Updated Scale Chart
This year I included this scale chart (this is slightly updated from the chart I posted here - I removed the chord inversions and included more tempo markings for arpeggios) in the front of each student’s assignment book. What a tremendous tool it has been! We have gotten through so many more scales than we normally do (and I don’t have to constantly flip back through all the previous weeks’ assignment pages to recall which scales each student has already done!) and the students are much more motivated to learn their scales. They are taking much more initiative to increase the speed of their scales as well.
For the younger students, we do pentascales, but I still check them off on the chart. For most of them I just skip the eighth note column and have them use the metronome for the quarter note. I’ve also had my little ones start doing cross-over arpeggios where they just play the root and 5th note of each chord in each hand, then cross the LH over the RH, play the root and come back down. (i.e. for a C arpeggio, they play: LH C-G, RH C-G, LH cross to C, RH G-C, LH G-C…hopefully that makes sense…) They depress the damper pedal while they play and really love creating such a “grown-up” sound. 
This is one page I plan to include in the student assignment books every year from now on!
December 15th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Thanks for this great scale resource. I’ve been trying to figure a system for being more consistent in measuring my students scale syllabus progress. This is the tool I’ve wanted to create for months. I appreciate you sharing it here. Here’s to teaching…!
December 16th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Thanks for the comment, Nathan. I’m glad you found the chart useful!
December 18th, 2007 at 1:51 am
This is very helpful. Thanks for sharing. You mention your student assignment notebook - could you share more how you have this set up and what you include in it? Is it a binder that assignment pages go in and extras such as this scale chart. Thanks again!
December 18th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Thanks, Bonnie. My student assignment books change from year to year depending on the incentive program that I develop for the year. (You can see two of the ones I’ve used here: http://musicmattersblog.com/2007/06/19/lets-have-a-ball-practice-incentive/ and http://musicmattersblog.com/2006/07/20/fun-practice-incentive/)
One year I did use a binder and had all the sheets 3-hole punched, but most of the time I have all the books bound. I include a variety of different pages - dictionary of terms, assignment pages, scale charts, music history timeline, tracking sheets for the incentive program (if necessary), manuscript paper, etc. Again, each year’s assignment book varies. Hopefully that answers your question!
February 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Thanks for posting this, Natalie! I’m going to try using it with my students. I’m always forgetting which scales we’ve already done.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
You bet, Kara! Glad to know I’m not the only one.