RCM Level 8:

This is when the more advanced scale demands of the RCM syllabus begin, and frankly, I know
many music majors who would still have difficulty with the scale skills demanded here.
Introducing harmonic minor in double stopped 3rds, 6ths and 8ves is something of genius!
Harmonic minor is much more difficult to tune than the traditional melodic minor/natural
minor/major scales, and as such starting at a relatively early point when many other 3 octave
skills have been developed is a fantastic idea. The arpeggios/scales introduced on this level in 3
octaves are quite difficult to tune, so introducing the dominant 7th arpeggios will help develop the
entire hand frame and hear the key before blindly playing the scales.
RCM Level 9:

The significant change here is the difficulty of scales introduced, but after learning the scales
form level 9 fluently, a student should have no problem being able to play these scales. An
interesting addition here is the major scale in artificial harmonics, which is a perfect test of hand
frame. If a student struggles with these harmonics, there is a good chance that they may be
deficient in a certain part of their left hand. All of the other scale advances are to be expected.
RCM Level 10:

This is the final level of scales that RCM presents, with the next level being the ARCT in
performance (equivalent to an undergraduate music performance degree in the United States).
Everything presented here is a logical progression starting from the very first RCM level- all
scales major/minor should be playable, and all chromatic scales should be playable. Every
arpeggio should be fluent, and nearly all double stop scales should be mastered. The one thing I
find interesting is how they do not expect fluency in artificial harmonic scales in all keys, but I
suppose they leave the emphasis on harmonics to teachers, as they are slightly more esoteric in
viola repertoire.
ASTA-CAP Level 8:

This is a much more “brute forced” approach than RCM, as they expect a student at level 8 to
have fluency in a much larger variety of three octave scales. I would take an approach with a bit
of a gradient in difficulty as to train the hand/ear of the student gradually, but this is obviously a
different approach. In addition, introducing the major and minor sides of scales at different times
feels strange to me- if a student of mine were learning how to play a D major scale, I would also
teach them the D minor scales. On top of this, expecting octave double stopped scales before
introducing sixths and thirds can be dangerous in how a student sets their hand frame for octaves.

ASTA-CAP Level 9:

This feels too sudden: where did the student learn these arpeggio sequences in the past few
levels? It feels like the student is thrown into the deep end of three octave arpeggios without
having any experience from playing them prior. I still feel that the student should learn the minor
scales of the major scales presented at the start. Otherwise, the progression here is fine, although
I would swap the thirds from this level with the octaves from the last level.
ASTA-CAP Level 10:

Why has the student not learned all the minor scales yet? There is a massive disjunction between
what scales a student should know by level 10, and what repertoire a student is playing. I would
need a student to be able to possess knowledge of all scales before attempting to play either of
the Brahms Sonatas/Walton/Der Schwanendreher. This scale is sequence is just poorly designed,
and not as progression based as the RCM syllabus.