I'm starting to get back responses to my questionnaire and, sure enough, people under 30 have trouble with it. A European girl could answer most of the classical music questions including knowing her classical music eras. American kids? Forget it.

None yet can name Pete Best or know Ringo's real name. Nearly everybody knows Mozart's full name and every single responder knows Yo-Yo Ma plays the cello. Everyone knows the Supremes recorded for Motown. No one could name a Miles Davis song or album. None heard of Doc Watson or knew that he had just died. None heard of T. Rex or could name a T. Rex song. One guy guessed that Coltrane played sax. None heard of Johnny Ace or Howlin' Wolf. One guy guessed Charley Patton but admitted he really didn't know who was the King of the Delta Bluesmen. One person believes that Salieri confessed to killing or trying to kill Mozart but he didn't elaborate. No one else even answered the question. None could name a Duke Ellington song but all had heard of him. None knew who Cole Porter was and so could not name any of his songs.

So that's where we're sitting so far. I'll give it to the end of the week and I'll post up the answers for their benefit. It should not have been a hard test if kids are taught music appreciation properly but I truly expected better than this. Now I know this is hardly all that conclusive but the pattern is there: older responders can answer most of them and the younger cannot so I think the results are accurate in a general sense. And that's not good.