The previous issue's column included a list of the benefits of scale practice as well as an approach to "squaring" scales to fit the four- and eight-measure phrase lengths so common in piano literature. Now, here's another way to practice scales for advancing pianists. Assign it to students who have a history of being motivated by extra challenges....

Practicing scales combines technique, muscle memory, and theory in one exercise. Yet when I asked a transfer student if she understood why her assignment included scales, her reply surprised me: "No, not really, but they must be important because my previous teachers also insisted I practice them." Sometimes, we, as teachers, forget to explain why ...