As a teacher I'm sure you’ll know that no matter what exam board you use with your students there are always option tests that they have to do. And I'm sure your students probably find them as daunting as mine do. But, with careful planning option tests can be fun and engaging. They are necessary skills for enabling students to be good all-round musicians. I was never taught the importance of scales and the aural skills when I was learning, and I think it was such a shame that none of my teachers ever told my why they are so important. 

Scales are a wonderful starting point for any lesson – not only do they teach your students all of the note combinations on their particular instrument, but you can do so much with a scale to challenge all other areas of their playing. You could use a simple scale to challenge a student’s breath control, dynamic range, articulation and dexterity to name just a few. By doing this your students will be learning not only the coordination and shape of the scales, which will make learning scales for the exam a walk in the park, but also it will be honing your student's listening ability to their tone and the sounds of the scale too.

And it's the same with the aural tests. They are designed to work students’ listening and comprehension skills – which when we think about it is one of the main features of being a musician. Admittedly some of the tests in the exams can see a bit strange, but they are good in the long run. The more obvious ones like memorising short melodies are clearly beneficial, but some might not be. Sight-singing is one skill I know a majority of my students won't mind me saying they hate. As non-singers they struggle with this, especially with things like the X-Factor illustrating what happens when people sing wrongly. But this is a brilliant skill to have and with steady and methodical practise – once per lesson, fortnightly at least – this is another daunting part of an exam that doesn't need to be anything worth worrying about.

Singing and sight-singing help students internalise notes – and this guides students down the path to begin 'hearing' music when they first see it. This will make sight reading faster too. Singing allows students to make the notes more physical and gives a deeper connection to the sound they are hearing than simply listening to it being produced by an instrument. By being able to 'hear' the pitch of the music students will be able to read through new pieces faster as they will know if the sound they are playing is correct. This will enable your students to be able to start looking ahead when they're playing as they will be more confident.

As a teacher I would advise becoming familiar with the aural tests required by all exam boards and to incorporate them into your lessons. They can be made into fun games and are so beneficial to bringing out a well-rounded musician in your student.