8. Fluency - using scales and etudes

What is Fluency ? - Scales for keyboard - Scales for other instruments - Etude No. 2 - Practice Material
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IF 8.1 - What is Fluency ?

When Oscar Peterson once was asked how he developed his phenomenal technique he simple answered :"Czerny, Czerny, Czerny". Carl Czerny (1791 - 1857), the pupil of Beethoven and teacher of Franz Liszt is a vital link in the 'Royal bloodline' of superior piano technique. Liszt, during his years in Paris, modernised and passed on this knowledge to the Paris Conservatory. Thanks to my own teacher Dr. Graham Williams who studied at the Paris Conservatory, this method is now available to you through the Jazclass Piano Technique Course on CD-ROM Czerny wrote numerous great exercises for the piano. His most famous series is undoubtedly 'Opus 299 - Schule der Geläuligkeit'.

The English translation of the title of Czerny's famous Opus 299 - 'School of Velocity' misinterprets both the German language in this context and the intended purpose of these exercises. 'Geläuligkeit' means fluency, and, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary : fluency - means - smooth easy flow The word 'velocity', which implies speed, does not appear in this definition, and rightly so. Fluency is an essential element of good musical performance at all tempos. It gives to the music a crystal clear and effortless flowing quality of pure joy. In contrast, music played without fluency sounds laboured, dull and fuzzy without clear definiton of timing and tone.

Developing fluency is a matter of gaining control of the timing and evenly spaced placements of a succession of notes. You develop this control at a very slow tempo. Once this control is established at a slow speed, the tempo can be gradually increased while maintaining good fluency.

The first fluency exercise was in fact introduced in In Focus No.3 : playing scales in slow quavers accented in twos. Once you can do this smoothly, start practising scales :

in quavers (quarter notes), accented in twos in quaver triplets, accented in threes in semiquavers (eighth notes), accented in fours

Audio IF 8.1

The metronome tempo remains the same throughout these scale exercises.
This means that within the time span from one metronome beat to the next the number of notes increases from 2 to 3 to 4.
Eventually you may play an entire 7 note scale within one complete beat.
Start these exercises at a very slow metronome tempo of MM45 or MM50 so that you can play all three exercises (accents in 2s, 3s and 4s) comfortably and without losing control.

IF 8.2 - Scales for the keyboard

Play scales accented in twos over two octaves, and scales accented in threes over three octaves.
Practise each scale with both hands, the left hand one octave below the right.

Audio IF 8.2

Play scales accented in fours over four octaves.
Practise each scale with both hands, the left hand one octave below the right. Select your starting point so that you can play the full four octave range with both hands.

Audio IF 8.3

IF 8.3 - Scales for other instruments

Unlike the piano, most instruments are restricted to a range of 2.5 to 3 octaves.
Play scales accented in twos over two octaves, and scales accented in threes over two octaves plus 1 note.
Wind instruments play all scales slurred (no tonguing) with breath accents (a push from the diaphragm). Go up and down each scale three times.

Audio IF 8.4

For scales you can not play over two octaves from the tonic note upwards, make a loop over a two octaves plus 1 note range, as shown below. Go around the loop three times for each scale.

Audio IF 8.5

Play scales accented in fours over two octaves.
Wind instruments play all scales slurred (no tonguing) with breath accents (a push from the diaphragm). Go up and down each scale three times.

Audio IF 8.6

For scales you can not play over two octaves from the tonic note upwards, make a loop over a two octaves range, as shown below. Go around the loop three times for each scale.

Audio IF 8.7

IF 8.4 - Etude No. 2

Etude No.2 is an example of the type of exercise or piece of music you can use for fluency practice. I have written it within a range suitable for most instruments. All instruments use the same written score. There are different play-a-long tracks for the various transposing instruments.

The standard practice procedure for Etude No.2 and all complex pieces of music is as follows.

1. with a metronome, very slowly, and an accent on each downbeat (Audio IF 8.8)

2. without a metronome, very slowly, and an accent on each downbeat

3. gradually increase the tempo for steps 1 and 2 above

4. once you can play the exercise or piece at the required tempo smoothly and with confidence (without any stumbles, irregularity or mistakes), omit all the accents from your playing, but keep thinking them in your mind (Melody)

Audio IF 8.8 - Melody

Wind instrument players take a breath at the end of every two bars as shown above. If necessary take out the last note in the bar to give you sufficient time to breathe (A with the arrow above).
(At a very slow initial tempo you may even need to take a breath at the end of each bar. That is quite alright. As the tempo increases you breathing span will increase with it.)

Keyboard players use the keyboard score. It contains suggested fingerings for the right hand, and chords which you can play in the left hand.

IF 8.5 - Practice Material