As Happy Traum says: 'be like a sponge, soaking up all that you can learn from those around you, and yet give to those who want to learn from you'. This kind of co-operation is one of the key features of folk learning process and in many ways makes it more exciting because in this field of music much of the learning is hands-on and practical. Folk music belongs to an oral tradition and therefore it is not always written down in standard musical notation. We as folk musicians share our ideas with our peers and colleagues by attending workshops and sing arounds at folk clubs and festivals. I adopt this approach in my teaching practice. More importantly listen to as much material as possible by a particular player so that you can get a real feeling for his or her work; his/her singing and playing style, his/her sound. This is a unique feature of the folk learning process. It is learned primarily from listening to and watching other people sing or play.
