Although there are 16 documents, there are really only six flavors of etudes, three ascending and three descending. The Natural Scales and Scales at C are fundamentally the same: one transposes so that all notes are naturals and the other changes the key signature so that all scales start on C.

All of these etudes explore the seven modes of the Western diatonic scale.

For those who are unfamiliar with scales other than the standard major and minor scales, I suggest that you work on those most familiar to you first: major and minor. Go through the six variations of etudes with just the major and minor modes. After mastering those, try Mixolydian and Dorian, then Lydian and Phrygian. Locrian is optional.

Be aware as you work through these that, in general, I think the descending will be more challenging than the ascending versions. Within those, in order from easy to hard: scales, triads, 2nds and 4ths.

The scale etudes are in mixed meter. The pattern simply follows the rhythmic unfolding of the scale. While the focus of these is on pitch, the rhythm can help you if you follow the meter groupings.

For singers:

You can sing these on any syllable you like. You can use any flavor of solfege if you are comfortable with that. If not using solfege, I suggest a syllable with a voiced plosive like “dah” or “doo.” You can also use different syllables if you want, like scatting.