You Have to Practice Scales and Arpeggios to Play ANY Style of Music
Let me tell you a short story...
In the late 70�s, between semesters while in College, I would hang out at a popular night club in Washington DC called The Mark IV.
This club would bring in popular R & B �recorded� vocal acts... The Spinners, The Main Ingredient, The Whispers, The Stylistics... just to name a few.
I was a Percussion major at that time, and would love to go and hear the acts because I would enjoy watching and learning from the drummers!
Often during the group�s break, I would venture back stage and talk to the musicians and vocalist.
This one evening, and I�ve forgotten the group�s name, but they were performing and their back-up band was so funky! I mean this group really sounded great!
Now understand, this was a pre-dominantly African-American Night Club that featured the �hottest� Rhythm & Blues acts at that time. I couldn�t wait for the group�s break, so I could talk to the drummer.
During the break...
I happened to notice the drummer sitting at the bar. I strolled over to him and asked if I could sit next to him, while expressing my praise for his drumming ability... �how did you get so funky?�... �man you�re unbelievable!�... �what do you practice daily?�... �what do you recommend I do?�... and so on and so forth.
The drummer was so cool... He happened to be an American Caucasian, with long hair and a full beard. He looked like a very young College professor, sipping his tea and smoking his pipe, just staring ahead.
He didn�t immediately respond. After about 6 or 7 seconds, he turned to me and said smilingly, �rudiments!�
Now if you don�t know what rudiments are... they are basically 26 rudiments (drumming patterns) that a drum student should master.
They�re basically �scales� for drummers. They are a combination of �single-stroke� and �double-stroke� patterns!
After his response, I smiled and thanked him, but was honestly disappointed because I thought he would share some �magic� formula daily practice scheme.
The moral of the story...
There isn�t a magic bullet or formula to play ANY musical instrument. To be able to play any style of music on the piano, be it: Jazz, Soul, Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop, Blues... etc. you have to at least be familiar with scales and arpeggios.
Those �self-taught� folks that play instruments well, learned how to play scales and/or arpeggios smoothly enough to be able to invent their own SOUND!
If you want to really start playing, you should start learning to master the scales and arpeggios. I mean you should be able to play a scale 2 or more octaves. The optimum range is 4 octaves... each hand separately!
This is the only way you will be able to identify the problem areas in your fingering, and develop endurance to play effortlessly.
A word of caution...
If anyone says to you, �you don�t need to practice scales...� Run away as fast as you can, because they don�t know what the hell they�re talking about!
To your success,
Ron Worthy
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Ron Worthy is a Music Educator, Songwriter and Performer. To learn more "Trick of the Trade," go to:
http://www.MrRonsMusic.com , http://www.PlayPianoTonight.com and http://www.PlayPianoLikeAPro.com