jonny89

One of the main things lacking in my playing is the ability to learn and play scales well which is obviously imortant, does anyone have anything practical that has helped them learn their scales well in the past?

tptCarl

Get Chris Gekkers Endurance Drills for Performance Skills book published by Colin. Use it every day

RG111

I agree with Carl! The Gekker book is great!

Roy Griffin

wilcox96

There are tons of books/methods with exercises relating to scales. Pick any you'd like...Gekker, Arbans, etc, etc... The key then becomes "how" you practice them, which will make the most difference in your results - regardless of the method.

Here's a couple of thoughts:

• Be precise and solid when you push the valves down. Banging the valves...or whatever term you wish... but the main point is to press them solidly, not ambiguously.
• Do not settle for sloppiness. Best to work with a metronome to "make" your fingers do what you want them to, when you want them to. If you flub a note or so and don't go back to work on correcting the mistake, you are only practicing to be sloppy. You should practice to be perfect. If a particular scale or section of a scale is difficult...do whatever it takes to master it. Slow down. Play it hundreds of times until it becomes fluent.

You should probably write yourself a little chart, picking a couple of keys to work on per week until you've hit them all. How many is up to you...but being mindful of the thoughts above. Mix the keys in your chart to be equal between flat and sharp keys. Work especially hard on the ones with the most #'s/b's. Take your time and you will get it.
By doing these things, you will see results in a relatively short amount of time. Stay at it and be positive.

Best of success to you....

__________________
Brad Wilcox
NYTC Endorsing Artist
Stage 1 California Light w/Rose Brass Bell
Bach Strad Flugelhorn
GR Mouthpieces
http://www.newyorktrumpetcompany.com...rad-wilcox.htm

http://trumpetland.ning.com/profile/BradWilcox

Veldkamp

Study slowly and press the valves hard. Study every scale with different phrasing (staccato, legato, etc.). All scales are on my site, btw.

__________________
www.erikveldkamp.com
http://trumpetkings.blogspot.com

jonny89

thanks everyone for the advice its really helpful, is there anyway of making the practising of scales more fun because i worry i will just get bored and not bother to practice them anymore

trumpetmike

Once I think I know a scale I play them whilst reading - The ears remain open and can soon hear any mistakes. When I can play the scale perfectly whilst reading something interesting, I know that I have that scale sorted.
Then I start making sure all the patterns and variations are sorted to a similar level (Arban, Clarke, Stievenard etc).

Deecy

To answer your question in a word; Yes. Andre Segovia's answer to a similar question should motivate you through any doubts.
A skeptical Master Class student once asked Segovia:
"What's so important about scales?"
Segovia's simple answer has in it a world of wisdom:
"They will solve all your problems."

Think about it.

Tom

__________________
Tom//

MahlerBrass

One of the methods I use for my students, is to speak the note name on the note's pitch while pressing the correct valves down. It gets the horn away from the face, and makes the brain work a bit harder, and the results have all been pretty outstanding, hope that helps!

__________________
Music isn't a career, it's a way of life.

REUNITED

another way to practice and memorize your scales is when you are practicing your trumpet set your metronome at the slowest tempo..practice the scales and press the valves hard.
and when you dont have the horn with you...take a piece of paper and write the scales..this way your using more senses to memorize the scales and make sense of it all