Enjoyed this thread - Art's comments are familiar to me there was a time when I played by what I heard and knew not a lick or tune.- Do we have to have a schooling to know how to play well, hmmmm don't know the answer.

Learned to read music from folk song books :) I could not afford the records but people would give away their old song books .

Now that I occasionaly transcribe folk fiddle recordings into some kind of notation, I know very well why it is better to learn by ear and from an expert. This applies to folk more than any other music I can think of except I suppose Jazz. So it is not enough to learn just the notes like a wind player might. While at this point, need to add a wind player may need more data as well as little black dots 'but' they can still sound very convincing without, a fiddler on the other hand cannot. Tommy Jarrel the N Carolina old time fiddler, once said he had a friend who knew thousands of fiddle tunes but could not play one. Any one familiar with old time/celtic etc fiddling if asked will show you why. There is but one way to bow a tune and if you don't get it from some one who already knows it can take years to make. Go listen to contemporary celtic fiddle recordings ( made by people who want to make some money since celtic is sooo popular NO BOWING AT ALL) now go listen to the elder Hunter's of the -Scottish Isles, or Dennis Muprhy and Julia -Clifford Kerry (Sliabh Luchra) Ireland, Tommy Jarrel N Carolina USA ( who played because it was handed down to them and they loved it. ALL BOWING ) The skill these folk have is gathered over centuries, like the best folk it takes a lot of people/time to make 'mountain fiddle music'.

Playing classical music does not gaurantee a person skill in folk. How many times have I heard a classical player and wondered why they miss the whole point of a folk tune. Bowing's? I also find the short bow Bluegrass fiddle style a little tiresome, it has hardly a tie/slur in, perhaps I am biased or something.