Group 4
Welcome to the NEW TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
Improving your Scales with Dominic Cheli
We will be working on different techniques on building speed, virtuosity, and confidence in our scales with assignments posted by Dominic!
Post your progress with videos and written commentary on how things are going for you!
- Course Period: May 13 - 25
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom: May 22 at 11am PT
- ZOOM MEETING LINK:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87650346065?pwd=iNGsfHMSqMVopfHw3bnxalYfaDuwpe.1
Assignment #1
In this assignment Dominic discusses "grouping practice" for your scales. This is a great way to increase your speed, finger control and independence.
- Choose a scale to work on (could be C major, or a relevant scale from your repertoire)
- Let's work on "2 note groupings"
- Start slow, start hands separate, and increase to 4 octave scales with both hands together
- IMPORTANT: Remember to keep the proper fingering at all times for the scale! (The Standard fingering found in any technique book, or in your decided fingering for a scale passage).
- Between each grouping, take as much time as you like, and focus on fast movements
- If a group poses trouble, stop and work on that specific part of the scale!
Assignment #2
1. Focus on your thumb and (optional) take a video of it!
2. Choose a passage to apply grouping practice to, and share why!
3. Make sure to focus on your scales and practice hands separately, even just polishing/perfecting a few groups! Don't need to complete the whole scale!
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Hello Everyone! Looking forward to seeing your work on the assignments for this TWI!
Please post any questions/videos to help me assist in your development during these two weeks :)
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Hi, I’m in Montréal having just watched the last 4 semi finalists of CMIM, awaiting the results to see who the finalists are.
I am keen to improve my scales since I took on your challenge last month and learned the Gershwin Prelude No. 1 from the Peter Dugan course here on Tonebase. The struggle to get the piece up to speed is that A-flat Lydian-Locrian scale run in 32nd notes at the very end. I never learned to play scales faster than 16th notes. The fingering for those modes is different than the standard Ionian and Peter is all about thumbs lining up. So I have tried grouping up to where the thumbs line up, and it helps to a certain point. When I play through the piece, it usually takes 3 tries to get the end right without derailment.
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Grace Salut, Grace! I know exactly the tricky part in the Gershwin you’re talking about. I need to improve enough to play that part, also.
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Grace That is quite an interesting scale indeed! Make sure to start the scales ever so slowly, and build up speed as you make your way through them!
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Hello! First time TWI joiner here. Looking forward to try this grouping method. This will really help with those tricky runs!
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Jessica McYorker Yes! welcome!
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Practicing scales in groups of notes is something new for me, so I went searching for some of the lessons that Dominic mentioned in his video. I found this live lesson where Dominic goes through the grouping method in more detail.
https://app.tonebase.co/piano/live/player/russian-style-scales
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Steve Thank you!
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Steve Thanks for sharing Steve!
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First time (very) novice keyboardist submitting a left hand TWI D major scale in three-note grouping for possible feedback from Dominic to see where I should focus my attention. Here’s a short clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/7ANynpxtheQ?si=jVw-YXrN0JHsn6u6
(Not great audio ; the keyboard volume is down for the sake of the housemates and the surface contact and key noise is exaggerated. Apologies. I will try to use USB audio out if possible on this old Yamaha CLP. BTW; Is it possible to get better even on an older 88-weighted keyboard like the Yamaha CLP-330 Clavinova I’m on?)
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David I noticed that some of the groupings are not quite as crisp as others, for example, the 2nd group. Make sure to notice that and work on "ironing out" them! Specifically, pick that group and work on go through it, several times to perfect that motion playing the notes! Some of the groupings are smoother than others, try and get them all equally good!
Typically it comes from relaxing the hand, and seeing the notes before you play them, take more time between groups, and try to increase the smoothness and speed of the tricky groups! -
Dominic Cheli Thank you for watching the video and your analysis and helpful advice on how t practice.
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David Happy to hear!
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Dominic Cheli what are your thoughts on alternative fingering, like those in Roskel’s Art of Fingering scale book? I’m just following Hanon for scales in technique practice, and notice in some pieces, the fingering for the passage is different and specific to the context (like when a scale fragment starts or finishes in a manner in which the surrounding music is easier with an idiosyncratic fingering). If you get a chance, I am also interested in when my instrument (a weighted key digital piano) will make implementation of your technology advice tricky. I find voicing more difficult than I remember when I had a chance to sit at a grand, but maybe it’s really quite reasonable to expect these digital instruments to take a student quite far. Thank you.
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Wow, Dominique - this is very well explained. I was never able to do these sprints when I was learning classical. Now switched to Jazz. I'm going to try this on the blues scales. Thank you!
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ALICE Awesome! let me know how it goes and check out Week 2 assignment!
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Hello group 4! This TWI is very timely having commenced piano lessons recently to work on my technique as clearly things have gone wrong once I stopped lessons in my teens! Nonetheless my teacher set scales to practice though a slightly different variation to the 2 note grouping excercise which is play 4 notes slow then 4 notes fast and then reversing the order. Please see Link below of my attempt of the TWI task after practising across this week. For some reason when I attempt 4 octaves new mistakes pop up - so have stuck with just 2! Any advice for improvements would be welcome.
Link is here: https://youtube.com/shorts/pimxa_Pmp1w?si=lASHP7fY6pg_mqVQ
Thank you
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Sheetal Patel Looking good so far! Nice speed, considering playing the notes even lighter and softer to improve your speed further!
Also try and make sure that your last joint of finger doesn't collapse! That can prevent us from having total control of the finger, Try and have the finger just stay in its neutral relaxed position and not hyperextending at that joint!
But great work!
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Dominic Cheli thank you so much for your feedback. I will try to be more relaxed to prevent my awful hyperextended fingers. I will work on being lighter and softer too.
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Thank you Dominic for making this intensive course. It’s targeting this one issue that my son wants to improve on, velocity. So thank you!
Below is the link to the video I took when he used this technique on C major (3 octaves, as 4 octaves is still a bit challenging for him), 3 note grouping, right hand. Dominic Cheli It would be great if you could critique it and advise the appropriate next exercise after this. After ironing out this one and the left hand, should we move on to 4-note grouping, or should we aim to sprint faster for the 3-note grouping? Thank you very much! I really appreciate the opportunity to get your feedback this way.
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Dawn Right now I think that while the grouping is good - you should definitely push for higher speed! Play much lighter and softer in the fast notes and really try to play ALOT faster almost like a glissando! I see each finger very actively pushing into piano, try to think about the fingers dropping extremely quickly into keys, try and play faster, lighter, and softer! That will help build even greater velocity!
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Dominic Cheli thank you very much for taking the time to review the video and write this feedback! It’s very helpful. We’ll keep on trying to make it faster.
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