Assume one needs to practice pattern A and pattern B in keys 1 and 2. Is it better to practice one day pattern A in all keys and the other day pattern B in all keys, or to practice patterns A and B in key 1 the first day and patterns A and B in key 2 the other day ?

In other words, is it more efficient to practice one pattern per day or one key per day ?

(assuming that the goal is improving improvisation skills)

  • 1
    A factor in "it depends" is instrument. For guitar and most string instruments, scale patterns repeat. A is G two frets up. Learning a scale type (major, minor, whatever mode, etc) in different places (the CAGED system) is good enough, then fretboard knowledge to find the root is good enough. With keyboard instruments (and I presume most wind instruments), fingerings are unique so all scales in all keys is a bit more important. But hitting a scale once isn't enough to keep it under your fingers; once you have a few, bring each back into rotation. May 20 '21 at 6:46
  • This question is not only player influenced, so impossible to answer, but intrument orientated as well, so even more impossible to answer! -1.
    – Tim
    May 20 '21 at 8:10

"It depends" will always be the answer to that kind of question.

The main thing isn't so much how you load it at the front-- it's how you review over time.

That being said, I think daily exposure to all keys is more important to daily exposure to pattern XYZ, since keys are ubiquitous but pattern XYZ is not. So probably better to do it that way.
