I had music every semester from Kindergarten to the last day of college. I learned to read music, learned about dynamics, learned about staying on key. I'm sure Walter Pardon wasn't taught all those things. Pardon came from a time when everybody made music, whether they were trained or not. I'd venture to say that even Little Stevie Shaw had more music training than Walter Pardon, so perhaps Steve is not as pure and primitive as he presents himself to be.
But it's interesting to explore the difference. I've heard people deplore the "folk revival" because it commercialized music and imposed the rules of music on something that had been pure and simple. It made music the property of the middle class and took it away from the working people. Maybe so.
I can't make music like Walter Pardon did, but I can make music and I love to do it. Is one better than the other? I don't know.
-Joe-