Piano Grade 8 Materials | Scales

Grade 8 - Practise Scales

📖 “Personally, I practice scales in preference to all other forms of technical exercises when I am preparing for a concert. Add to this arpeggios and Bach, and you have the basis upon which my technical work stands. Pianists who have been curious about my technical accomplishments have apparently been amazed when I have told them that scales are my great technical mainst—that is, scales plus hard work. They evidently have thought that I had some kind of alchemic secret, like the philosopher’s stone which was de- signed to turn the baser metals into gold. I possess no secrets which any earnest student may not acquire if he will work in the laboratory of music long enough. There are certain artistic points which only come with long-continued experiment. As the chemist finds the desired result by interminable heart-breaking eliminations, so the artist must weigh and test his means until he finds the one most likely to produce the most beautiful or the most appropriate result. But this seeking for the right effect has little to do with the kind of technic which necessitates one to keep every muscle employed in piano-playing properly exercised, and I may reiterate with all possible emphasis that the source of my technical equipment is scales, scales, scales. I find their continued daily practice not only beneficial, but necessary. I still find it desirable to practice scales for half an hour a day.
Wilhelm Backhaus in James Francis Cooke's Great Pianists on Piano Playing

📖 "Don't neglect the scales and arpeggios, and think that you will make up your marks on the pieces. Everything counts in the total."
Alec Rowley's DON'TS FOR CANDIDATES FOR EXAMINATIONS, in Do's and Don'ts for Musicians. A Handbook for Teachers and Performers

📖 "When I get started at the piano, for the first 10 minutes I play scales, slowly. I have done this all my life. Listen to the sounds you make. The sound of each tone witll generate a response in you. It will give you energy."
Van Cliburn

📖 "Do you ask me how good a player you may become? Then tell me how much you practise the scales."
Carl Czerny

📖 "I consider the practice of scales important not only for the fingers, but also for the discipline of the ear with regard to the feeling of tonality, understanding of intervals, and the comprehension of the tonal compass of the piano."
Josef Hofmann

📖 "Scales should never be dry. If you are not interested in them, work with them until you do become interested in them."
Artus Rubinstein

📖 "I believe this matter of insisting upon a thorough technical knowledge, particularly scale playing, is a very vital one. The mere ability to play a few pieces does not constitute musical proficiency."
Serge Rachmaninov

Grade 8 Piano Scales Books

Download Exercises and Manuals for Improving Grade 8 Scales

👉 Lemoine, Henry Méthode théorique et pratique pour le piano

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