Scales are a waste of time for advanced cellists!
There. I said it.
It's been weighing on me, and I just had to get it out there.
Wait! Hear me out!
Unlike wind instrumentalists who use the same fingering for a scalar passage no matter what the context, string players must choose from a myriad of different finger patterns for the same passage based on many variables:
It's been weighing on me, and I just had to get it out there.
Wait! Hear me out!
Unlike wind instrumentalists who use the same fingering for a scalar passage no matter what the context, string players must choose from a myriad of different finger patterns for the same passage based on many variables:
- Which notes come after the scalar passage?
- Which notes come before?
- What part of the scale am I playing?
- Will the passage be fast or slow?
- Should I use open strings?
- Do I want to incorporate string crossings?
- Do I want to maintain the timbre of a single string?
- What dynamic do I want to eventually achieve?
- Does the passage grow into the next notes or shrink away from them (or neither)?
...and I'm sure the list could be longer.
Scales do not present you with any of these contextual challenges. They can help you drill a certain fingering for scales that you MIGHT use for a passage once in a while, But that isn't enough for me. Why must my student work for hours and hours on learning all her scales for an audition while her solo pieces and etudes suffer? She can't spend 7 hours each day getting through all that mess.
I am asking the string world (please pardon the pun): Why are we forced to spend time on something that doesn't benefit us in a MAJOR way?
Defenders of scales say you need them because:
"That's what we've been practicing all along!"
Sorry. I don't give a flying flip about tradition. I will take efficiency over tradition any day.
"They get you out of the neck positions"
I could understand this if you just want an adventure "up high" without really working to understand the upper registers. Easy scales. Whole-steps and half-steps. If that's what it takes to get you out of neck positions, go for it! But if your goal is just to get your hand into the stratosphere of the cello, also give Daredevil Shifts a try:
Or how about working on some pieces or etudes that take you up, up, and away! Try Rick Mooney's Position Pieces for Cello Vol. 2 or his Thumb Position for Cello Vol. 1 or Vol.2 "Thumbs of Steel."
"They help you learn finger patterns"
TRUE. If you are a beginner, sure, scales can help. If you need to devote all of your mind to the proper execution of these patterns, scales might be a nice and easy way to do this.
BUT playing simple tunes in the key you want to target can provide the same results with the added benefit of contextualizing the patterns.
BUT playing simple tunes in the key you want to target can provide the same results with the added benefit of contextualizing the patterns.
On the other hand, let's say you want to get really good at improvising in different keys.
Scales and arpeggios can help you internalize common finger patterns that you can then call upon when you launch into your blazingly amazing cello solo.
See, I'm not TOTALLY against scales.
"They ask for them at most auditions and juries"
I think this practice is dated, but we do need to exist in the real world. With that in mind, we DO have to practice scales for this purpose. But that doesn't mean we need to get into scales as a way to learn finger patterns. In fact, we are able to use the SAME fingering for every single major scale and arpeggio that exists on the cello (except C major).
This will save you so much time when preparing for your All-State audition! The secret of this wonderful fingering is outlined in the excellent scale book my cello guru, Martha Gerschefski, wrote. In it she reveals the universal fingering for scales that makes D-flat major just as easy as D major. You can order The Road to Four Octave Scales and Arpeggios HERE.
This will save you so much time when preparing for your All-State audition! The secret of this wonderful fingering is outlined in the excellent scale book my cello guru, Martha Gerschefski, wrote. In it she reveals the universal fingering for scales that makes D-flat major just as easy as D major. You can order The Road to Four Octave Scales and Arpeggios HERE.
"They give you time to work on technicalities without the distractions of music"
That's the answer I got from Heinrich Schiff's short article on the benefits of scale study:
http://thestrad.com/latest/editorschoice/scales-and-exercises-are-essential-for-all-string-players-says-heinrich-schiff
I'm still not convinced.
Working out the technical stuff is called PRACTICE. If you are emoting constantly and being "distracted by the music" when you practice, you are doing it wrong! Much of your practice time must be devoted to training the motions of right and left arms/hands.
However the other time should be used to make decisions about the direction of the music. Considering this musical direction can actually inform your decisions about how you want to go about "programming" the motions. So, the drills of practice and musical expression are essentially always linked to each other, but not in a way that "distracts."
http://thestrad.com/latest/editorschoice/scales-and-exercises-are-essential-for-all-string-players-says-heinrich-schiff
I'm still not convinced.
Working out the technical stuff is called PRACTICE. If you are emoting constantly and being "distracted by the music" when you practice, you are doing it wrong! Much of your practice time must be devoted to training the motions of right and left arms/hands.
However the other time should be used to make decisions about the direction of the music. Considering this musical direction can actually inform your decisions about how you want to go about "programming" the motions. So, the drills of practice and musical expression are essentially always linked to each other, but not in a way that "distracts."
An exception to my disdain
Scales are not evil. They DO have a few uses.
Besides beefing up your improv chops, scales can help you train your ear. If you have difficulty hearing if you are in tune, playing scales with a tonic drone is a wonderful way to work on this problem without becoming distracted by what you are trying to say with the music.
Scales are nice and dry and boring, perfect fodder for focusing your mind on something else. Like your intonation.
Besides beefing up your improv chops, scales can help you train your ear. If you have difficulty hearing if you are in tune, playing scales with a tonic drone is a wonderful way to work on this problem without becoming distracted by what you are trying to say with the music.
Scales are nice and dry and boring, perfect fodder for focusing your mind on something else. Like your intonation.
"What should I be doing instead of playing scales?"
Play a wide variety of music! Different keys, different styles. Force yourself to sightread each day. Join a group in which you get a bit outside your tonal comfort zone (playing musicals is the best way to learn how to navigate D-flat major!). Practice coming up with fingerings on the fly.
Also, there is no substitute for making deliberate fingering choices as you practice pieces and etudes. Choosing a fingering for a passage in a thoughtful way, taking into consideration all those contextual variables listed above, is what you have to do as a professional cellist. Why not get used to this job now?
If we did this each day, being very mindful about our fingering choices, I think we would become better cellists more rapidly than playing scales over and over without a real objective.
Also, there is no substitute for making deliberate fingering choices as you practice pieces and etudes. Choosing a fingering for a passage in a thoughtful way, taking into consideration all those contextual variables listed above, is what you have to do as a professional cellist. Why not get used to this job now?
If we did this each day, being very mindful about our fingering choices, I think we would become better cellists more rapidly than playing scales over and over without a real objective.
One last thought on the danger of scales
I don't know of one student of cello who gets fired up about practicing scales. And for me, motivation is as important as technique. If cellists don't practice, they won't get better!
I know a child who loved the cello so much that extremely lengthy and in-depth practice sessions were like play time. Then this little cellist started studying with a teacher who spent the majority of the weekly lessons drilling scales. The little cellist soon stopped practicing. Stopped loving the cello.
Such a tragedy!
I know a child who loved the cello so much that extremely lengthy and in-depth practice sessions were like play time. Then this little cellist started studying with a teacher who spent the majority of the weekly lessons drilling scales. The little cellist soon stopped practicing. Stopped loving the cello.
Such a tragedy!
That brings us back to DO!
You get the idea! And I think I have ranted long enough... But I feel better getting that off my chest! And I look forward to receiving my letter of excommunication. Until then, happy practicing without scales!
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