Kendall and Capt. Swing, "Classical vs. folk" may be like "apples vs. oranges," but not all songs sung at jams and sing-around have just three or four chords with a common progression. [E.g., we often play and sing "The Rainbow Connection" in a jam/sing-around I attend, and many folkies find its chord progression not to be a play-by-ear pattern]. Songs that have 6ths, 9ths, major 7ths, augmented or diminished chords, or key changes, e.g., may not be Beethoven, but they're not your average folk or country-western ballad, either. Doesn't mean "folkies" don't do 'em, though.

Nice picture, Kat! [Where was Ditzie in that photo?]

McGrath, You say "You can get all the ... harmonies you like in a chorus, and you don't need the word[s] ...by the time you've heard it a few times." Many beautiful songs--folk or otherwise--do not have "choruses." Many have no repeated lines except perhaps for one "hook," or the words to the chorus modulate a bit with each 'repetition'. Should a song have to have a chorus in order to get the 'full-choir treatment'? Or, if you want a song to be given that treatment, should it have to be presented to as a solo over and over, until the group finally learns it by 'osmosis' and can finally start to sing along?
I often hand out song sheets when I present a new song in a session, not because I don't know it, but because I want others to be able to sing with me right there and then [and keep the lyric sheet if they like.]

Russ, beautiful summary! [I just deleted several points I started to make/reiterate, because you summed it up so well!
Point of clarification, though: You said "I would not be silly enough to deny that singing from books is NOT in any way a trade off. " Too many "nots" and I get confused. You're agreeing that "singing from books IS NOT a trade-off." Right?

Rich-joy, thanks for the Jim Lloyd quote! Wow! He really hit the nail on the head! While the appreciation of excellence has its place, so, too does the communal musical experience, as McGrath mentioned, even when it ain't poifect. As Bill Staines wrote, "All God's Critters Got A Place In the Choir..."

And Chipper, what's so horrible about "practicin" in public? Isn't that what pickin' an' grinnin' on the front porch is about?

Genie