Scales in music are a collection of eight notes. This is nothing but Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni-Sa that you’re familiar with, or Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do in Western music. Learning scales helps you identify the scale a song is played in, and easily move or play it in a different scale.

The C Scale

Scales are also a good exercise for beginners to undergo hand training, get control over your fingers and the tempo. They’re also a great way to warm up before a session. We will start with the C scale on the keyboard. Excluding the top note (which is the same as the bottom or root note), there are 7 notes in this scale.

To begin, locate the two consecutive black keys, go to the first black key and proceed to the left. That’s the middle C. From here, play in ascending order: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. As a beginner, you might face a bit of a challenge while trying to play the scale with one hand. More on how to do this.

Tuck and Roll Technique

You would notice there are 7 or 8 notes that you need to play using your 5 fingers. We use what is known as the tuck and roll to achieve this seamlessly. As you play C-D-E, tuck your thumb (push it inwards) under the rest of your fingers, and play the F with your thumb. At the same time, reposition the rest of your fingers and play G (index finger), A (middle finger), B (ring finger), and C (little finger).

When you’re playing in the descending order from the top C to the middle C, the only difference is you roll first and then tuck out to continue playing. In terms of finger numbers, the tuck and roll would look like 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1 (1 being your thumb and 5 being the pinkie, and this pattern being for one full round in ascending and descending order).

A common mistake done by beginners is to play the top C (with finger 5 or pinkie) twice – once while ascending, and once again on the descending run. Remember to avoid this as each note/key should be hit only once when playing a scale. Even if your fingers fly initially while executing the tuck and roll, keep practising patiently and you’ll find it improves with time. Reduce the tempo until you get comfortable with the tuck and roll, and can perform it effortlessly.

Pay attention to your finger positions while practising the C scale on the keyboard, with your right hand. In the next post, we will look at how you can play the same C scale but using your left hand. Keep reading and expanding your knowledge of playing the keyboard.