whistle,

thanks for bringing in the wee history lesson....well said.

i am not trying to create an argument here. on the contrary, i am merely trying to point out that there are many ways to enjoy and to learn music. i don't feel that i suffered at all by having private structured conservatory style lessons. i loved them. my sister, on the other hand, had the same teacher but did not love her lessons and did not like to practice. for her it was agony, and she was glad to quit. she probably would have felt the same even if rick fielding was teaching her the banjo....we're just very different people with quite different passions.

these days i do almost nothing but play and sing folk music. my cd shelves are full of folk cd's. but, it is not a rejection of my roots. it is just a different musical world.

imho, ~'nut