For those who are taking the graded exams, scales is one of the requirements of the exam. For a young child, these may not be easy to learn as they all sound the same but consists of different groups of black and white keys. Students not only need to remember the correct notes for each scale, but also need to practice with the correct fingering. Practicing with the correct fingering will allow you to remember the scale fingering and notes easily (most scales have the same fingering) and to avoid playing the wrong notes. The correct fingering may not be the most convenient fingering, thus students need to resist the urge to use the most convenient fingering or to play faster than he/she can control with the correct fingering. Therefore, for young children, it is always advisable for the parents to learn so that they can guide their children at home.
To aid in the learning of scales, you may also like to print out Scales Checklist G1
For the scales and arpeggios syllabus of other grades, please click here
All scales are to be played two octaves, hands separately, except for C major scale and contrary motion scales. All arpeggios are to be played 1 octave, hands separately.
C Major Scale
*note that for grade 1 you are required to play C major scale hands together
Right Hand:
Left hand:
C Major Scale Video
______________________________________________________________________
G Major Scale
*note that for grade 1 you are only required to play G major scale hands separately
Right hand:
Left hand:
G Major Scale Video
_________________________________________________________________
F Major Scale
*note that for grade 1 you are only required to play F major scale hands separately
Right hand:
Left hand:
F Major Scale Video
______________________________________________________________________
A Harmonic Minor Scale
A Harmonic Minor Scale Video
______________________________________________________________________
D Harmonic Minor Scale
Right hand:
Left hand:
D Harmonic Minor Scale Video
______________________________________________________________________
C Major Contrary Motion Scale
Left and Right hand, starting with thumbs on middle C
C Major Contrary Motion Scale Video
______________________________________________________________________
G Major Arpeggio
Right hand:
Left hand:
G Major Arpeggio Video
*note that for grade 1 you are only required to play this arpeggio 1 octave
______________________________________________________________________
A Minor Arpeggio
Right hand
Left hand
A minor Arpeggio Video
*note that for grade 1 you are only required to play this arpeggio 1 octave
______________________________________________________________________
*updated in 2022