THE GAMUT OF SCALES & CHORDS IN THE MAJOR KEYS

A Theoretical and Practical Exercise

Author Cheryl Saks contacted me in early Fall of 2004 with the idea of taking cherished lesson plans from her piano tutorials and formalizng them into a cohesive workbook; The Gamut of Scales & Chords was born of this commision. The book is, in itself, a mnemonic device of sorts, teaching scale and chord fingerings by virtue of establishing hand patterns and shapes, rather than concerning itself with harmonic theory (although the book does introduce the student to some basic concepts of Common Tonality). Not only does this aid in the memorization of the material, but it also enhances the students approach to practice and, ultimately performance.

The initial challenges of this project lay in taking Cheryl's collection of notes, sketches, and ideas, and organizing them into coherent lesson plans. Secondly, these had to be compiled into a layout that conveyed everything clearly. Naturally it became vital to create strong visual paths of connection bewteen the ideas, encouraging the eye to flow naturally along the page; this greatly aids absorbing the material. Lastly, this wealth of information had to be presented effectively without compromising the aesthetic of clean, balanced, uncluttered pages. Therefore, the overall goal of each page was to convey the lesson clearly, as well as maintain a clear visual presentation. Below are the Cover, Table of Contents, and a few pages from the main sections of the book.

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Click the thumbnail to see the full size images.

Cover Page	Table Of Contents
Sharp Patterns, pg.3	Flat Patterns, pg.8
E major, pg.18	s E major worksheet, pg.19