Musical scales are the basic building blocks of any form of music. This means that you can’t make music without incorporating some sort of scale. Even if you don’t really know what scale you’re using when doing an improvisation over a few chord patterns, you’re still doing a musical scale even though it’s only by ear. So if you’re just learning music theory, and you want to know why you need to have knowledge of musical scales, then continue reading this article to know what scales are and why they’re important.
Definition of Musical Scales
A musical scale is basically a group of notes that runs in either a downward or upward direction. It is used to form melodies, harmonies, and chords. It’s also used to represent every musical phrase and segments of any song. A scale is basically structured to form (or loop with) an octave (a spacing of 7 notes). This means that if your scale is C Major, then the notes would look like C-D-E-F-G-A-B (a total of 7 notes) and then back to the root note C, which is the 1st note, or 8th (which also completes the octave). For some people, all these letters and numbers won’t sound familiar. To put it in more basic terms that a lot folks would understand, the basic C-D-E-F-G-A-B Major scale (in the key of C) is simply the Sol-fa syllables (or solfeggio/solfege) Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do. There are other scales with different patterns, but since this is just the basics, that’ll do fine as an example for now.
Importance of Scales
There are many reasons why a musical scale is important. Some reasons even vary depending on a musician’s focus and priority. However, the ones that’ll be covered here will be the basic and most significant ones.
* A scale is basically the skeletal structure of a piece of music, wherein it acts as a guide to where the proper notes are. With scales, you can learn which notes are off, and which ones are correct.
* When you learn scales, you’ll find that you’ll be more knowledgeable in music composition and it can allow you to create a song in just under a few minutes due to the fact that you already know which notes would sound better. It reinforces your basic understanding of music theory while allowing you to quickly gain more experience.
* Learning scales is absolutely vital if you want to practice your ear. Music is 90 percent listening and understanding, and the rest is only a mere 10 percent. That’s why music teachers and tutors will often give you a basic scale for practicing so as to let your ears get used to the fundamental notes. The most common first scales are the basic Major, Minor, and Pentatonic scales.
* When you’re learning an instrument, whether it’s a guitar, flute, or a piano, scales are the best tools to incorporate into your practice sessions. Your fingers will basically be more adept as your skill increases with every scale you learn. This is basically called muscle memory. You’ll definitely be glad that you worked hard at those scales in the end.
* Scales are the best practice tools for improvisation. When you’ve studied and practiced enough scales, you’ll find that you can easily run through a song with a good improv (short for improvisation, or impromptu freestyle) on your preferred instrument.
* In singing, basic Major or Minor scales can let you increase your vocal awareness and help you to be a bit more pitch-perfect in your performances. Other scales are also good at helping you to clearly define flats and sharp notes for use with improvisation, such as Chromatic or Melodic Minor scales.
* Scales are a good way to warm up before a performance. Although it’s recommended that you never overdo any sort of practice so as to avoid injuries (or stress), running some scales will often give you a boost of confidence right before a show.
Scales are definitely an important element in learning music theory. You’ll simply find it hard to understand some of the more advanced concepts of composing a song if you don’t have this basic knowledge. It strengthens your confidence in your performance of an instrument and allows you to quickly analyze and understand the musical structure of a song.
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