I'll admit that I kind of enjoyed scales on the piano because I could mindlessly practise them when I was forced to practise, but I feel like there's a point wh

I'll admit that I kind of enjoyed scales on the piano because I could mindlessly practise them when I was forced to practise, but I feel like there's a point where if you don't know them, you're limiting yourself in all kinds of ways. Improv and harmonisation benefit from you knowing all the keys on the keyboard inside out. Likewise, if you start going for volume of music you can play, at some point not having those foundations start to limit you. Anyone can memorise 3 pieces perfectly and over-practice them then ace a test. But what if the spirit of a grade and level represented more than that? My final teacher (who I met long after finishing exams) was very traditional and had a policy that was vaguely "you shouldn't take more than 3-6 months" to prepare for your grade exam. If you can't reach distinction level within that time, you're not ready so you should work more on your actual playing ability and musicianship. If you're learning like that, scales will be the least of your worries as we worked on so much repertoire that the need for it was self-evident (and well baked into a good routine). I guess it's a bit like driving - if you memorize a few routes you can probably perform like a real driver, but that's not really the same as being a real driver.