Couldn't we ask the same question about any kind of art? Drama, painting, etc? If an actor trains by "method acting" versus something else, or a painter is self taught versus MFA'd, if the art touches someone, isn't that what counts?

I've known folk dancers who were certainly not trained dancers and while they knew which foot went where, they were hopeless at getting the particular style of the dance. Opera star Kathleen Battle just doesn't sound right singing gospel. Many folk musicians wouldn't sound right singing the blues because their voices aren't suitable or their soul isn't pained enough.

I am classically trained and was singing in a small a cappella group. We were doing a contemporary piece and I tried one of the solo lines. I was told I sounded like Mary Poppins singing pop. Sad but true. One the other hand, when I sing Celtic music, my training has helped produce a clear tone and good diction. After all, the words are a very important part of folk songs. No sur titles to folk music.

Is a classically trained singer any worse than a trad folk singer singing a rebel song and not recognizing it as such?
Emily