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 is a general video that applies to all grades, and we're basically going to talk about:

• Scales
• Arpeggios
• Voicings

Why Learn Scales, Arpeggios, and Voicings?

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

Well, the simple answer is for technique. Here's why:

• Improved Technique: It allows us to play more complicated things and sound better.
• Timing: It helps us to play in time and enjoy the experience of being a musician.

Functions of Each Element:

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

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

The Importance of Practice

Scales and arpeggios are a really, really great way of improving technique.

I know they can sometimes be a bit dry, going up and down the piano over and over again trying to get it right. However, there can be something quite meditative about it.

It doesn't all have to be boring.

Tips for Practice:

• There are many different ways of applying scales and arpeggios that will make it fun.
• I highly recommend that you go through the exercises and really work on them at the beginning of your practice session.
• They can be right at the start: just five to ten minutes is all it takes.

Knock a few out, and then you can move on to the fun stuff: playing, improvising, etc.

Developing Improvisation

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

When I'm improvising or performing, I find that I'm often using chord tones and patterns based on scales and arpeggios within my improvisations.

Now, I'm not strictly thinking about scales, arpeggios, or voicings while I'm playing. But what I am doing is using the knowledge that I've already sat down and learned.

When I play live in a real setting, all that knowledge comes to the surface and happens instinctively.

This observation 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.

Conclusion

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!