Marcia Vahl is a piano teacher in Minnesota. She is currently serving as President of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association.

In addition to sharing her own piano insights, Marcia will also tell us a little history about the three forms of minor scales.

Tell us your personal piano story as well as how you chose piano teaching as a career.

My piano story didn’t start until I was in 6th grade when my grandmother gave us her old upright piano. Some of the cousins were jealous, but later said the right person got it! We had it in our basement, where I practiced, for years. My cousins and I took lessons from the same teacher, who simply took us through the John W. Schaum series. I quickly went through the whole series, and somehow I learned to be a good sight reader despite the constant finger numbers throughout the book.

By the time I was in high school, I was playing for every youth service, including a Singspiration, weekly, which required playing all the songs and choruses by ear, since no music was provided. I’m grateful to my youth pastor, who explained I, IV and V chords in every key to me, and I was really on my way!

I went to a Christian college, and had piano lessons, of course. My freshman year I signed up for practice rooms for 17 hours a week! I declared a major in piano and music education and after graduation, I taught classroom music, choir, band, and orchestra for more than 10 years. I started my piano studio later after my children were young, teaching every morning except Fridays at their private school. Much later I moved all my students to my home studio and have been teaching here ever since.

Were you a good student?

I learned quickly and soaked up everything I could.

You have a great story that you use to teach your students about the three forms of minor scales.

Here’s the story that I found surfing one day on the internet very long ago:

THE NAMES OF THE MINOR SCALES TELL THEIR STORIES

NATURAL Naturally follows the scale pattern, starting on the 6th step of the major scale

HARMONIC For Harmony. The dominant must be a major chord, a leading (a half step) 7th note to the tonic must be there, therefore raising the 7th note.

MELODIC For singing. Singing the interval of a step and a half (in the harmonic minor) was difficult so raising the 6th note as well made it smoother. On the way down the leading note is not necessary and therefore it is natural.

In the Medieval and Renaissance eras (400-1600 AD), there was a concept called “musica ficta” (i.e. false music) where the performers would sharpen or flatten notes, even though it wasn’t written in, in order to avoid awkward intervals and to improve ending cadences.

As the concept of chord progressions and harmony evolved, the modal system of scales fell further and further out of use.

Two of the church modes — the ones added late in the 1500’s — the Ionian and Aeolian, were considered the ones most suited to harmony, and they became our major and minor scales. By this time, virtually all composers were indicating all alterations of pitch in their music, effectively ending the practice of musica ficta.

Thus, the Harmonic and Melodic minor scales are essentially “musica ficta” written out.

Now, that explanation works for “eggheads,” but for other students, I tell the (somewhat long-winded) story like this:

— BEGIN STORY —

Back in the day, music was made up from just the white keys … they could make things sound bright (play C scale) or dark (play D Dorian scale) just by starting and stopping on a particular note. (play the other modes and ask the student if it sounds bright or dark) This was wonderful when everyone was singing the same part — the same ...