The A Minor Scale

Preparing the Left Hand and Applying Tremolo

The A minor scale is being introduced, because that is the key in which we’ll play Wayfaring Stranger. A low 1st finger is used to play the F note on the E string at the first fret. Closely watch the demonstration video to observe the fingers used to play this scale. All the notes are quarter notes and should be played as such to build muscle memory for this scale, after that apply all the subdivisions leaned in the previous exercise to this scale. If you can’t remember them, yo didn’t practice enough.

Resist the temptation to try and blaze through one lesson to the next. As the great violinist Itzahk Pearlman said, “Quickly learned, quickly forgotten.” He may have gotten that quote from one of his teachers, but the source doesn’t really matter. It is a true statement.