Sheet music reviews: The Piano Scale Book

As teachers, our own relationship with scales will surely impact on how we ‘sell’ them to our pupils – are they just a necessary evil, a hoop to jump through for exams? A means of working on technique? Or an integral part of understanding how music is constructed, with the added benefits of aiding pattern recognition, sight-reading, improvisation and aural skills? While all three probably apply, a healthy approach to scales should explore their necessity to the development of broader musical understanding and skill.

I am always keen to try any new resources that might make the process of learning the fingering patterns for scales easier on my pupils, so The Piano Scale Book series – with its colourful diagrams – immediately appealed. The first book covers both Initial and Grade 1, with separate volumes each for Grades 2 and 3. Within each volume, the scales included cover the requirements of the four major examination boards – ABRSM, Trinity, LCME and MTB – and include natural, harmonic and melodic versions of the minor scales at Initial, Grade 1 and Grade 2, and the harmonic and melodic versions at Grade 3. Scales for further learning at the end of each volume explore the pentatonic, whole-tone and modes, extending learning beyond that of the exam boards.