Scales Two-Week Intensive: E-flat Harmonic Minor (& G-flat Major)

My scales for this week are Gb major and Eb harmonic minor.

I don't think I've ever played anything in either, though I would like to learn Schubert's beautiful Op. 90, No. 3 Impromptu in Gb major someday.

Tonebase TWI

This week and next week, I'm participating in a Tonebase Two-Week Intensive (TWI) on improving scale speed and accuracy. For my scale, I've chosen to work primarily in Eb harmonic minor, and for two reasons: (1) it's one of my two scales o' week, and (2) it's possibly my weakest scale. Maybe I should have done A major or A minor, or F# minor, since those are the main keys of the Rondo alla Turca. Or Ab major (Maple Leaf Rag) or F minor (Chopin). Bare Necessities is in F, C, and G ... but those are the easiest scales, and I wanted a challenge.

So, Eb harmonic minor it is, though I'll also be putting in some focused work on Gb major as well.

For the TWI, I made this "baseline" video, which was a little embarrassing to share because I don't play the scale perfectly. Of course, I picked this scale precisely because I can't play it perfectly.

I half-expected Dominic Cheli (who is running the TWI) to give me all kinds of feedback on poor finger technique ... but he didn't! He just said to stop and isolate the hard parts, and not worry about playing the scale all the way through. I know I need to do this, but I didn't do it in the video since it was just a baseline. (I've stopped and isolated several sections many times since!)

Challenges of Grouping Practice

In the last few days, I have done some serious grouping work on this scale ... and it's getting better! What's crazy is that in some of these groupings, I still have trouble remembering which notes to play--even though I know exactly how many flats there are (6), and which note to sharp (Db, which becomes a D natural).

What's even crazier is that if I practice Gb major after practicing Eb harmonic minor, Gb major sounds all weird and out of tune! I honestly wonder if this is because I'm a meloncholic, minor-key girl at heart. Eb minor is difficult and dark, but I love it so much.

For the rest of the week, I'll give more time to Gb major. I haven't focused very much on contrary motion for either scale this week, so I may do that next week. This will put me one week behind on my scale schedule, but that's OK. These two scales have been my "weak scales" for a long time, and I'm happy to finally be doing something about it.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll sight-read through the Schubert Impromptu this weekend.

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