Originally Posted by ecarroll

I had the privilege of teaching at London's Royal Academy of Music from 1996-1999. John Wallace, as you may know, was head of brass studies then (my title was the International Chair of the same). The trumpet class at the RAM was the best, top to bottom, that I've found anyplace in the world (probably still is). The school required that all students pass a scales exam (major, minor, diminished, augmented, whole tone -- ascending/descending (or reversed), legato, detached, staccato, etc.) each year in order to graduate, and one could sense panic during the week before the exam was to be held. The few who sailed easily through it were the few that included memorized scales as part of their daily routine. These were the students, not surprisingly, that were also playing the most difficult solo and ensemble repertoire. 'Nuff said.