ABRSM Grade 1 Scales & Broken Chords


Introduction (2)

Blocking – Arm Shift

Scales are made up of two groups per octave, beginning with the thumb. We find a short group (123) and a long group (1234). All scales in Grade 1 start at the beginning of a group (scales starting in the middle of a group are reserved for later grades). F major in the RH is the odd-one-out; instead of a short group (123) followed by a long group (1234), we find the reverse. This is, of course, because we can’t put the thumb on the Bb. In the first blocking exercise (Exercise 1) we play the thumbs alone and, while...

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