I need help with learning scales really fast on the flute, any ideas?

Answer 1

practice, practice, practice. do the scales as you warm up and at the end of your practice, really concentrate on them, and try to memorize them.

Answer 2

The key issue is practice. Knowing the whole step/half-step sequence may help too as well as your key signatures. I'm a flutist myself (was a music major in college) and I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spent working on scales. You just gotta do them on a daily basis to really get them under your fingers. Even when I was in high school, I'd practice my scales each day on my way down to the marching band field. By the time all-district band auditions came around, I knew my scale sheet COLD.

If you want to get REALLY good on scales and arpeggios, then pull out some etudes that have a lot of those in them. If you're daring enough, create some of your own. The more easily that you can recognize the scales and arpeggios on the page, the easier it's going to be for you to play them from memory. For an additional challenge, do them in different articulations and dynamics.

If you do this often enough, you will be flying through scales quick as the wind.

Answer 3

Step one: Buy a decent metronome

Step Two: Play your scales at a nice slow comfortable setting. Pick the setting where you can play the scale absolutely accurately, with a precise rhythm and a good tone.

Step Three: Increase the tempo a little bit every day, unless you cannot play at the new tempo. If you cannot play at the new tempo, stay there until you can.

Step four: Increase the tempo until it is at least five to ten beats faster than you absolutely want to play.

Step five: Back down to your target tempo.

It helps to play the scale with another musician. It also helps to play your scales to a rhythm. Play the scales modally (start at the second note, the third note, and so on)

Play games with the scale. Play it in as many different ways as you can.

Answer 4

Practice, Practice, and when you are done, Practice some more. Be attentive to your tone and your technique at all times. Ignoring tone and technique will develop bad habits that will impede your progress, and will be hard to break later, causing unnecessary frustration. Etudes are always a good thing to practice and there are many books out there. Scales, arpeggios, and etudes are a critical part of a good practice regimen.

I do not play the flute (my instrument is electric bass) but this advice is equally applicable to any instrument.

Answer 5

If you meant learning to play them in a very short span of time, good luck.

On the other hand, learning to play scales at a fast tempo requires practice. If you're going to double tongue them, practice double tonguing exercises.

Taffanel and Gaubert 17 Daily Exercises (scale and arpeggio patterns) are considered some of the most important to any flute player. I suggest you begin practicing them, since most private teachers use this book in their studios.

Have fun practicing!

Answer 6

Start off playing the scales slow, like quarter notes, or half notes. Then as you get better speed up the pace. Pretty soon you'll be able to get it up to 16th notes, and pretty soon 32nd notes!

It takes time, so don't get upset if you can't do it right away. And don't give up!