Why Shouldn’t the Top Note of a Scale Become an Automatic Accent?

In a two-octave scale that rises to a top note and then descends, the turning note often becomes unexpectedly heavy. That may not be a musical choice. It can be a boundary created by the way the scale is practised: the ascent is treated as finished, the eyes wait for the change of direction, and the hand turns the top note into a parking place. The key is pressed a little more deeply or held a little longer, and the descent begins like a separate exercise.

Movement research shows that skilled piano playing is not organised one note at a time. The hand and fingers begin adapting before the next keystroke, and scale studies have found anticipatory timing changes before thumb transitions. These findings do not establish the cause of every accented turning note, but they do suggest that a change of direction should be coordinated as a continuous event rather than decided only after the top is reached.

Test this with a two-octave C major scale in the right hand. Play the ascent, the top note and the first three or four notes of the descent without stopping at the turn. Hear the top note as a connection into the descent, and notice whether the arm is already beginning to change direction after the little finger plays. If the note still protrudes, extend the descent or make a recording, but do not hide the problem by deliberately weakening the note. Then ask whether the music genuinely needs a point of emphasis there. The aim is not to make every note equally loud; it is to ensure that emphasis comes from musical intention rather than a loss of coordination at the turn.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3234081/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2059204319870733