I sympathise with what you are feeling. But I would like to ask you a question.

My musical focus is primarily traditional music. But it is instrumental music. I don't have much, if anything, to contribute to discussions about lyrics. And lyrics is most of the musical discussion that happens here. Lyrics, and technical aspects of playing all kinds of instruments other than the one I play.

I'm a relative beginner on the instrument that I play, so I can't really conduct very much discussion about it, and there aren't very many other people in the Mudcat who play my instrument, or who want to talk about it.

If I need a tune, I can search for it myself.

But I am interested in words. And words as they are used by many of the people who seem to gravitate to this forum. I like the way many of the people here play with words, make puns, write poems and limerics, and do other kinds of creative things with words.

It seems that the tendency to like to play with words, and an interest in songs, lyrics, and song writing, seems often to be found in the same people. So this is where I find people whose minds, intellects, and creative capacity are interesting, stimulating, and fun to me.

And I like that I am making contact with other people who share some of my musical interests. People from all over the world. And through some of the chat, I find myself learning a lot of things about the music and cultures of contries all over the world.

I try to contribute to this place in whatever ways I can. I send money when I am able, I have contributed to the calendar, I help people when I have the opportunity to do so. I don't start very many threads, and I usually think very carefully prior to starting the ones that I do. And most of my threads have had a musical component.

Music is about much more than just lyrics, but if you can't discuss lyrics or guitar chords, it's very difficult to participate in very many of the musical discussions here. What would you have someone like me do? Is my contribution less valid just because it's not about lyrics?