6 Must Do's To Receive A Perfect Score On Scales, Chords, & Arpeggios

Nov 4

Examiner and adjudicator, Dr. Raul Velasco, discusses 6 elements that every candidate must master for their scales, chords, and arpeggios to obtain a perfect mark on an exam.

Accuracy & Confidence In the Notes

Not only do all the notes need to be correct, you must be confident in knowing which notes to play without hesitating, starting over or having to figure out which notes need to be played next.

Evenness in Rhythm

There needs to be a very steady pulse underlying the scale, chord, or arpeggio without overtly marking the beat. The pulse should be present but not shown. What does that mean?

When learning a scale, you begin with a slow pulse, one pulse per note. Then, you progress to two notes per pulse, then three, then four, then eight, and at some point, you will generate a sense of the pulse. At this stage, you should focus on playing it as one cohesive group of notes. It should ultimately become one musical statement that ascends and descends, with the pulse remaining in the background.

Shaping

The next element that must be mastered is the shaping of the scale, chord, or arpeggio. It should sound like one group of notes that ascend and descend, with no marking of the beat, no marking of the groups of four notes, and no accents.

You should give them a musical direction on the way up and coming back down. It should be one unit, one group of notes, the same way you would shape a musical phrase. Whether it's scales, arpeggios, broken chords, chords, etc., you are still aiming to play in one musical statement with proper musical shaping.

Evenness of the Tone

The quality of the tone should be even throughout. Avoid having some tones louder than others or adding accents that are unnecessary. When shaping a scale as one group of notes, keep your tone across the individual notes even and adjust how much tone you produce over the group of notes to create a musical shape.

Grading of the Tone

Not only should the quality of the tone be even, but you must create a musical shape through the tone. To do this, you should start softer, increase a bit as you move up and then decrease as you come down. This way you develop a musical shape.

Legato Touch

You should be able to play a scale with practically perfect legato, but this presents a challenge with the crossing of the thumb. So, how do you develop this skill?

First, you must be aware that the thumb is probably the strongest finger and so you must be attentive to the tone that is produced by the thumb, ensuring it matches the tone of the other fingers and doesn't thump as it crosses under them.

Second, as soon as the thumb finishes playing a note and the next note is played, [the thumb] should start moving under the other fingers so that it's ready to reach the next note when the time comes. This will prevent a rough movement, ensuring the thumb isn't trying to play the note at the last moment.

While achieving a perfect legato is important, you should also be capable of playing your scales with a very controlled staccato touch. This is because in music, you encounter passages that are legato and others that are staccato. You should be able to control both.

Biggest Mistake - Fingering

One of the biggest problems that students encounter is playing with incorrect fingering. The correct fingering is devised for the scale to work at its optimal level. For example, with the correct fingering, your longer fingers should play on the black keys and the shorter fingers on the white keys. Your hand is in an anatomically perfect position to deal with these keys. However, if the fingering is incorrect, then the tone, rhythm, and shaping go out the window.

What’s The Point?

In the end, developing these elements is not only for the sake of having good technique or achieving a perfect score on your exam. These are the tools you need to play any piece of music. Every piece of music ultimately boils down to scales, arpeggios, and chords. Your goal should be to develop the best technique you can in service of the music. It is, and should always be, at the service of the music.