///Not as much as we love you, josepp///

Now you're tripping my gag reflex.

///JOSEPP - dude... shut up.////

If I did, you would have nothing to contribute.

////"anything less damages our culture" ???
do you have any idea how many great musicians out there couldn't read sheet music? or didn't give a SHIT whether you called it a B sharp or a C??/////

Yes, WAY too many. I don't want to hear this stupid shit anymore. That's no defense for not learning to read music properly and teaching it properly. If you don't want to learn to read music then don't--your loss. But if you are going to learn it, learn it right. That means your teacher has to know what he or she is talking about. How do you know that if there's no standards that the teacher must meet?

////If you want to be a professor of music, by all means hold yourself to the highest standards of learning and study.////

You mean you don't?? Folks, knock off this "My favorite musician couldn't read music so why should I" crap. So I suppose if he dropped out of school, you would too. Look how many black men went to prison because their favorite rapper touted it like it was a necessary step to manhood only realize they wasted their lives? You can enjoy listening to a great musician who is musically illiterate--we all do--but that doesn't mean you have to copy him. He is just as much an example of what not to do as he is for what to do. Chances are, if you asked him, he would likely tell you not to limit yourself. Go as far as you can go.

////I'm sure it makes you feel like you're a "better musician" than everyone else because quote: (in an erkel-like voice) " I was taught by college-level musicians"/////

Duh! Would you hire a lawyer who never went to law school because he had a great natural aptitude for arguing a case? As I said, if you don't want to learn then don't learn. But if you are going to learn, learn from someone you know is qualified. If that person doesn't have a degree in music--good luck.