dictation is dull... never had a teacher who could make it interesting.. but it is great for developing your ear so as you can play by ear later on....... you learn how to guess intervals.... which means you can for example anticipate the next chord change etc.....

and yes exams are boring too... but they give you a good grounding........ and I've found theory in particular (although I loathed it at the time) to be wonderfully helpful when arranging pieces.......

slainte

alison