When do you start teaching scales? I have been using the “Piano Adventures” method books and really like them, but they don’t teach scales or time signatures until four books in, and I am debating about teaching younger students scales before they encounter them in their music. How soon do you start introducing scales and key signatures?
Actually, I teach my students their first scale before we even begin lessons. They learn it when I do their initial interview/assessment. Really. They learn the pentatonic scale by way of participating in a black key improvisation with me. The only catch is that I don’t call it that; I just tell them that they can play any black keys on their end of the piano while I play black keys on my end. The reality is that students are learning scales and keys from the moment they learn their very first piece on the piano. They, of course, don’t understand the underlying theory yet, but we as teachers must be aware of this reality so that we can lead students to a real and relevant knowledge of what scales and keys are in the first place.
Anyone who has been reading here very long knows that I rarely use theory books. This is because I want students to understand theory concepts as being integral and irremovable from the music they are playing – whether improvised, by ear, or from a printed sheet. I would much rather have them transpose a simple rote piece to other keys on the piano, or figure out the notes of a particular scale by picking out a favorite tune by ear and then add harmony, or improvise on a given set of notes to develop an aural awareness of the way a key sounds, rather than merely play ascending and descending scales with a metronome. However, despite the fact that I would rather do this doesn’t mean that that is what I do.
I was largely inspired in this new way of thinking by the Pattern Play improvisation teaching intensive that I attended this summer. Even though I’ve moved away from teaching scales as consistently as before, I do still believe that there is a great deal of value for students in knowing what a scale is, how to construct it, and what fingering to use for maximum fluency. Now that I’ve spent three paragraphs not answering your question, I suppose it’s sufficiently clear that I am in a transitional mode in my philosophy and approach to teaching scales and keys. 
That said, here are 7 goals that I work toward with every student regarding scales and keys (roughly in sequential order):
- Understand whole steps and half steps.
- Understand that every type of scale is constructed of a series of half and or whole steps in a particular order.
- Know how to construct Major and minor pentascales and Major, natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales.
- Understand relative Major and minor keys.
- Know how to play the primary and secondary triads in every key.
- Be able to identify what key a piece is in based on the key signature and context.
- Be able to play multi-octave scales with accurate fingering and musicality.
Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!
My students begin learning two-octave scales in their second year, beginning with D major for the RH. In this scale the black keys always tell the thumb when to tuck under, and beginning with this key kids learn the 3-set, 4-set (three fingers in a row, four fingers in a row) pattern so well that they rarely make fingering errors, ever. I like Kinney’s philosophy but believe nothing teaches listening for tone or developing good fingering habits like a good old fashioned scale.
I could compare this to my kids in school and their teachers trying to avoid teaching them their times tables with all kinds of gimmicks and strategies. Doesn’t work for me. My children are memorizing their times tables the old fashioned way. Sometimes nothing replaces the work that needs to be done.
I think that there is value in playing scales just to develop facility and to recognize that many of their pieces comprise scales…..but also the main value is to understand key signatures and why they have to remember to play the correct notes when they encounter them without having to circle them, etc. without that understanding…they will never be able to comfortably play in all keys.
I start teaching 5-finger scales right away. I use them as ear training and the students pick them out by matching the sound of the “happy” sounding scale I’ve already taught them. Then we learn the “sad” sound each can make-move finger 3 down. They love it and it allows them a sticker on the scale chart! So instead of “key”, they start to understand that the “position” of D always has an f sharp to create a happy sound. This also allows me to introduce chord structure at a very early age.
I start pentascales in the very first month, teaching them by groups of three (all white keys, white keys with black in the middle, etc.). Once my students start one-octave scales, I drill key signatures until we’re both blue in the face, because I am DETERMINED that all of my students will be very comfortable with key signatures. However, I really love your sequence Natalie, and I’m thinking I should wait a bit longer to introduce the complexity of key signatures, and instead focus more on half steps and whole steps. This could be especially successful for my really young students.
Thanks for making me renovate my approach–that’s always a good thing!