Effective Scales Practice: What, Why, and How

Disclaimer: a few aspects of this article are specific to the violin, but the majority of this article is applicable to all string instruments! :)

Introduction: Why should I practice my scales?

Practicing technique can often feel like the most boring part of your practice session, but as every teacher will tell you, it’s truly the most effective and essential tool to improve your playing. Techniques like shifting, vibrato, double stops are the building blocks of playing, and practicing scales allows you to hone these skills while developing intonation, tone, and clarity. 

Solo repertoire is simply the opportunity to put together the techniques you’ve learned and mastered already, but don’t expect yourself to have a fun time learning solo repertoire if you haven’t worked on your technique first. There’s no worse feeling than having to tackle a new piece with techniques you’ve never learned or even seen, but there’s also no better feeling than learning a new piece and feeling confident with your prepared skillset. 

As someone who’s experienced both sides and who now has a consistent technique routine, I’ll be walking you through what to practice in your technique, why you should be practicing it, and how to practice it to maximize your results and efficiency.

What scales should I practice?

The two most common scale books used by violinists are the Ivan Galamian and Carl Flesch scale books. The two books have slight differences in terms of content and teaching styles. Flesch is much more structured and rigorous (which is great for building a daily routine!), whereas Galamian is more flexible and approachable. Ultimately, your choice should depend upon what you feel most comfortable with and also what your teacher recommends!

In a typical scale routine, students focus on one key a day and practice various exercises in each key. As mentioned earlier, scales are meant to prepare you for your repertoire! To make the most out of your scale practice time, make sure you're integrating the tricky techniques in your solo pieces (ex. upbow staccato in Introduction and Rondo Capriciosso, whole tone scales for Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, and fingered octaves for Sibelius Violin Concerto) into your scale routine!

Here's a list of types of scales and the associated techniques that I practice in my daily scale routine:

1. 3 octave major scale for long, straight, and even bows

2. 3 octave harmonic minor scale for martele, hooked, and downbow/upbow staccato bow strokes

3. 3 octave melodic minor scale for spiccato bow stroke

4. chromatic 3 octave scale for chromatic scales

5. whole tone 3 octave scale for whole tone scales

6. arpeggios (using carl flesch patterns) for smooth string crossings and intonation

7. 2 octave scale in thirds (in major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor) for intonation and handframe

8. 2 octave scale in sixths (in major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor) for intonation and handframe

9. 2 octave scale in octaves (in major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor) for intonation and handframe

For myself personally, I struggle with my bow arm technique, so I focus a lot on different bow strokes in my scale routine. Everyone is different - practice whatever scales are relevant to your repertoire and your personal areas of growth as a musician. The options are endless!

How do I practice my scales?

Regardless of what kind of scales you practice, there are a few general things to always keep in mind.

1) Practicing with the metronome

Scale practice should always be with the metronome! A great way to practice is accelerating: starting from a slow speed and then gradually increasing the amount of notes per bow, thus increasing the speed of the notes.

Also, make sure you're listening actively to the metronome. Active listening means that you're not only hearing the metronome, but you're also actively controlling and adjusting your playing so you align perfectly with each metronome click. This is especially important for scales at slower speeds, as ensures all your notes are evenly spaced apart. It's also a great way to train your focus!

2) Intonation

Intonation is a non-negotiable for scales. Be strict on yourself while you're practicing!

There are two parts of intonation to be mindful of while you practice your scales:

1) The notes of the scale should be in tune. This means that the pitch of individual notes and the distance between each note is accurate. To monitor this, practice with a tuner or with a drone, and take the time to listen carefully!! You can either use an app like Tunable or the classic traditional korg tuner and metronome. :)

2) The pitches of the scale should be match on the way up and on the way down. Basically, you play every note in a scale twice - once when you go up, and once when you go down (unless you're playing a melodic minor scale). Both times you play the note, it should be the exact same pitch. 

