Bernard Chasan wrote: >But there is a puritanical strand in all of this - how much better to >play music than just to LISTEN to music!!! Having grown up in the Boston area, I feel familiar with the puritanical mind-set, and I don't see it operating on this issue. There are advantages to receiving a musical education as it relates to the listening and understanding of music. As a youngster, I was force-fed a musical education: reading music, books about music, studying music theory, playing clarinet and piano, and performing in front of limited audiences (that was really the pits). I dumped all of it as soon as I became a teenager and moved on to my rebellious years. But decades later, I found myself wanting to get immersed in classical music, took piano lessons again, and even bought a piano with a bench where I could store some cd's (only kidding). My point is that I don't believe I would ever be listening to classical music without that educational background as a child. Also, I know that I have more insights into the music than I would without the background; some of that training does seem to stick throughout the years. But, I want to emphasize that musical training and enjoyment of music don't have to go hand in hand. I've known plenty of folks over the years who love classical music and have zero training/education; I have no reason to think that their love and enjoyment is less than that of a person who was musically educated. And I know for sure that I'm not going to take a musical backseat to a person who received much more training/education and exposure than I did, although I would likely defer to that person concerning technical aspects of music. Anyways, I don't regret having dumped classical music when I was younger, or getting back into it in more recent years. My only regret is that I can't tell my dad, who passed away many years ago, that I appreciate the education he gave me. Don Satz [log in to unmask]