scales learning

by catrin
(hong kong)

I have been practicing scales for a little while now and was wondering if I should continue to look at the music sheet rather than looking at my left hand to find the correct position for the notes.

I am trying to develop my speed and it is quite difficult just to find the perfect position of each finger on every note.

I was wondering if it is best for me to continue practicing just looking at the music, since I believe that is the best way to develop sight reading and a feel for where the notes are, and concentrate on finding the right notes before I worry about speed.

Is this way correct?

Hi Catrin,

I would firstly memorize the scale then play it either looking at my left or right hand. Ithink once you know the music, and don't have to look at the sheetmusic, you need to let your body "feel" it.

This goes for learning new music too. There's an old saying that goes..."Have the music in your head, not your head in the music."

This obvioulsy means that if you're concentrating on the sheet music you can't give full expression to the music. Of course, this is not always true (just think of the great orchestra's around the world playing from sheet music).

Generally though, you'll notice most solo and featured artists playing from memory rather than the sheet music in performance.

Additionally, for extra info. you may want to look at my page on playing guitar scales here...

I hope this is helpful.

Kind regards,
Trevor M.