Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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In my review of Ben Andrew’s first three graded Piano Scales Books, I concluded:
“Ben Andrew and Hal Leonard must surely be congratulated for bringing so useful and innovative a new approach to a crowded market, and one which so uniquely supplements those already available… I suspect that for many beginners, Ben Andrew’s Piano Scale Books could transform the early stages of scales learning for the better.”
Now Hal Leonard have published his complete version of The Piano Scale Book, a manual that applies his unique visual approach to learning scales and arpeggios across every major and minor key (up to six sharps and flats).
To understand his method, you need to read my main review here, and I won’t repeat the same content again. Rather, in this review I will look specifically at the new complete manual and comment on anything that is new or different…
The full manual
The Piano Scale Book retains the visual appeal of the Initial/Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3 books I previously reviewed, and this new addition has a bright red cover. At 96 pages, the book is too large for staples, but has a durable, firm yet flexible binding and soft covers with a matt finish.
The book is printed in full colour, in keeping with Ben Andrew’s specific approach, and presented on white paper. The vivid red inner title page includes the 16-digit code needed by the user to access the accompanying videos (of which there are more than 80) and notation, which are again available from the Hal Leonard Library website, and match the superb content described in my previous review.
There is a three-page introduction in which the author explains the “triple-lock learning” of his ScaleBlocks approach with clarity and economy, while also identifying the recurring fingering patterns that can be used to group scales together into three categories for presentation and practice purposes. This explanatory introduction exactly matches that which appears in the three graded books.
The introduction also explains the notation element of the package, which to reiterate is included as a separate digital PDF download, and again features Ben Andrew’s ingenious colour coding. This underlines what is perhaps most distinctive about Andrew’s philosophy: conventional notation is available, but it is not the starting point. The keyboard pattern comes first, with notation available as a parallel or subsequent reference.
In addition to the notation PDF, the library of supporting videos has expanded to encompass the full content of this manual, and those who are comfortable learning from the cascading blocks visuals will welcome their inclusion. They can be streamed on the Hal Leonard Library site or downloaded locally to your own device.
The main content of the book itself, presented using the ScaleBlock visual diagram system, is as follows:
- Warm Up: One Octave Scales
(the Initial and Grade One content) - Major Scales: Two Octaves (C through to F#, then F through to G flat)
- Minor Scales (melodic and harmonic) Two Octaves (A through to D#, then D through to E flat)
- Creative Scales Practice
- The Grand Scale: Major and Minor
- Major Arpeggios: Two Octaves
- Minor Arpeggios: Two Octaves
- Chromatic Scale: Two Octaves
(starting on each key from A to G#) - Scale & Arpeggio Checklist
Some observations
So how does this volume differ from the three graded books?
The most obvious attraction is that it is comprehensive, extending Ben Andrew’s unique approach beyond the material covered by Grade 3. In my previous review of the series I noted that as learners progress to higher levels, he adopts his colour scheme more loosely. In the context of this larger book, I actually found that less problematic, and his flexibility welcome.
Secondly, by not linking explicitly to UK Grade levels, the book will appeal to those who are more concerned with effective teaching and learning than with jumping through assessment hoops.
There are some omissions from the previous books however. Reviewing the graded books I noted that they gained from the inclusion of a few bonus scales, such as pentatonic scales, the whole-tone scale, Dorian on D, Rag Bhairav, Lydian on C, and the minor blues scale on E flat. Having included the backstory and musical context of each, Andrew demonstrated how all scales have genuine cultural and creative significance.
While these are missing from the complete manual, the author adds a thoughtfully written section on creative scale practice, offering a wealth of excellent ideas for musically varying scale practice. He also introduces ‘The Grand Scale’, an exercise that works its way seamlessly around the circle of fifths, with the player moving through all the scales without a break, although here I felt the explanation was less clear (although the online video somewhat helps).
A minor detail I was pleased to see had been added: while the notation only appears as a downloadable eBook, the main book does now include the notation of the key signature next to the name of each scale. This is certainly a helpful improvement, allowing the key signature to be connected immediately with the name and visual pattern of each scale. Bravo!
The final Scale and Arpeggio checklist that concludes the book will be useful to players and teachers wanting to keep track of progress, so is again a welcome addition. I tend to include this in student practice notebooks, but for those using this resource it’s certainly a useful time saver to have it here.
Closing thoughts
Ben Andrew’s approach to teaching, learning and practising scales won’t be for everyone, but that’s probably the whole point of The Piano Scale Book.
Colour coding can improve accessibility for some learners, and may be particularly helpful for students who benefit from strong visual structure, including some learners with dyslexia, autism, visual-processing differences and other forms of neurodivergence. By reducing the need to translate conventional notation into keyboard patterns, it can also help establish strong visual-to-key associations.
Having such a superbly presented resource at our disposal (take a bow, Hal Leonard!) will surely help piano teachers support more learners, more effectively.
As with any learning scaffold, Ben Andrew’s colour system works as a temporary aid rather than being a standardised notation system. Its greatest value is perhaps not as a replacement for conventional notation, but as a bridge towards it. As I mentioned in my previous review, I think Ben Andrew’s bespoke method could prove hugely useful for those who aren’t responding to a more traditional approach.
In contrast to some other publications, the asking price for the publication is also commendably modest, despite the high quality presentation and additional digital resources included.
Taken as a whole then, The Piano Scale Book is an easy recommendation to piano teachers, and I think it deserves a place in every inclusive piano teaching studio. Meanwhile, learners who feel they may respond to Ben Andrew’s approach should investigate this book (and the graded alternatives) without delay.
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