Some interesting answers, seems as if there are two schools of thought on this subject. The one point that seems to be overlooked is I started of by saying " I was a late bloomer ".
From my point of view, the time and effort it seems to take learning scales could be better used actually playing music.:shocked:.(I am not talking about just being able to play scales but to know them without thinking).. Now I know some people may find that wrong:shocked:, but if I was 30/40 yrs younger then maybe learning scales would be the way to go.
Chris, I can certainly identify with your thoughts here. I've had precisely the same thoughts. Talk about being a late bloomer, I didn't really get into music seriously until I was 57 and I'm 62 now. I felt much the same as you. Practicing scales seemed senseless for someone my age. I'd be far better off putting my practicing time in just learning to play music.
And so that's what I've been doing for the past 5 or 6 years. I've only recently become aware of the real power of learning scales. It's far more than just playing scales. In fact, if all you are doing is practicing playing scales without having a really good insight into why that is useful then I agree you are indeed wasting your time doing that. That's precisely what I used to do when I first started to "practice" scales. It was a total waste of time. Mainly because I wasn't truly aware of what the real purpose was for learning scales.
I have since become "enlightened" concerning the POWER of learning scales.
It's not about just playing a sequence of notes. That may be helpful for someone just learning how to play notes on the instrument in the raw beginning, but once you can play all the notes practicing scales for that reason would indeed be a waste of time.
Don't think of it as "practicing scales".
Think of it as "
Studying Scales" - or better yet think of it as "
Studying Keys" and modes, and the arpeggios that go with them.
What are they? What can they do for you? And
why are you studying them. I you are studying them just because other people have said they should be studied then forget it. That's a total waste of time. You need to understand
why they worth studying. Otherwise you're not going to get any benefit from studying them.
Why are they worth studying?
Well lets say that you are playing music in the key of Q. (ha ha) I'm using Q generically, it could be any key you like.
Well, wouldn't it be great to know all the 'scales' in the key of Q?
You can play any one those scales in the key of Q really. And you may even used many different scales in a single piece of music.
How many "scales" are there in the key of Q? (any given key)
Well there is obvious the basic Ionian scale (which is also called a
mode)
Then there is the pentatonic scale. Very simple scale to learn and play, can be used at any time.
Then there is the blues scales. Just the pentatonic with blues notes added, but should be kept separate from the simple pentatonic, because the simple pentatonic will fit anywhere, whilst the blue notes need special attention to where they will fit in a piece of music.
So far you've got 3 'scales' in the key of Q.
You should also recognize the arpeggios for all of the chords associate with the key of Q. In other words, the triads that are based on the notes of the Ionian scale for Q. Understanding what chords belong to Q and which notes can be played over which chords is paramount if you want to play in Q.
So learning the arpeggios for Q is a part of "scale study".
Now, if you really want to expand your abilities, learn all the modes of Q.
The modes are simple, just play the very SAME notes as the Ionian scale for Q, creating a new scale using each note as the root of the new scales. The fingering doesn't change at all. All that changes is your mental perception of what you are playing.
You can play any mode created in this way over the chords of Q changing your sound dramatically from the sound of the Ionian mode or scale.
Finally, after you've learned all of that for a single key of Q, you can explore the ascending, descending, and harmonic modes of the Aeolian mode. Then you will have a complete grasp of Q. (a single Key)
Once you've recognize the POWER of this and have mastered it for a single key, doing it again for other keys will become rather easy and quite beneficial because now you will understand precisely
why it is a useful and powerful thing to do.
~~~
You say that you would rather put your practice time into actually playing music. But there's really no reason why you can't combine your scale studies with your music practice, especially if you're into improvising (which is where the POWER of learning scales really shines).
If you view "scale study" or "scale practice" as just sitting there playing boring scales up and down, then you've got the whole wrong idea.
No, no, no, no, no!
You should only need to do that for a couple minutes to get a feel for the scale you are studying. Then move on to playing that scale over a backing track. Don't just play it up and down. Play it all around. Ad lib all over the scale. Jump back and forth between various scales that you have already learned in that same key.
Before you know it "Scale Study" will amount to nothing more than IMPROVISATION over a key.
The only thing is that now you will be ARMED with all sorts of different melodic patterns that you can play. And you will understand where they come from and why they work over Q.
You will also become keenly away of how the different modes set different moods. And you'll be able to improvise precisely the mood and sound you want by choosing the scale mode that best conveys that feeling.
Learning scales in this way is your absolute
best friend if you want to have some real power behind your ability to improvise into music what you are feeling deep within.
Just my thoughts, for whatever they're worth.
Also from a jazz point of view, you can't really do a jazz blues justice just using one blues scale.
(but only partly 
