More thoughts on the matter of 'literacy' and artistic expression. Do you have to go to art school to be a painter? If so, why does Henri Rousseau hang in the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.
Another thought. If music is intrinsic to the human experience,(which I argue it is) is all African tribal music lesser because they don't read notation or go to music school? Another thought. Is all folk music 'lesser' because it is a form of untrained aural/oral history? I suppose what I'm getting at is notions of all forms of musical expression having validity ..the same validity...no matter what the form. That is, it is about the human experience. Having said all that , I do believe in some music being better or worse than others. (usually a drunken party conversation)..lol Oh...someone mentioned Gershwin in all of this.... cant remember who. He studied music from an early age and wrote musical notation. He had a number of piano tutors but didnt formally go to a music school. He even asked Nadia Boulanger for for lessons when he was in Paris, but she politely declined. He sketched out much of American in Paris during that visit. Er thoughts over...brain dead...awaiting a roasting ..... Gordon
