How to Play the Piano Scales Properly & Why It Helps You Play the Piano Chords Better (Videos)

Firstly, WHAT THE HECK is a piano scale?

Now, do you still remember the test tubes experiment that we did in school where we filled each one of them up with the different water depth?

Then we used this metal stick thingy to gently hit the test tubes and then we discovered, WHOA! Each tube actually created a different kind of sound!

The tubes with more water would sound higher than the tubes with less water which creates lower sounds.

Well, my friend, how high or how low a sound is, is known as the pitch.

So when the pitches are put together in an organized sequence in ascending or descending manner, it becomes the scale. Voilà!

Understanding the theory behind the piano scales is especially helpful when you’re learning how to play the piano chords. After all, chords are built from scales.

If you want to find out more about the fundamentals behind the scales, join my FREE COURSE where I explain this topic in the detail.

Why do you need to play the piano scale?

Okay, here comes another cheezy example…

Do you know the soccer drills that the soccer players perform during their practice? Well, apparently, it is through drills that the skills of a player are refined and perfected.

Well, dude, I’m here to tell you that playing the piano scales is exactly like performing the soccer drill!

Here are some of what the piano scales can do for you:

1. Strength and Agility – Any muscles in our body get stronger and agile over time if it is consistently trained. The same goes with your fingers.

You need strong fingers to control your touch on the piano keys and you need agility to move your hands and fingers quickly and fluidly across the piano.

2. Accuracy and Precision – You have 10 fingers altogether trying to do different things at the same time and there are so many keys on the piano, so the chances of you hitting the notes that you don’t intend to are very likely (phew!).

Thus, you need accuracy and precision to hit the right keys with the right fingers at the right time. Don’t be overwhelmed just yet buddy, you got this!

3. Control – Some fingers really do have minds of their own especially the fourth and the pinky fingers. They tend to point out vulgarly if you can’t control them properly (hmmpph… rascals).

Not only that, but you may also need to stretch your fingers widely in order to reach another note further away but at the same time maintaining other fingers on the right keys as well as keeping them in good form (fooohhh!). You definitely need to have good control of your fingers to be able to do all of that at the same time.

4. Co-ordination – Playing the piano requires a lot of co-ordination not just between your fingers but also between your left and your right hands.

One of your hands may need to run the piano up and down fast while the other may only need to play a single chord slowly.

You need good fingers and hands co-ordination to ensure that you don’t mess up the rhythms and tempo of the song that you’re trying to play.

Playing the piano scales isn’t just about hitting the right keys but there’s a lot of techniques that go with it.

I want you to play the piano scales properly so that you too will develop the correct habit of playing the piano which in turn will help you play the piano chords better.

When I started out playing the piano, I felt like it was very difficult for me to control my fingers and they didn’t seem to want to do what I wanted them to do!

But I realized that everything gets better with practice. Practice? Really Kaiyen?

Don’t hate me k, it’s through practice and practice alone that you can refine your piano playing. There. I’ve said it.

So, the more I practiced, the easier it got. I eventually could play the scales with two hands simultaneously with ease.

I want you to know that it will happen for you too and it won’t take too long if you’re diligent with your practice (gosh! I sounded like my teacher).

In this article, I want to show you how to play the piano scales of the 3 major keys, C major, G major, and F major and the 3 minor keys, A minor E minor and D minor.

But you know I love y’all. I don’t want you to just play the scales for the sake of playing the scale.

I want you to get ’em right in every aspect from better control of your fingers to have excellent accuracy and precision in hitting each note.

Therefore, before we dive into how to play the piano scales, I want you to abide by these 4 “rules” at all-time when playing the scales or else… I will unfriend you. Just kidding! I still love you.

1. Keep Your Postures Right

First, you must incorporate these new habits when playing the scales, in fact, you must keep to these right postures whenever you’re playing the piano. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

Do’s:

• Sit with your back straight.
• Keep all of your fingers curved in. Mind that the 4th and the pinky fingers, make sure they are curved in as well.
• Keep the back of your palms parallels with your arms. This means, your arms shall not fall downward.
• Ensure that your fingers move graciously and still curved at all time as you move up and down the scale.
• Press one note at a time and release after you are done and then press the following note.
• Keep your feet firmly on the floor.

Dont’s:

• Slouch.
• Sit too close to the piano or keyboard.
• Have any fingers pointing upward.
• Hit more than one key at a time or holding down the keys.
• Open your legs widely. Oh, come on!

Keeping a good posture while playing the piano ensures that you have better coordination of your hands, fingers and your whole body and soul.

It also helps to prevent injuries. Because quite often, you’ll tend to get carried away by your own playing and may not even realize that you’ve just spent 3 hours on the piano!

And then you’ll start having aches at different parts of your body. .. no no..we don’t want that to happen to you ya.

So, be good and keep these good habits.

2. Stick to the magic numbers

Playing the piano scales requires you to play with the notes of the scale with designated fingers numbering. You must follow them strictly. Yeah, it is that strict. But first, you need to know how your fingers are numbered:

I believe the diagram speaks for itself. You’ll learn how to apply them on the piano scales in my video below.

