I read RichM's post and realized that my first thought was all wet. I THINK ABOUT "notes first" because I have to be careful to get them right. I go with the flow on timing because hey, dyood, I just like feel it, ya know?? So maybe I appear to be learning notes "first," but that's because I've already internalized a good enough approximation of timing. Ergo, I really learned timing first.

There are instances in which I will go back and tweak either a note or a phrase later, so nothing is cut and dried.

For a further meditation on the question: try singing a note without pitch or a note without time. When you have that, grasshopper, come back and ask this question again. I'll be in the lotus patch, weeding.

CC