The Importance of Scales

I ran across this blog post about practicing scales. Click here to view. While reading these posts, I realized that it's split pretty evenly between those who think scales are not important and those who think scales are important. As a teacher for over 15 years, I've noticed the importance of scales. When you are learning the violin, it is very necessary to practice the notes that you'll be playing. You obviously need to learn where to put your finger for each note and the best way to practice that is with scales. (Young beginners can learn the notes one by one instead of using a scale right away. Most teaching books have it set up that way. Sections of a scale, the 3 or 4 notes on each string, are introduced. Scales are added later.) Scales train your ear so you can hear if the note is incorrect. Beginners start with simple scales and work their way up. Learning 3 octave major and all the minor scales, is pretty advanced and once perfected, one can move on to the Flesh Scale System. Some etude books incorporate scales in the lessons, which I think is great. That way you're teaching your ear the sound and key, before learning the etude exercise or song.

Hope you have a great day and practice those scales!