A Month of Scales - No More Bored Scale Practice

Not actually me … but I definitely know that “stuck in a rut” feeling when it comes to scales.

Scales don’t have to be boring! I was stuck in a scale rut, so I spent the month of January 2023 doing scales a different way every day. And I posted each one here as I went. (Scroll down for an index to them.)

The project brought more life to all of my practicing and playing — not just my scales. They aren’t just for practicing intonation or metronomic steadiness. They can be a vehicle for practicing anything related to music-making, from super technical to wildly creative and intensely musical. With so many different ways to look at them, I didn’t get bored with scales at all during the month.

You may want to do the whole month the way I did. Or maybe you’re just looking for ideas for keep your scale practice from getting stale. And these 31 varieties are just a starting point. There are countless more you could do, with a little creativity.

However you approach these, I hope they’ll add a little more variety and interest to your scale practice!


Who is this for?

Which instruments: The whole month of scales is written from a violinist’s perspective, but they all would work equally well on viola. I think everything would also work on the cello and double bass, but some of the technical descriptions may not quite fit.

Wind, brass, and keyboard players: I suspect a lot of these would work on any instrument (especially many of the ones under “Reorganizing the Scale” below). I’d be interested to hear from you about which ones translate into something meaningful on your instrument!

What level: The scales are aimed at those who have command of all the positions, along with all of the basic bow techniques. But if you’re not there yet, you’ll still find a lot of days in this month that will work for you, or that you can adapt to your level. I recommend starting with the section, “For Any Level” below.

Index to the whole month

Here’s an index to the scales I did. You could go through the whole month in order, and follow the same careful progression that I did.

Or you could pick one of the other topics/themes that seem interesting to you and start there.

I’m a violinist and private teacher in the Chicago area, and in a previous musical life I was in a professional string quartet. Teaching violin and chamber music are dear to my heart. Send me a note or leave a comment on a post — I’d love to hear from you.

If you’ve tried any of these scales, I’d love to know what your experience was like! Just post a comment below.

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