Scale books
These scale books were the result of many years of teaching the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music syllabi, but finding that there was no ideal book of scales. Thus I was always frustrated at not being able to locate a printed version of a scale precisely as it needs to be performed in the exam.
There are many scale manuals available, but only a few dedicated to the precise scales required in an Associated Board exam. My books also offer tips and hints on how to actually practise them and get the best out of performing them.
The Board's own scale books have all the correct requirements listed but generally my pupils found these books rather confusing. It is often difficult or time consuming to pin-point an exact scale as required for a particular exam. Very often the same scale is used from grade to grade but there are subtle differences in the bowing styles required.
My books eliminate that confusion. Only the scales you need for a particular exam are included and no others. The bowing is more concise as there is no inter-grade confusion. Therefore if you are taking the grade 2 violin exam, my grade 2 scale book contains the requirements for this grade and no others, and shows the exact way they will be expected to be performed. There is a book for each grade, 1-5 at the moment. The grade 6-8 books are in progress but these must include both forms of minor scale and are likely to be too thick in the present form. I will be endeavouring to complete these at the earliest opportunity and after I have assimilated the popularity of the grade 1-5 versions.
For grade 1 only I have included individual specifications for both the scales with separate bowing and scales with slurred bowing. Young minds can therefore easily differentiate each style. Numbers within the circles represent fingering right through the grades.
The finger patterns are shown for scales only. I have omitted finger patterns for arpeggios as the distances between notes could make this exercise more confusing than necessary. Bold print shows strings on which to play if an open string is not required (eg A major two octaves).
The G string is not required so will appear as plain print whilst the others appear in bold print). For grade 1 only I have written scales in crotchets and minims to represent the Associated Board required rhythm. These note values may be easier for a young mind to understand when first experiencing scale rhythms as required.
Underlined notes in melodic minor scales represent exactly the same note at the same pitch, but one for the ascending as indicated, and the other for the differing descending scale to show the descending finger patterns.
When ordering scale books please indicate whether you would like
minor scales to be Harmonic or Melodic. Please also indicate if you
would like the book to contain both forms of minor scale.
Price list for scale books:
Grade 1 £3.25 (minor scales in both forms £4.15)
Grade 2 £3.40 (minor scales in both forms £4.35)
Grade 3 £3.55 (minor scales in both forms £4.40)
Grade 4 £4.55 (minor scales in both forms £5.40)
Grade 5 £5.95 (minor scales in both forms £6.80)
Grade 6 £6.95 (minor scales in both forms £7.80)
Post and packing for each scale book is £2.00.