1) I first learned sea shanties at song parties with one of our neighbors who was a professional folk singer.

2) I learn the songs generally in my van on the 45-minute drive to practice with my sea music group; I find some songs on recordings, find some in books, some at websites such as Mudcat, others at festivals, others at sea music swaps, and I compose some and adapt others from nautical poems.

3) Others can learn my songs from my CD's, from attending the sea music swaps, or from my website where they can access lyrics and MP3 sound samples.

4) No single source.

5) The internet can be very helpful for finding words, and tracing origins of songs, and for comparing notes; it takes practice to use it well but I don't see any downside.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble