Intro to scales, arpeggios and voicings - why they're useful

Technical Exercises for Rock School

Hey, guys, it's James here. I'm going to take you through the technical exercises for Rock School. This general video applies to all grades, and we're basically going to talk about scales, arpeggios, and voicings, as well as the way of breaking these down and learning them.

Why Learn Scales, Arpeggios, and Voicings?

So, most importantly, why do we even need to learn scales, arpeggios, and voicings in the first place?

Well, the simple answer is for technique.

• It's great to improve our technique because it allows us to:
  • Play more complicated things
  • Sound better
  • Play in time
  • Enjoy the experience of being a musician

Functions of Scales, Arpeggios, and Voicings

• Scales: Provide the function of playing smooth lines.
• Arpeggios: Allow us to break our flow within the hand, enabling us to stretch wide distances.
• Voicings: Are about playing chords that either accompany ourselves or accompany others.

A big part of being a jazz player, pop player, funk player, rock player, or any of these other disciplines we're working towards is about playing chords and accompanying ourselves and other people.

The Joy of Technique

Scales and arpeggios are a really, really great way of improving technique. I know they can sometimes be a bit dry, right? You know, you're going up and down the piano over and over again trying to get it right. However, there can be something quite meditative about it.

Remember: It doesn't all have to be boring!

There are many different ways of applying scales and arpeggios that will make learning fun.

Practice Tips

I highly recommend that you:

• Go through the exercises diligently.
• Do them at the beginning of your practice session.

They don't necessarily have to be something you dread. They can be integrated into your routine:

• Spend just five to ten minutes on them at the start of your session.
• Knock a few out, and then you can move on to the fun stuff: playing, improvising, etc.

Improvisation Development

One thing I'll mention is that using scales and arpeggios is a great way to develop improvisation.

When I'm improvising or performing, I find that I'm often using:

• Chord tones
• Patterns based on scales and arpeggios

Now, I'm not strictly thinking about scales, arpeggios, or voicings while I'm playing. What I am doing is using the knowledge that I've already sat down and learned. Then, when I play live in a real setting, all that knowledge comes to the surface and happens instinctively.

This is true with any aspect of playing music, but particularly with technique as:

• Technique is the fastest way of making a good piece sound great.
• You'll have more fun playing as a result!

So, I highly recommend you get stuck into scales. It's not all boring, I promise, and the payoff will be huge!