody or scale is being played in.

If you have ever spent any time in a lounge or piano bar and hear a singer take the stage and address the pianist with “let’s go with the key of D”, then you might have been confused by his or her statement. What they are telling the pianist is that they would like to start with chords that start with the D key. They then know exactly where they need to begin to play their music. If a chord in a wrong key is played it can drastically affect the overall sound of the song.

As you start your training in mastering the scales, the key signatures do not all need to be learned. (The written notation in regards to the keys is referred to as the key signatures. This is referred to as the key of G, for example). Start your training off with the C scale. When playing a C scale all on white keys you will be playing the major C scale. You should start by putting your right hand in the Home Keys position on the keyboard. You should put an imaginary number on each finger beginning with the thumb and going up from number one.

Press the keys and listen to the sounds of the one two three keys being played. You have now heard the sounds of you playing the C D E chord. Rather than going on to the next finger, place your thumb under your other fingers and continue with your thumb hitting the fourth key in the row, or the F key. Let your fingers flow from there to complete the scale with the final note being keyed by your pinkie finger. When you are finished you can pat yourself on the back as you have completed the complete scale by pressing the keys in order, 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 (otherwise known as C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Continue to practice this so you can play it fluently.

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.

Combining the functions of both hands at the same time is the next step once you have spent some time practicing with each individual hand. You will be playing the C below middle C using your pinkie on your left hand just as you are using your right hand thumb to play the middle C. Travel up the scale using both hands. The task may seem a little challenging until you have gotten over having to maneuver one hand over and the other under to finish the scale. After you practice you will find that it comes much easier.

Learning how to do this fluently can make it much easier for you to play the remaining major scales. If you think about the steps and half steps that make up a major scale then you will have no problem. A major scale is traveled up in the following order: first note – step – step – half step – step – step – step – step – half step. As your fingers hit the B to C key combination and the E to F key combination, this is considered one half step because there are no black keys that are found between them.

A scale can be started from any place on the piano keyboard. You can choose to start with a white key or a black key. If you follow the sequence that was discussed above and pay attention to the half and whole steps when you go up the scale of eight notes then you will be fine. Try beginning at very last key on the left and carrying the scale to the last key found on the right side of the piano. Major scales will seem very simple after you have spent some time practicing them.