Terry, a friend of mine, got hired by Randy Sparks to sing in "The New Christy Minstrels." He sang with them for about a year.

But somewhere along the line, Sparks got upset because rehearsals were taking too darned long (he had to pay them for rehearsal time). Like a couple of others in the group, Terry didn't know how to read music and had to learn his parts by ear. This wasted the time of those who could read music and had come to rehearsal already knowing their parts. Sparks issued an edict. Everybody in the group had to know how to read music. If you don't know how, learn! Terry refused. Sparks canned him.

Insisting on being "pure" can cost you. The question is: are you going to be a true "folk singer" and just sing for fun and the amusement of a few friends, or do you want people to pay you for performing, in which case you are no longer a "folk singer" in the strictest sense, you aspire to be a professional musician—and it's reasonable that people should expect you to know at least the basics of your profession.

Don Firth