Why is practising scales (piano) so important or valuable?

[lljkk]

It's just so boring...!
And repetitive, and seemingly obvious. And what is the goal, anyway, to play the correct notes or to play them incredibly smoothly?

I am self-teaching piano out of a book, can anyone make the case to me, why doing scales is so valuable for playing other pieces?

Well I play brass, not piano, but I am sure that the same is true:

Your fingers know where to go

You can recognise and read a proper scale very quickly, thus scanning the music further along the page earlier IYSWIM

You can begin to understand the underlying structure of music if you have a working knowledge of scales and their relationships

The goal for me was to be able to play each scale, major and minor, with relevanat arpeggios, from memory, to pass my grades (as a teen)

I am full of admiration for anyone learning to play a musical instrument as an adult

But if you are learning several scales at once, why don't you end up mixing them up, if it's to do with knowing which notes go together? Surely once you get used to playing a piece in a certain key then your brain can hear it if you play a wrong note that doesn't work in that key, er... no?

And don't we use the key signature on the first bar to know the scale?

Thanks for replyig BALD, I don't mean to argue, I just don't quite get the unique value of the scales (yet?)

I don't know what an arpeggio is, yet, -- I have lots of little children so it's taken me years to get to something like a Grade 1 level.

Man in music shop says he gets in LOTS of people self-teaching instruments.

It's because;

it builds up strength in the fingers, which is invaluable for technique

in lots of pieces there will be fast passages based on scales or arpeggios, and if the fingerings are 'hardwired' in, it is a lot easier and you will play them more evenly and fluently.

If you can 'think' in a key, it is much quicker to learn, and if necessary you can transpose.

An arpeggio is going up and down the notes of the triad - so C major arpeggio is C-E-G-C-E-G-C then down again.

Lljkk, it is important. It is mainly about evenness, yes. If you get out of practise you might find you end up playing the notes a bit unevenly - ie not perfectly spaced. Also it is about flexibility, meaning that you learn how to move your fingers quickly without an obvious 'gap' in the trasnition between using finger three, say, on an E, and your thumb on the F - so nobody can tell you haven't got 8 fingers!

I always found it pretty cxrucial myself. Also doing rhythmic scales, where you do them in a pattern - instead of 'da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da' you would do 'dum-da-dum-da-dum-da-dum-da' and then 'da-dum, da-dum, da-dum, da-dum' to get your fingers really fluent.

Doing them in different keys helps that fluency as well, so that if you have to play in A minor or F# major suddenly, your fingers can cope with the different positions quickly.

I am glad that the keyboard experts turned up

For me, it means that my fingers fly regardless of whether the piece is in C (easy) or E (loads of 3rd valve involved)

Oh, and it is boring, and repetitive, and maddening to practice scales, lljkk but well worth the time invested.

I wish I still played. My mother just sold her Piano and got a clavinova, because she feels self conscious about practising - she offered me the piano and I said no, which was silly, but then I wouldn't have time even if it was here. And the neighbours would complain!

Jura how lovely - you are clever, I never did a piano grade. Do you think we have scared Lljkk off?

Contrary motion...had forgotten that...

I reached grade 8 violin, luckily none of that involved

oooh, so nice to read this, I keep relaying the importance of it to my children. ... and now I'm off to play scales on my beautiful new cello.

ooh a cello.

I always always fancied cello

give it a go bald, it's gorgeous.

Jura, what's your grand? Mine's a bluthner and I totally heart it!!

I can't read anything other than treble clef - hence not able to play piano either (stupid short fat sausage fingers don't help)

And cello is written in that wierdy curly clef,innit.

Enjoy your new cello

That is yummy! Mine's 6'6', unlike me!! ;)

Its soooooo improtant - helps with composing music, understanding structure and harmony, improving skill and technique all needed for higher grades...

Any decent musician classically trained has learnt their scales well. My A Level pupils struggle in all areas if their knowledge of scales is weak