I don't doubt that contact with Mr. Macdougall is beneficial for me; and you're right Gary, being pragmatic I don't really have a better plan. I guess I just have to relabel a little and think of him as a mentor or jam buddy rather than a teacher - and continue to be a combination of self-taught and Mudcat-taught.

I mean, I believe every flipping word that Rick Fielding, Mark Clark, and M.Ted say, and I take their guitar advice (or at least give it a chance) even when it contradicts my instincts or is harder than what I'm doing. And that's what I expect from a teacher. So it seems weird to call him my teacher when I don't put a lot of stock in what he tells me, and he doesn't answer my questions.

But it doesn't seem to faze him that I blatantly ignore much of his advice/correction, or that I occasionally try to teach him things (like the phenomenon of modes, or the importance of putting key signatures when notating tunes).

Rick - would you keep somebody on as a student if they consistently and openly disregarded your advice/correction?

Kat - I'm not sure how he would respond if I brought a tape recorder and asked for a story. See my other thread "Preserving old fiddler/composer's work"; I am wondering if I might be able to help him preserve his vast collection of original tunes.

Thanks, Marion