The C Major Scale
The C Major scale – a seven note scale – is also called the “white keys” scale. Many consider it the easiest scale because it does not involve any of the black keys. I will dispute this theory in an other article. Regardless, the C major scale is the first scale most beginning piano students learn.
The major scale consists of the seven pitches. After the seventh pitch the notes repeat in the octave.
There are several challenges when playing the scale. One of it is that we have only 5 fingers. This means we have to use the same fingers several times over. This involves resetting the hand’s position as we move up and down the keyboard. To do this smoothly we use a technique commonly known as “under thump”. This technique takes extensive use of the thump, which can cause problems when not used in the correct manner.
Please note that the rotation of the wrist has been greatly exaggerated in the video for demonstration purposes, as sou can see when I play the scale at a faster pace.