Scales falling from my eyes

This is where I'm spending a lot of time lately when I'm not in class. We have a killer assessment to pass at the end of the summer for my voice teacher training, including music theory, scales, intervals, modes, arpeggios, terminology (lots of Italian!), basic composition, sight reading and sight singing. Some of it comes easy to me and I've known it forever. Some of it I really have to work at!

I'm a self-taught piano player, so I self-taught myself a lot of bad habits, including never learning how to play scales with proper fingering. I didn't think it mattered. It matters! It makes all the difference - but now I have to start from scratch. It's just a matter of getting it into my body memory, but guess what? that takes practice. Lots of it. The charts on the wall are the fingering for all the major scales, up and down two octaves, both hands. Then there will be all the minor scales and the arpeggios and the modes - Dorian, Aeolian, Mixolydian ....

I complain, but really? I love it. My only regret is that I didn't do all this when I was in my teens or twenties. I had the opportunity, just didn't have the passion then. But it's never too late!

The image of the hand has nothing to do with learning piano - it's just a lovely image with a short poem on it. It seemed an appropriate place for it. And that is a rainbow cast on the wall from the morning sun (!) streaming through a hanging crystal.

OK, break is over, back to the drawing key board!