Amos, I love you!

That said, I started classical piano lessons at age 8 and voice training for classical and Broadway styles at age 9. I picked up the harp when I was 12, and because of my background in music theory was able to do a lot on my own, but eventually got a teacher for that too. Despite my now nine years of classical training, my harp teacher, when listening to a recording of me playing some O'Carolan tunes, remarked that she hadn't realized how deeply I "felt" that style of music. The voice is a bit harder to adjust for different kinds of music, but it is possible to do that as well.

Having the right teacher helps. I was very lucky. All my music teachers have been very supportive and even encourage me to try new things, as long as I'm not remiss in practicing the pieces they assign to me. I was a little surprised to find out that my voice teacher is a fan of Steeleye Span and Silly Wizard, but you have to remember that not everyone who is involved with classical music is as narrow as the stereotype.

At an Irish music festival last summer, I got strange looks from some people when I revealed my classical training. They seemed to think that it would "ruin" me for traditional music. I did notice however, that none of the professional musicians thought it odd, and one even remarked that she wished she could read music.

I'm in favor of training, but as was said before, be very, very careful about choosing a teacher.