Scales for Strings, Book I: Teacher's Manual Book

This manual gives you the scaffolding to use the Scales for Strings series strategically rather than haphazardly. Applebaum's thoughtful sequencing and concrete teaching guidance mean your students develop intonation and facility in a way that actually transfers to their repertoire.

Purposeful and grounded. These aren't flashy exercises; they're the foundation work that makes passages in real repertoire suddenly playable. Students recognize their own ensemble growing stronger as they unlock new keys and positions.

String directors managing programs where students arrive with varied preparation and need a coherent, stage-appropriate system for intonation and technical consistency. This manual is equally valuable for private studio teachers designing supplementary practice for ensemble members.

• Structure your warm-up rotation so different sections cycle through scales at different pitches each rehearsal; this prevents mental staleness and forces students to apply fingering patterns across multiple positions.
• Use the manual's suggested progressions as a pacing guide, but let your ensemble's needs dictate speed; rushing through books defeats the purpose of systematic skill building.
• Assign scale work by chair level or section strength rather than uniformly; advanced players can tackle extended ranges while beginners solidify fundamentals in comfortable keys.
• Cross-reference the manual's technical notes with your method book's pedagogy to ensure consistent language and approach between scales work and solo repertoire study.

Reserve 5-10 minutes of rehearsal time at the start of each term to establish scale habits; the manual's structure lets you pick up where you left off without re-teaching every time. Pair this with your primary method book rather than replacing it, using scales as the focused technical counterpart to repertoire-based musicianship.

• Major and minor scale construction across multiple keys
• Consistent intonation in first and extended positions
• Left-hand finger coordination and spacing across string crossings
• Rhythmic accuracy and articulation uniformity within sections
• Transposition reading and modal awareness