Chapter 3 Major Scales - The Alphabet of Music

Chapter 3 "Major Scales - The Alphabet of Music"

Watercolor Cover Illustration: Ralph Schwartz

Develop the physical knowledge of the tonality of major in the fingers of your right hand.
Play all scales as numbered fingering sequences to enhance your ability to play equally in every major key.
Transfer that facility to reading the notation of each major scale.
Various keys are seen as the same melody at different pitch levels to aid with transposition.
Key signatures are eliminated and instead, accidental represent the keys.
Often the failure to recall the sharps and flats of a key causes hesitancy in reading and airflow.
Test your endurance with flowing scale, modal progression, expanding range and chromatic progression exercises.

Fingering Sequences of Major Scales/Modes

Major scales form the alphabet of the language of music with 125 pages of new studies. Numbered fingering sequences are presented to program your hand with just the vital information necessary to play all of the scales. The numbered fingering sequences are then paired with the actual notation for easy reference.

Flowing Major Scales with Modal Progressions

Flowing scales ascend and descend with modal progressions to include minor forms of the scale. These exercises span two octaves.

Flowing Major Scales with Expanding Range

Expand your range through these challenging studies. Each study features flowing scales that incorporate 2 and 3 octaves.

Flowing Major Scales with Chromatic Progressions

These studies are tests of endurance. The scales ascend in one key and descend in a key one half step higher.

Tongued Major Scales with Modal Progressions

Modal Progression “A” exercises should be played slowly enough to single-tongue. Always lead to the highest note of the scale and relax air speed when you descend.
Modal Progression “B” expresses entire keys through all of the modes without rest. Play faster and double tongue, only briefly touching the notes.

Flowing Major Scales with Modal Progressions, Expanding Range, Chromatic Progressions and Tongued Major Scales