Steve, I disagree about learning from written music. I don't like performing from written music, but see nothing wrong with using as a learning tool, as long as you know what the music is supposed to sound like. I don't care if someone I play with learns a tune from a score, but I expect them to know what I mean, and how to play it, when I say it's a reel or a jig. I agree that playing from the music often sound wooden, and listening to someone who doesn't know how to play a reel is painful, but I've also heard plenty of painful reels from people who don't read music.

I should amend the ambiguity my previous post to say that, even on a professional stage, the music is the thing, and not the tools used to deliver it. If someone can do a great job of staying with the band and with the audience while reading music, that's fine. I just haven't experienced it. And I think it looks bad, as if the band is unprepared.