Times Tables and Scales
And why they are useful.
As a child, I hated playing scales on the piano.
“They are boring. And they don’t sound nice.,” I often complained.
“Don’t they?,” my grandmother once said. “They remind me of rivers and waterfalls.”
“They do?”
“Yes. Play me a few scales. Let’s see if they still remind me of rivers and waterfalls.”
In retrospect, I don’t know if scales actually reminded my grandmother of rivers and waterfalls, or whether it was just a cunning trick to get me to practice. But at least at the time, I did believe my grandmother, and I played a few scales.
As time went on, I grew less bored of scales and other exercises. Gradually, I even began to realize that they were useful and helped me play “proper pieces” better.
And so, I still play scales.
“But they are boring. And they aren’t really useful these days, are they?”
I colleague told me this a few days ago. While he wasn’t talking about scales, he was alluding to his childhood. He was referring to times tables, and how he hated memorizing them as a child.
“If I want to know how much 12 times 12 is, I can use the calculator on my phone, can’t I?”
At school, a university professor in mathematics came to give a talk. I don’t remember his name, but I remember him mention that Paul Dirac had taught him — so he was probably quite distinguished.
I did remember something he said.
“Most of y’all will probably not study mathematics. But regardless of what you do, there is something that will always be useful to you. Times-tables. Know your times-tables. Not just your 12-times tables. Memorize the 25-times table.”
A few of us did take his advice seriously. And now I realize how useful it was.
In many ways, times tables are very similar to scales.
They are tedious at first, and, as I thought as a child, on the surface, boring. But if you are patient and put the time into mastering them, they can be very useful.
Here’s why:
- They are exercises that make you strong. Scales strengthen your fingers, hands, arms, and entire body — as a result you can play “real” music much better. Times tables strengthen your numerical ability — as a result your ability to master other areas of mathematics, and even other “real” subjects like computer science, statistics, physics, and economics (just to name a few) is much enhanced.
- Scales and times tables teach you to notice. The most important thing in music is to listen and notice sounds. The most important thing in mathematics is to see and notice patterns.
- They foster discipline and perseverance. Both scales and times tables require regular practice and commitment. You won’t master the 25-timestable overnight. Nor A-flat minor in sixths.
- They improve memory and mental agility. Regularly practicing scales can enhance muscle memory and auditory skills in musicians. Similarly, frequent engagement with times tables sharpens the mind, improving recall and mental calculations, which are valuable in many daily tasks and professional scenarios.
- They provide a sense of achievement. Overcoming the initial challenges and mastering scales or times tables brings a sense of accomplishment. This success can boost confidence and encourage learners to tackle other challenging areas with a positive mindset.
- They enhance creativity. While scales and times tables might seem rigid, mastering them actually provides a foundation for creative expression. In music, understanding scales leads to improvisation and composition. For example, much Jazz consists of exploring scales. In mathematics, a strong grasp of times tables can lead to innovative problem-solving and analytical thinking.
- They encourage precision and accuracy. Both disciplines require precision, which is a valuable skill in many academic and professional fields.
- They promote quick thinking. Speed and accuracy in playing scales or solving times table problems enhance your ability to think and react quickly, a skill useful in many life situations.
- They foster a lifelong learning mindset. You should never stop playing scales. Nor should your stop trying to get better at times tables. If you can’t think why, read this article again.
🎁 If you’d like to learn your 25-times tables, you might find this app useful: https://nuuuwan.github.io/tt.
🎁 Or you could print this out and stick it on a wall that you see often.