When playing the piano scales, you will also discover that:

• You will always start and end with the same finger. So if you don’t, it means something has gone wrong. But don’t panic, you can always start again. 😉
• You’ll also be using the same fingerings ascending and descending the scale. If you don’t, you’d probably end the scale with the wrong finger.
• You’ll repeat the same set of fingerings at every octave.
• Playing the piano scale with your left hand would require a whole different set of fingerings than your right hand. But the fingerings on the left hand and right hand are mirroring each other.

Get your own copy of all the fingerings for the 6 piano scales that we’re going to learn by clicking on the button below. It is great to help you practice the piano scales yourself.

3. Maintain Consistent Touch

I can’t emphasize more on how important it is to maintain consistent touch throughout the piano scale or playing the piano in general.

Now, what do I mean by touch?

When playing the piano scales, your fingers must consistently hit the piano keys firmly throughout the scale.

Each key that you play must sound like they have the same weight and strength.

It probably sounds easy, but our fingers tend to get flimsy and unable to maintain the same strength and firmness throughout the scale if we are not putting our focus on each of the keys that we’re playing.

You must avoid holding down the piano keys and shall lift your finger just before you hit the next key.

Okay, I don’t mean to throw your finger in the air like you don’t care but rather releasing that key just before you hit the next key.

Playing the piano scales also requires you to play each key accurately and precisely. No double keys ok?

4. Maintain Consistent Rhythm and Speed

Now, playing at a consistent rhythm and speed is not only important but they are SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT in piano scales and playing any songs.

Playing at a consistent rhythm and speed literally challenge our fingers to be disciplined enough to play by the rules.

When you do that, you’ll be able to control your fingers better and your fingers will get stronger. Once you achieved that, you can play anything including playing the piano chords like a superstar.

But don’t fuss over getting to fast speed just yet if you haven’t gotten the consistent rhythm right or if your fingerings are all over the place.

It is more important to get that consistent rhythm like a healthy heartbeat first before getting into fast speed. We all want a healthy heartbeat, don’t we? So shall be our playing.

If you haven’t gone through the theory part of what the scale is all about, I strongly recommend that you sign up for my FREE COURSE where you’ll discover the fundamentals behind the major and minor keys piano scales.

How to Play the Piano Scales of C major, G major, and F major

So here comes the fun part. I will show you how to play the piano scales with these three awesome keys, C major, G major, and F major.

If you’re a beginner, these are the three best keys to start with because they don’t carry too many intimidating key signatures with them. Yay!

Before we get started, here’s the key signature for each of these keys:

• C major – no key signatures
• G major – F sharp
• F major – B flat

Alright, let’s dive in! Oh, if you’re lucky, you could hear my neighbor honking. 😛

Here’s what to do:

1. Get the notes and fingerings right: Play 3x slower than how the piano scale should be played. Play each note carefully and accurately.

Don’t drag your fingers. Play and release each key before playing the next one. Really focus on getting each note as perfect as possible in terms of strength, weight and fingers form.

2. Get the rhythm right: Imagine a healthy heartbeat. They should beat at a consistent rhythm. Use a metronome to help you practice.

You can install a virtual metronome using your app store on your phone for free. Like this one:

3. Full speed ahead!: Once you’re all good with the notes, fingerings, and rhythm, try to increase the speed. Gradually increase your speed but still make sure that everything else is still in order ;).

Tips: You know, what used to help me a lot was that, when I was just sitting down doing nothing, I practiced my scale without a piano. Yeah! You can just practice your piano scales on a table, or even on your lap just to get the fingerings, rhythm, and speed right!

How to Play the Piano Scales of A minor, E minor, and D minor

Ok, let’s go and play some gloomy scales now. Just kidding! I said gloomy because they are minor keys and minor keys tend to sound solemn, sad, you name it.

Before I show you how to play them, here’s the key signatures of all these keys;

• A minor – no sharps or flats
• E minor – F sharp
• D minor – B flat

Wait a minute, they have the same set of key signatures as the major key scales that we just played! Woohooo! How convenient! Now, why is it so, you asked?

Well, my friend, they are called the relative minor keys of the major keys that we’ve just learned. All major keys have their own relative minor keys and they share the same set of key signatures.

You’ll learn that there are 3 types of minor scales:

• natural
• harmonic
• melodic

The reason for these differences is because of the way how melodies and chords are used and written in a musical piece.

The melodies of a musical piece in a minor key tend to use the “sharpened” 6th and 7th degrees when ascending and “unsharp-ed” notes when descending.

On the other hand, chords in a minor key usually use just the “unsharp-ed” 6th degree and the “sharp-ed” 7th degree.

A musical piece in a minor key may use the notes of both the melodic and the harmonic minor scales. Thus, we do not name a piece as being “in A melodic minor” or “in A harmonic minor” but rather as A minor.

So, here’s how to play the minor scales:

Okay, you know what to do right after this, just follow the steps that I’ve listed under the topic on how to play the piano scales in major keys.

If you haven’t, click the button below to get your free piano scales chart.

Alright, buddy, I hope now you understand why and how you should be practicing your scales.

Always play the piano scales before you start playing the piano just like how you would do some warm-ups before starting any workout because I guarantee that you’ll see a remarkable difference in your playing day after day.

Got questions? Leave a comment and we shall chat.