Creative Scales
By Philip Johnston

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I often tell students that if their practice is boring, it is their fault.

In fact, if just about anything is boring, it's probably your fault.

Let's imagine that you decided to jog for one kilometre every day to get fit. Some people do this by running around the same oval each time. The scenery never changes, the challenge never grows. It's no wonder that they probably give up after only a week or so (if they make it that far).

There are many things you can do to make the jogging more interesting. You can run through different locations. You can run on different surfaces. You can run at different times of the day. You can run against a clock. You can run with a training partner. You can run while you walk your dog. 

You can run entirely uphill, or entirely downhill. You can run on soft sand on a beach. You can run through the sprinklers when the local oval is being watered. You can run on a treadmill. You can run backwards, or while listening to music, or while planning your latest novel.

Heck, you can even walk once in a while. Or hop.

So what can you do with scales apart from just play them up and down and up and down and up and down?

Come on. I'll show you.

Please do! My scales are driving me mad!