'The Scale' from The Guitar Gymnasium - Robin Hill

Some time ago I wrote a post on 'The Arpeggio' and promised to follow up with one about scales.

So here it is!

Scales are a vital part of any practice session and should be treated with respect.

As Andres Segovia once said,

'The practice of scales enables one to solve a greater number of technical problems in a shorter time than the study of any other exercise.'

Below are the first two pages of Chapter 2 of The Guitar Gymnasium.

The entire chapter consists of 16 pages of explanations and guidance, the occasional inspiring quote, 13 original exercises and a few old favourites.

The original exercises have been designed by Robin to achieve many things.
Some are excellent warm-up and stamina building exercises, others concentrate on avoiding awkward string crossings by examining technique.

You can click on the image to enlarge if required.







Throughout the chapter Robin reiterates that the printed fingering in any book is not sacred. Usually there are a number of alternatives and one shouldn't be afraid to experiment.

He finishes the chapter with the demanding scale workout by Nicolo Paganini, 'Moto Perpetuo', which he has transposed from C major to A major and fingered to facilitate fluency and velocity.

As Robin says at the end of the chapter....'Good Luck'