how to get your piano players to love scales

Hmm....   why do my students not like to play the scales?  Probably because something fun needs to happen.  Probably because there needs to be a little competition.  Probably because they need to discover just how fast their fingers can move.

Introducing:   THE PENTASCALES PLAYOFFS!!   Let the finger games begin!!

The lesson just following our spring recital I handed my piano students a piece of paper that said:

3 WEEKS UNTIL THE PENTASCALES PLAYOFFS!!


Week 1:   C Major, G Major, F Major & D Major
Week 2:  A Major, E Major, D b  Major & A b Major
Week 3:  E b Major, B Major B b Major & G b Major


Learn, memorize and write out all Major Pentascales listed above for a mystery music prize.  
Playoffs will be at the end of three weeks.  Playoffs will include all 12 Pentascales above being timed and played in different ways including:  Legato, Staccato, Forte & Mezzopiano




WWHW




I made sure that each student read the title with their most enthusiastic voice.  I then went on to teach the "Major Pentascale Code"  (as I would like to call it)  WWHW.   I would tell my students that the piano keyboard has many different sounds but in order to find them we needed to use the magic code of WWHW.

I went on to explain or reteach (most of my students are playing with flats and sharps) the concept of whole and half steps.   All of my students were excited to open the unknown Major Pentascale world with their new found Major Pentascale Code.   My boys loved it!!  They felt like they were on a treasure hunt!!

I told them it was now up to them to use their code and find the four Pentascales listed under Week 1.  It was so exciting to watch them discover the Major sounds on their own.  I gave each of my students the task of playing these four Pentascales daily,  10 times each before they started into their songs.  Each student was also given the task of writing all four Pentascales out on staff paper (which I provided).  The completed scales written out and given back to me along with them showing me the Pentascales on the piano, would be their ticket into Week 2 or Round 2 as I would call it.

I repeated these tasks each week until all my students did the written work and had mastered the four scales for that week.  Of course, I would have my students always work on the scales they learned prior as to not forget them.


Most of my students have been through all 3 weeks/rounds!!

Stay tuned for the Pentascales Playoffs!!   They are right around the corner and all my students are getting excited!!