As the person who placed the original post, I am fascinated with all your perspectives. Know that my daughter is an all-round social child who loves all types of music. Her current faves are Girl Groups of the Sixties! Granted, Irish dance competitions take a great deal of commitment, but she really enjoys her dancing and performing. She also attends a school that has an Arts and Music focus.

She loves her piano teacher, who is very skilled, understanding and does teach honky-tonk, folk tunes and a wide variety of other music. The teacher's focus currently is on sight reading because my daughter finds it much easier to listen and copy, as opposed to reading the music. As a non-sight reader myself, I know how important is this skill.

Russ's link to the Strings Magazine article above was incredibly enlightening, putting much of the differences into a very clear perspective. Also, it is good to see your many examples of people who have successfully "crossed over". However, these are professional musicians who are extremely gifted. That's how we know about them. Thank you to all who shared their own personal stories. These angles are really helpful.

I can see this thread will continue as it is such an interesting topic, but wanted to express my appreciation for your time and input.