Scales, Scales, and More Scales

Twenty-four one-page scale studies in all of the major and minor keys, in versions for soprano recorder (c fingerings) and alto recorder (f fingerings). They can also be played on just about any melody instrument.

The titles of these recorder scale pieces relate to the weighing and measuring applications of the word "scale." This set of scale pieces will be available soon on this page of the IMSLP. And in forthcoming news, I am working on two scale books for violin that will be published later in 2021 by Mel Bay. One concentrates on the first position, and the other goes into the higher positions. The titles and characteristics of these violin pieces (more than fifty!) relate to animals with scales: fish, birds, reptiles, and even a handful of mammals.

For the recorder scale pieces and the forthcoming violin scale pieces I followed this basic guideline: everything moves stepwise, with pitches that repeat at the unison and at the octave (the only interval larger than a second is a perfect octave). I allowed myself freedom to float between the natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales. Just for added sport, each piece fits on (or fills) a single page.

UPDATE: Because I can't leave well enough alone, I made versions for bass clef instruments and viola. You can find both on the "transcriptions" tab of the above link.