This is actually trickier than you might expect. Your fingering of the scale on the way up is going to be different than your fingering on the way down. As a result, you'll be shifting at different spots, and you'll be prone to making different intonation mistakes.

Don't let this happen - make sure every pitch you play on the way down the scale perfectly matches with the pitch you played on the way up. Again, a great way to practice this is by using a tuner, and also by recording yourself! Don't just think of recording as a way to practice your solo repertoire - recording your scales practice can also be very enlightening.

3) Tension and Posture

As with any form of playing your instrument, you should be moving with as much efficiency and ease as possible. While you shift, keep your fingers light on the fingerboard - don't ever squeeze with your left hand. Also, make sure your entire body is stable. You shouldn't be moving your violin up and down, wriggling your wrist, or making any extra adjustments with your fingers while you shift.

When you're slogging through a long scale routine, it's easy to start drooping your scroll downwards or start slouching your back. Although this seems more relaxing, it can actually lead to you developing really bad habits, like squeezing your violin on your shoulder or having extra tension in the back of your neck.

Instead, imagine that you're performing your scales onstage with a full audience watching you! Keep your back straight, your shoulders square, and your instrument held high. The more you practice being stable and relaxed during your scales, the better you'll actually perform onstage!

4) Bow distribution

Make sure you’re using your entire bow from the frog to the tip! This is actually much harder than most people might expect and is extremely important to help you become more comfortable using all parts of the bow. Many students only practice in the middle/lower half of the bow and then struggle with solo repertoire that requires them to play long, sustained bows or play at the tip. Don’t be this student and instead practice your scales diligently! You can do it!!

Something important to note is that different parts of the bow have different weights. The frog is especially heavy, whereas the tip is much lighter. This means you'll have to apply more arm weight when you get to the tip and use less arm weight at the frog to maintain a smooth, sustained sound.

5) Contact point and Sound quality

Your bow should be flat, straight, and close to the bridge. Keeping the stick flat over your hair while you play ensures you get the maximum contact between the bow and the string, which produces the most resonant sound. Also, make sure your bow is traveling in a straight line! To make sure your bow is traveling straight, practice in front of a mirror. Most students (myself included) tend to stare at their left hand while practicing, which causes them to neglect the other half of their playing—their bow arm. Look in the mirror and keep your eyes on your contact point!

The contact point is also a huge factor towards the quality of your sound. To get the best sound for lower notes, stay in the middle of the bridge and the fingerboard. To get the best sound for higher notes, get closer to the bridge. High notes are especially frustrating because of how easily the sound will "crack." To counteract this, keep the bow flat and very close to the bridge, and make sure you're using bow speed instead of arm weight to produce a clear and resonant sound.

Conclusion

The next time you think about skipping your scale routine, look back at this article! Scales are essential, and they're also the opposite of boring - there are endless things to work on and think about using your scales. Of course, scales are difficult, but that's exactly what makes them so valuable. Every minute you spend on scales will help build your technique, refine your sound quality, and grow your patience and work ethic.

All the information in this article may seem overwhelming, but don't feel like you have to immediately process and apply everything at once. However, if this article is relevant to you, I do hope that you'll try slowly applying these things to your practice sessions. Learning these things takes time, but once you put in that time and effort, you'll go incredibly far.

You got this!

Main Takeaways

• Scales are necessary. Practice them. PLEASE!

• Scales are more than boring exercises - they can help you develop important techniques from your repertoire.

• It's a great idea to build a consistent scale routine that covers multiple techniques.

• Practice your scales with the metronome while listening actively.

• Maintain good intonation for your scales by tuning specific notes and matching pitches on the way up and on the way down. Use a tuner, drone, or record yourself.

• Make sure all your movements are smooth, efficient, and relaxed. Practice with good posture.

• Pay attention to your bow distribution.

• Keep your bow flat, straight, and close to the bridge. Practice in front of a mirror.

Follow-up questions? Contact us at themusicmindlab@gmail.com!