Ferrara's message about how people can come to feel that the "authoritarian" version is superior reminds me of the time that my son was a toddler, fascinated with dogs. Whenever Benny saw a dog, or a picture of a dog, he would bark most naturalistically. We visited a gift shop daily, and he would have a grand time going up to each one of the little dog statues they sold and barking softly at them.

But one day, while we were admiring a live dog at the Post Office, a lady came up to us and said to Benny, "What does the doggie say?? Woof, woof??" (just as written- Wooof wooof). "Woof, woof", Benny replied dutifully, and after that, whenever he saw a dog he said quietly, "Woof, woof" and he never barked again.

What's a musician? I think that for a singer who can't play an instrument, it's when you sing and make up tunes all the time, when you can "hear" harmonies and instrumental parts when they are not present, when you go to a choir practice that has a good director, and most of the suggestions they make to the choir you have already realized yourself. You are probably born with some of this, but I think it mainly grows after a decade or so of being around music a lot. I have read that musicians' brains work differently from non-musicians'--things get rearranged somewhat.

--Linda Goodman