Back to Basics?

Y'all, I think I'm going back to the basics. I want to work through the PWJ Beginner Foundations.

Do I need to do this? No. At least I don't think so. But this little adventure will introduce a new, and wildly different, approach for me to practice my scales. Plus, since these are all PWJ lessons, I have a feeling I'll learn plenty of stuff.

What About Scales?

I'm pretty good at scales. I should be; I actually love to practice and play scales. Arpeggios, not so much ... but scales? I would practice them a half-hour a day if I had time. There's just something so satisfying about being able to fly up and down the keyboard the way I can with scales.

(If you want to know about my usual scale practice, read/watch the videos in this post.)

That being said, I've been strangely unmotivated to practice my scales lately. I'm not sure why; I think part of it is that (as usual) I have so many piano projects going on that something has to get neglected. And for the past few weeks, that's been scales.

Scales: A Different Approach

I noticed on the PWJ Facebook page this morning that one of the more advanced pianists there was doing a basic PWJ scale exercise. Huh? Really? I've also watched and listened to many of the actual beginners who are playing the scales, as well as the little tunes that are included for each key introduction.

Reader, I love those little tunes. They're so pretty. And I love the format of the scales that these beginners are doing. And I want to do it too.

Here is a long-ish (21:45) video where a Very Adorable Bearded Jonny walks viewers through different versions of the scales, including the early beginner version.

Other Benefits from Going Back to Basics

These beginner learning tracks also include lots of ear-training work. In fact, I'm taking one of the beginner ear-training courses right now. It also has some beginner improvisation stuff, which I think I could use because, as with the ear-training, I really am a beginner in that area.

"Back to Basics" Begins in August

On August 1, I'm going to begin my Back to Basics journey. It will take the place of my scale practice. I'll eventually start doing scales again as they are introduced in these beginner courses. Of course, if the scales aren't challenging enough, I can always continue doing my usual scale practice. But I have a feeling they'll be plenty challenging.

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Picking Up the Pieces

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