I don't think that it is possible to generalize about transatlantic preferences.

I would agree with Kevin that there is a preponderance of singers in US singarounds who are incapable of functioning without a copy of "Rise Up Singing " in front of them, but hey, it works for them. I have to admit I cringed when I first saw this (I was brought up in the "memorize it first" school) but I soon got used to it.

The one thing that everybody always skirts around delicately when discussing these matters is the unavoidable fact that some performers are simply much, much better than other performers, and that when the better performers are playing, it is intensely irritating to have to sit and listen to a novice attempting to strum along, wrong chords et al. This is not being elitist, it is being realistic.

Learning when NOT to play is as essential a skill as learning WHERE e and WHAT to play.

These remarks apply only to singarounds of course, not to tune sessions.

Murray