[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Wrighty

Charles, as I tend to play much more with free than rest is there any reason I cannot focus on using free for the scales,

In my opinion, yes, there is a reason to play them rest stroke. One of the differences between steel string fingerpicking and classical technique is the use of the rest stroke. It is, in my opinion, an essential tool in the classical guitar toolbox. It is, for example, a technique that allows one to emphasize individual notes more than others, such as bringing out a melody line.

The rest stroke and free stroke have slightly different physical mechanics. The rest stroke movement is largely from the big knuckles at the base of the fingers. The free stroke is much more from the second knuckle. Movement from the big knuckles can provide more power, more volume and can be used to produce a different sound/timbre.

or perhaps alternating?

You largely already know how to do free stroke. The development I recommend is in adding and mastering the rest stroke. If you want, you could practice them both with free stroke and rest stroke, but I'd recommend that most of your scale-practicing efforts be spent on rest stroke.

Be clear, however, that you can do whatever pleases you. What classical guitarists recognize as classical guitar playing is a fairly specific thing and involves fairly specific techniques that produce fairly specific sounds. You don't necessarily have to play with that technique or produce that specific sort of sound. However, if you listen to "typical" classical guitar music and want to sound like that and be able to do the things they do, there is a specific path that leads there. If that's what you want, you probably can't deviate too much from that to end up with that.

I asked in another discussion that if two players, one a "typical" steel string player, and the other a "typical" classical player, played the same piece of classical guitar music, what would the differences be in how the piece sounds? You choose what you want to sound like, what are the sounds that come out of the instrument you are playing.

One of the players I like to listen to is Michael Chapdelaine. His background is as a traditionally trained classical guitarist. It provides a good foundation for whatever styles of music one wants to play. He's built on and adapted his classical background to play a variety of music on both classical and steel string guitars. Here's one example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu78nxzY3uk

Also, do you think I can use this practice of the scales to begin learning to read? (Naming notes for example)

You can, but I don't think it is a particularly "ordered" or "progressive" way of doing so. From a reading perspective, scales are more along the lines of specific notes scattered across the fingerboard.