Join Canadian pianist Jarred Dunn for a heartfelt and insightful lesson on Chopin’s “Cello” Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 7. With elegaic left-hand melodies throughout, the piece lives up to its title, Dunn is quick to point out that there’s more to it than meets the ear: the “cello” writing is always interacting with a beautiful treble line, as well as the ceaselessly repeating accompaniment chords sandwiched between the melodic lines. The challenge of the piece stems from balancing these three layers and bringing out the tragic, languorous character.

Likewise, Dunn’s advice always balances aesthetic, stylistic, and historical commentary with practical tips for achieving the desired interpretation. He makes erudite observations about Chopin’s personality and musical interests (Bach, the cello, and even foreshadowing Debussy). Thinking of vocal style and specific instruments immediately suggest the right color for a given section, or a more beautiful phrasing.

His technical advice always applies to overarching musical goals: to allow the melodic duo to soar, practice arpeggiating the accompaniment, and apply more weight and key speed in your outer fingers; to play the accompaniment more softly, gently “ride the key” in the Taubman style, not allowing it to rise entirely; divide the left-hand runs into chunks but not metronomically; partial pedal changes to keep the rich sonorities hanging in the hair.

Particularly striking are Dunn’s ideas regarding the flexibility of one’s interpretation. By experimenting with different voicings, you’ll equip yourself to play several ways and react to them in the moment. In this way, you’ll prepare yourself for the variable conditions you’ll experience on stage.

In this introduction, Jarred Dunn gives an overview of his course "Crafting Scales." The course begins with an in-depth lesson on the technical foundations of proper scale technique before applying those foundations to scales in context, from Bach to Mozart and Brahms, and many more.

In this video appendix to his series on scale technique, Canadian pianist Jarred Dunn demostrates several creative strategies for making your scale practice more enjoyable and effective. Incorporating these strategies like these into your daily practice and warm up routines will prepare you both mentally and physically for a wide array of repertoire.

In this lesson, Canadian pianist Jarred Dunn takes the princples of scale technique he developed in his lesson "Scale Foundations" and applies them to baroque and classical selections.

Taking the Allemande from Bach's C Minor French Suite and the exposition to Mozart's A Minor Sonata, K. 310 Dunn shows you how technical training can be done in the context of serious repertoire. Starting with the French Suite, Dunn reveals how Bach cleverly uses scales and scale fragments to thread musical material from one strong pulse to the next, and how your physical approach can express the intricate textures in a fluid and convincing way.

While practicing scales can train you to master Bach, Dunn shows how practicing Bach can train your scale technique. Dunn demonstrates the interchange between expression and technique in terms of applying stylistic devices that allow scales to speak musically within Bach's contrapuntal textures. Furthermore, an understanding of how scales underpin Bach's music allows a pianist to apply tasteful ornaments derived from scales.

Mozart's music also heavily draws its material from scales, and Dunn shows how they form the backbone of the A Minor Sonata. The melodic and motivic material Mozart uses either directly employs scales, or disguises them. Applying proper balance and arm motion to the learning of this piece not only allows for better execution, but also a deeper grasp of the material, better memory, tasteful style, and ultimately a refined conception.

In this lesson, Canadian pianst Jarred Dunn takes the next step in his series of lesson on scale technique and demonstrates how composers of the Romantic Era used scales in increasingly virtuosic ways. Using Brahms's D Minor Piano Concerto as a case study, Dunn takes you through select passages from each movement to demonstrate the myriad ways Brahms enhances his musical goals with scales. Whether you are ready to learn this masterpiece or not, Dunn shows how you can turn this rich composition into occasions for fun and musically rewarding practice.

While the Concerto is filled with bravura scale passagework, Dunn begins with an example to show Brahms virtuosity as a composer. While the piece risks sounding heavy, given the many chordal building blocks that shape the different themes, Brahms cleverly strings scales through thicker passages to allow for more horizontal flow. Dunn shows how if you're conscious of the role scales are playing in passages like these, you will not only be more technically secure but also capture the character of the music more effecitvely. This is especially the case in the second movement, where the calm and slowly evolving lines are brought to life through a grasp of their underlying scalar structure.

In the outer movements, Dunn recaps his foundational principles, as well as the insights gained through a serious study of Bach and Mozart, to show to tackle the many formidable scales that contribute to much to the drama of the piece. By applying smart practice strategies and staying attuned to your physical approach, a technically demanding work like this Concerto suddenly seems possible.