Agreed! I studied music for ten years, worked through the grades and the theory, and although I could do it, it didn't inspire me. Dropped out of active music-making for 15 years, then got inspired for the first time by African rhythm, which is taught aurally. I've been working with it for the last twelve years, and now teach it in a wide range of settings. My point is that while David's way is great for some, for others it just doesn't inspire - the creative approach he's talking about is essential for some of us, not for others, but shouldn't be diemissed. I'm regularly introduced to a class by a teacher who will mutter warnings not to worry about certain students who don't 'get' music - and most of the time, they're the ones who respond most effectively to the aural teaching style I use. Not a semi-quaver in sight! There's no quick answer, but all too often I hear music services and music theoriest poo-pooing a less formal approach. How many gifted students are they missing along the way? How many of their students will - like me - eventually drop away through the stifling grade system?