Originally Posted by: ChristopherSchlegelThe lesson here is that scales are essential, but not ends in themselves.

Thanks. Again can't but concur 100%.

Personally speaking I didn't interpret Helen's "boring" comment to infer scales were bad, but that playing a whole scale pattern (pick any one) mechanically (the instances she demonstrated) sounds boring as in uninteresting musically to the ear.

I can most definitely see your point though, that in todays' increasingly idiocratic world, some might just interpret that as 'scales are boring'.

As to learning and/or regularly practicing scales and perception of their importance. Fortunate in being able to find ways to enjoy necessary repetiitive tasks by finding the challenge in them, or discipline myself in seeing the purpose in the objective on days when it just feels like slog rather than avoiding them.

Possibly something to do with brought up up in an authoritarian era reciting the twelve times table rote first thing in class every morning, or as a very young man immersed in military (E)DIP learning weapon stripping drills commited rote knowing every part and sequence you could strip and assemble blindfolded (in the dark), or later committing IA checklists i.e. engine fire, emergency decompression, to memory along with actioning the in concert with their IA drills for in flight emergencies or fail (there's no '90% right' pass, 'everyone including the first last gets a star' on a company check ride). Those skills now serve me well adapted to learning guitar.