Secondary Major Scales - Upper String Scale Series #5
I placed all of the secondary scales in one post because the introduction of them is so similar to the primaries. The exceptions are talked about in this post, and as those exceptions are so similar to each other, it didn’t make sense to break them up like I did with the primary scales. Following this sequence takes a lot of the panic out of keys that are often labeled as difficult or scary. The common hang-ups with these keys usually come from other people telling us they are hard when we start playing. If we avoid that idea completely the student rarely has issues playing in keys that aggravate professional players.
After all of the primary scales have been introduced I will take a bit of time to make sure they are comfortable. Depending on the student this could be a couple of lessons or a couple of months. When I feel it is time I will move on to the secondary scales. For these scales I simply make my way up the fingerboard (Figure 1). As there are no secondary scales that start on the open strings, we begin with the secondary yellow scales on the first finger.
I usually follow the same order of pitches that I did with the primaries, meaning I will start the secondary yellows with E-flat Major (Figure 2). I will begin by having the student play E Major to review it, with the slight modification of not using the open A on the way up the scale, instead using their fourth finger in anticipation of the next step. Then I will instruct them to move their first finger and hand a half step lower, and play the same fingering, putting them in E-flat Major.
They now have no choice but to use their fourth finger instead of the open string on the way up because of the key change. I will point this out, and then ask them why, guiding them to the right answer (all of the notes from E Major moved down a half step, which means we’re playing A-flat instead of A-natural). I will then do the same thing for the B-flat (Figure 3) and the A-flat (Figure 4) scales, having them play the primary equivalents first, then transpose down a half step for those scales. I typically do this with every secondary scale, having the student play the primary and then move up or down the half step accordingly. At this point they can put together the two octave B-flat Major (Figure 5). I have them do this the same way they did the two octave G and A – by playing each octave individually and then stitching them together.
I intersperse the secondary majors with the primary minor scales, which will be detailed in separate posts. I mention it here because after I do the secondary yellows I start the first round of primary minors. The timeline for that interspersing will be covered in the minor scale posts. The rest of this post will focus on the order of secondary majors. The next set consists of the secondary green scales; F-sharp Major (Figure 6), followed by B Major (Figure 7). I again have them play the F and B-flat to set them up before playing the secondary scales. Once they play these two they can play a two octave B Major as well (Figure 8).
The secondary blues are the first time we confront the issue of enharmonic keys. I will start by having them play C Major and then move down a half step to C-flat (Figure 9). Once they have done that a few times I will have them play a one octave B Major followed immediately by the C-flat Major, making sure they recognize that they are aurally the same. I have made sure that they know what enharmonic pitches are by this point, so we will discuss that there are enharmonic keys and scales as well. I will explain that the difference lies in the fingering; the scale and color are determined by what finger we start on. B Major is a green scale because it starts on the second finger, while C-flat Major starts on the third, and is therefore a blue scale. I will also explain that B Major is the more common key to see than C-flat because it is easier to read something in five sharps than it is in seven flats. I do all this not only to give the student a solid foundation and options for working literature in these keys, but also to help them develop their music theory knowledge. Once the student begins shifting and working the more advanced two and three octave scales I abandon this sort of enharmonic fingering discussion. In those higher positions it is better to have a single fingering for those pitches to avoid confusion in shifting patterns. Talking about it for these one octave scales gives the student the skills to transfer to other positions if necessary, and can help them think about fingerings in new and helpful ways. From there I will do the same process with F-sharp and G-flat Major (Figure 10) before returning to C and C-sharp Major (Figure 11).
To start the secondary reds I will have the student play D major, beginning with the fourth finger on G instead of the open D, then have them move down the half step to D-flat. Then I follow a very similar process as the beginning of the secondary blues, comparing D-flat (Figure 12) to C-sharp, just as we compared C-flat to B to reinforce the enharmonic discussion.
Once we move up to A-flat (Figure 13) and get that top octave comfortable we can put together a two octave A-flat major (Figure 14). At this point the student will be able to play every scale in first position[1]. I work the remaining two octave scales and the three octave scales as the student becomes comfortable with the higher positions on the instrument, which involves a different system, but with constant references to the color patterns and first position scales. These secondary scales are introduced over a period ranging from several weeks to several months depending on the student. As mentioned at the beginning I intersperse these scales with the minor scales. The details of the minor scales themselves are covered in the next set of posts but the chart in Figure 15 shows the order of introduction.
[1] I do not cover the two octave C major until I begin work in third position. While that scale can technically be played in the first position with an extended fourth finger, that is a fingering I generally try to steer my students away from. My reasons for that will be covered in a later post.