Mastering Scales: A Guide for Intermediate Flutists
Scales. The most hated word in a musician’s vocabulary. I get it. They can be tedious and less fun than your repertoire. They aren’t something that we LIKE to practice every day. That said, if you want to become a proficient flutist, you’ll need to know those scales like the back of your hand because SURPRISE! All repertoire is made up of combinations of scales.
So, this is a guide for intermediate flutists - those who have been playing for a couple of years and are starting to learn more difficult music. It’s your comprehensive guide to mastering your scales so you can master your repertoire and become an incredible flutist.
Understanding the Role of Scales
Practicing scales has tons of benefits directly to your playing. Not only will they help you be able to hear, understand, and adjust your intonation on a deeper level, but they’ll also help build your finger dexterity and your tone to take you to the next level of flute playing. Scales also help you become more familiar with different key signatures, which makes sight reading that much easier. Of course, most auditions (chair auditions, all-state, and college auditions) will require scales in order to make it through to the next round, however, they’re so much more important than just audition material.
Scales are one of the most important parts of your practice - you should be working on them daily.
Technical Exercises for Scale Mastery
It’s important to begin every practice with a warm-up. You can warm up your embouchure with long tones, going up and down the full register of the flute. If you’re curious about the best way to practice long tones, sign up for Flute Essentials Academy for in-depth tutorials on long tones and other technical and tone practice and warm-up techniques. Beginning your practice with a warm-up like this will help you be at your prime playing through your scales and repertoire.
When learning your scales, make sure that you take them slowly. You’ll want to play them fast to start with, but that’s just going to cement incorrect notes and technique into your brain. Pay close attention to your hand position and be sure that even though you’re “just practicing your scales” you’re practicing with great tone.
It’s important to practice maintaining a steady rhythm and even articulation as well. You can do this by practicing with a metronome and using the same rhythm and articulations for all scales for now. In the future, we can vary these by adding slurs, staccatos, and other dynamic and rhythmic variations, but for now, start with just one pattern and articulation until you know your scales well. Practice with the metronome often, gradually increasing the tempo as you feel comfortable and can play each scale fluidly at your starting tempo.
Developing Musicality in Scale Playing
As you get more familiar with your scales, you can start to vary the dynamics, phrasing, and expression in order to build them into a more musical practice. It’s important that they eventually are a vessel to practice every aspect of your playing.
A good practice for adding dynamics, to begin with, is to start piano, crescendo to your highest note all the way to forte, and then decrescendo back down to your starting note. You can also do the opposite as you start practicing delicate dynamics in your higher register.
A good practice for adding phrasing would be strategically placing breath marks and dynamic swells. You can also start varying your tone color in your scales, using it as though you were playing a piece of repertoire. As you start practicing more scale patterns, such as arpeggios, 4ths, octaves, and etudes, it gets easier to be musical in your practice. I promise it won’t always be the straight up and down scale practice.
Scale Variations and Advanced Techniques
Once you’ve mastered your major scales, it’s time to add in some minor scales, their variations, modes, and whole-tone scales. All of these are important to help teach your fingers to anticipate and get used to different patterns you will find written in your repertoire. More advanced scale practices might have you practicing Reichert #1 or Taffanel & Gaubert #4. Lots of advanced flutists like to gamify their scale practice, like with the famous (infamous) scale game. You can find it outlined in Michel Debost’s The Simple Flute. This game explores different tempos, articulations, and dynamics with Taffanel & Gaubert’s #4, which cycles through the entire circle of 4ths and 5ths.
It’s important to practice scales in different rhythmic and articulation patterns as you become more advanced because it will help you anticipate notes and play faster. It helps in developing finger dexterity, coordination, and control, while also fostering a deeper understanding and mastery of various musical styles and genres.
Incorporating Scales into Daily Practice Routine
It’s important that scales are practiced every day, so it’s time to set some goals! First of all, aiming to learn a new scale every week is a great way to start strong until you know all of your major scales. You can also aim to memorize those scales. It’s also important to practice them with the metronome and gradually increase the tempo. Start low and slow and make sure that your fingers are even and your tone is beautiful.
You can also begin to integrate your scales into your warm-up routines, as they are fantastic for warming up the fingers and getting your brain engaged. It’s so important to stay consistent and regular when practicing your scales. You should aim to practice them daily and if you do, you will see progress quickly.
Troubleshooting Common Challenges
Some common issues tend to stem from finger flubs and practicing your scales quicker than you should. It’s important to bring back the tempo and play your scales slowly and evenly. Be methodical and aim for your fingers to move in tandem.
Another issue tends to be boredom. You can overcome boredom by varying your scale practice - practice different scales every day, using different articulations, and practicing with drum beats and backing tracks. The latter solution is my favorite. You can find lots of different drum beats at different tempos on YouTube for free, and practicing with them can make it feel more fun than your standard scale practice.
It’s important to self-assess, listening to recordings of yourself playing your scales, checking the bpm of your metronome now vs when you started, etc. If your goal is to play all of your scales at 120 bpm, be sure to track your progress by writing down weekly where you are. Self-assessment can help you see progress, but also see areas for improvement.
Seeking Guidance and Expanding Your Skills
It’s important to seek guidance from a trusted teacher or mentor when it comes to your scales. They can help put you on a path to mastery and give you new exercises and ways to build those skills. If you’d like flute guidance from a trusted teacher, click here to learn more about online lessons with me.
For further study, you there are several books you can find in the Resources page, but here are a few of my favorites: Pares Scales, Indispensible Scales, Exercises, and Etudes, and Trevor Wye Practice Books for the Flute. You can also sign up for Flute Essentials Academy for tons of tutorials on scales, tone, technique, and repertoire for beginner, intermediate, and advanced flutists.
It’s also great to find community in local ensembles and flute clubs. Don’t hesitate to join a local group and spend time with flutists who can help, offer guidance, and offer another level of enjoyment in the practice.
Conclusion
Scale mastery is an absolute must for flute players
Scales should be practiced every day
You should vary dynamics, articulations, and speed of your scales regularly
Practice your scales with drum tracks in order to avoid boredom
Practice slowly until you know and can play them well
Seek guidance from a qualified teacher or mentor
Join community ensembles and clubs to further build your community in the flute world an skills
If you’re looking to embark on your scale practice journey and build flute skills with a qualified teacher so you can impress your friends, family, TikTok followers, crush your auditions, and improve your mental health, click here to learn about online lessons with me!
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